Chapter 5

For the eighty-seventh time, Paul kept a tight rein on his temper, before it could run wild and blast his sons to oblivion. For the past two hours, Paul had been trying to get the boys to hone their sailing skills for the regatta that they were planning to compete tomorrow morning, with very limited success.

He managed to keep most of the bite out of his bark, as he rebuked his son Lewis, who was still not trimming the sheets properly after two hours, "Trim!"

Lewis came back from whatever world his mind was away in, and winced in chagrin, before winding the windlass to tighten the sheet and trim the sail.

There are two ways to trim a sail. The first and easiest was when beating a course to windward. It was simply a matter of trimming the sail as tightly as it could go and still maintain the optimum aerodynamic shape. Then, it was the pilot's responsibility to run a course into the wind that maximized the sail's effect and still brought the boat's course as close to the wind as possible. To get your captain's license, you had to demonstrate the ability to pilot craft if not as tight into the wind as possible, at least fairly close. So far, neither of the boys had done well at all.

They were in a beam reach, running with the wind coming in at a right angle over the starboard side. The pilot's job was simply to hold the course, while the person trimming the sails had to adjust the tension on the sheets to handle the vagaries of the wind. As Paul held the course, he was watching Lewis, and waiting for his son to correct the tension on the sheet himself. Finally, Paul couldn't take it any more as he watched Lewis staring unseeing at the sail for the eighty-eighth time in the last two hours as it began to luff. Another minute shift of the wind had brought it about closer to the bow, so now; the wind was blowing the critical first foot of the sail inward, absolutely destroying its aerodynamic properties. All it required was a slight tightening on the sheet that Lewis was holding. But, yet again, despite that being his only assigned task, his attention had wandered.

Paul forced himself to speak calmly, "Lewis? What is the matter, son? I know you can concentrate for hours and hours on any video game, so why can't you even keep an eye on the sail for two minutes straight? Get your head in the game!"

Lewis looked sheepishly at his dad, and shrugged, replying, "I don't know Dad. I guess I just haven't been out on the ocean in so long. So I'm just captivated by the play of the sunlight on the clouds and the waves. I forgot how beautiful it is. You know?"

Paul's glare softened, he looked about at the sun-dappled waves, and the play of the sun on the scattered puffy clouds that hung low in the clear blue sky. The low white outlines of the barrier islands to seaward, and the faint green of the coastline framed everything perfectly. Finally, turning back to his son and smiling, he waved his hand expansively to the sea, and said, "I know just how beautiful she is, and I'm glad to be able to share her with you, but could you keep your head in the game long enough to get us into harbor before dark? Your time to just sit back and enjoy the sights and smells of the sea is not when you are on watch. Not on my boat. Not when I'm the captain and at the helm."

"Ok! Ok, dad! I got it!" Lewis replied over his shoulder. Despite his protestations Paul kept a close eye on him. Still, Paul had to grudgingly admit, his son didn't need to be reminded to trim the sails again until after the harbor was in sight.

In the bustle of activity of taking down and securing the sails, starting up the diesel motor, and navigating through the breakwater into the harbor, Paul didn't get a chance to look for his sister or her family until he had already put the diesel engine in reverse to stop them next to the dock. Each holding a line to secure the boat, Lewis jumped off the bow and Clark made the longer jump from the stern to the dock. Finally, his boat secured to the dock, Paul looked up to see his sister and her brood.

Kimber was still the same: a blonde beauty, with intelligence, grace and a kindness not normally found in the truly beautiful. Paul winced at his ex wife's failings in comparison. Then he noticed, there were too many girls. Sure, Kimber had three, but there were what? Seven teen or preteen girls on the dock? He picked out his nieces, Beth, Becky and Belle, the youngest, but it looked like each had brought at least one friend. Paul tried to squelch his grin, as he watched their feigned disinterest in his sons.

The boys were still standing awkwardly on the dock, unsure of what to do with their hands, nor with the gaggle of girls chattering away. Paul smiled at their discomfiture, but decided to save them and get this show on the road. He hopped to the dock, and swept his sister off her feet into a bear hug. He kissed her on the cheek and set her down, then said, "Oh my god sis! You just keep getting more beautiful!"

Kimber laughed and grabbed his cheeks in both hands. Then, she giggled and said, "Fresh! You better treat my girls like ladies! No more roughhousing!"

Paul started to turn to greet his brother-in-law, Evan. Then a slender, white blonde missile hit him first.

"Uncle Paul!" the eleven year old youngest daughter squealed, just as she knocked the breath out of him. Paul oomphed at the impact, and grasping her about her tiny waist, tossed her straight up, then caught her on the way down.

"Damn munchkin! You're getting too big for this!" Paul said, cradling her in his arms. Paul puckered up in a grossly exaggerated fashion, then slowly bent in, making loud smooching noises. Belle shrieked in dismay, and became all sharp elbows and knobby knees as she tried valiantly with mock desperation to fend off his 'unwanted' advances. Paul kept at it until he managed a brief slobbery kiss on her forehead, and then he dropped his youngest niece to her feet.

Paul had noted the shy brown haired girl that who Belle had left standing awkwardly by herself. He asked, "Who's your friend?" "Uncle Paul, this is Jenny, my best friend forever!", Belle exclaimed as she ran to Jenny's side. "So nice to meet you Jenny" Paul reached out to shake the girl's hand. Smiling shyly, Jenny replied, "Nice to meet you too sir".

Evan cleared his throat as Paul turned to him, "Yeah, we had a slight change in our roster for this trip. One thing lead to another, and before we knew it..."

Kimber jumped in, concluding for her husband, "We wanted the girls to really enjoy the trip, so we agreed that they could each bring a friend, or two in the case of Becky. Hope you don't mind Paul." Paul looked at his nieces and their friends, all smiling sweetly at him, an his heart melted. "I completely understand", he laughed as he replied. Beth and Becky ran over to Paul, and hugging him in a fierce bear hug and exclaimed in unison, "It's great to see you Uncle Paul!"

While the girls were introducing their uncle to their friends, Kimber turned to look at Lewis and Clark. She walked over and squeezed the boys into a hug saying, "My goodness you boys have grown up! It's been ages since we have all been together. You boys remember your cousins', don't you?" Lewis and Clark gave their Aunt a quick hug back while keeping a wary eye on the passel of girls talking with their Dad.

"Hi Aunt Kimber, it's great to see you again," said Clark, cringing out of her crushing hug.