Weekend Write-In Story Collection

The Doldrums

In 500 words, tell a story in which a character gets an ominous chill. Written for the Weekend Write-In Challenge: "Chill" — 4-6 March 2016.

David increases his knowledge of sailing.

Grandpa's Lap

David rolled onto his back and looked up at his grandfather from the carpet. "Grandpa?"

"Yes, sweetheart."

"Grandpa, what's doldrums mean?"

"Could mean a few things. It depends on the context. It could be a state or period of stagnation or depression, melancholy, gloominess, that kind of thing. Could be a zone near the Equator. What are you reading?

"Sailing Alone Around the World."

"A wonderful book. So it's the equatorial meaning, then. Slocum's voyage was the first, and he wrote splendidly of his adventures. Where are you in it?

"Heading from the African coast toward Brazil and finding the winds very confusing."

"That's the Doldrums, for sure. Today they're called the inter-tropical convergence zone, or ITCZ. I much prefer to call them the Doldrums. Conveys the mood of the place much better."

"So what is it?"

"Do you understand trade winds, has Joshua explained that yet?"

"He's just started to. That's where I stumbled over doldrums. You explain it, then I'll have an easier time. His language's a bit quaint, even for the nineteenth century."

"He's from Nova Scotia, so there's some down-home dialect mixed in with his later Bostonian. Come, let me tell you a story. Give you a feeling for the Doldrums." He put down his newspaper and tapped the place beside him on the couch.

David climbed up and laid his head on his grandfather's lap, then looking up, he nodded and said: "We're ready."

"Let's talk of the Doldrums in the Atlantic. That's where Joshua's headed in your book. In the North Atlantic, the winds circulate clockwise, but in the South Atlantic, their rotation is counterclockwise, both are huge ocean-wide circles. Square-rigged ships needed to be pushed by the winds, so from Europe, they used the Trade Winds down the African coast and across into the Caribbean, then up the North American coast. Heading home, they were blown northward then back across by the Westerlies, the northern part of the circle. You following so far?"

"Yeah, that's simple. But Joshua wants to go to South America, not North."

"That's where the Doldrums come in. Between the northern and southern circulations is an area of confusion. Large areas of dead calm, where sails flap empty much of the day trying to catch a breath of wind. Through the days, the clouds build to towering thunderheads and supercells. With the cooling in the evening, these spawn violent squalls and thunderstorms."

"So how do you get across with no winds?"

"With many sail changes, from catching zephyrs during the day to reefed close for the violent evening winds. On our way back up from Cape Horn, heading across the north of Brazil toward the Caribbean, we spent the days drifting with no wind, then scrambling with the sails to catch the building evening breezes, then dowsing to bare poles for each squall. After nightfall, we couldn't see them approaching, only hear them and feel the ominous chill air of their approach."

"Sounds exciting. I'll have to do that someday.