The Storm

The Storm

The first rays of dawn shone upon my face. The sunlight illuminated the interior of my tiny yacht. Rising, I stood at the deck, watching the now sparkling blue sea. For the first time, I felt dwarfed by the vastness of the sea; my yacht was nothing compared to the sea. It was the second day of my cruise around the world, a silly challenge I had taken up in a moment of folly. Still I was determined to prove myself in my group of friends. Such an odyssey would gain my prestige rivaling that of a pop star. However, I had no idea what was to come later.

I scanned the morning skies for any cloud that might bring unwanted rain. There was none. Satisfied with my observation, I went into my cabin, and checked the weather instrument. All was fine, except that the surrounding air pressure was dropping quickly. I was not unduly alarmed. Air pressure fluctuated at sea and thus, I never realized what was about to come. Had I realized, I would have probably abandoned the original course and head for shore.

Around noon, the winds began to pick up. Hoping to gain a little more speed, I hoisted my sails. All was fine until a few moments later. The sky turned dark, rendering day into night. All around me, there was silence, except for the occasional howl of the wind. The sea and the sky blended as one; the whole area turned into night and clouds concealed the sun. The winds steadily grew stronger. Fumbling in the darkness, I searched for my torchlight, accidentally knocking over something.

It began to drizzle. Having found my torchlight, I made my way back to the steering wheel in the cabin, only to hear the cables snapping and see my mast collapse. The sea was now turbulent, with waves over three meters. The initial drizzle now turned into a heavy downpour, soaking the whole yacht. In the state of panic, I tried to radio for assistance. To my complete horror, I realized I had knocked the radio off the table earlier. It now laid broken on the floor, its circuits rendered unusable by the torrential rain. Now left with no option, I had to sit out the storm and pray that I would survive.

The rain steadily grew worse. Visibility was reduced so much the darkened skies, illuminating everything in their path. Then came the clap of thunder, which reverberated through the entire yacht. I was shivering, partly due to fear and partly because of the cold.