islands

a little trip into a storm

John

It was a beautiful summer day, perfect for sailing, so I walked to the docks next to the boat house and loaded the 'Jolly Roger' with stuff I would need to survive a long time on the Atlantic Ocean.

It was in the middle of June and I decided to spend my entire holliday on the sea, on my sailboat that I got as gift a few years ago when I became 15. When I finally turned 19 and my parents told me that I could travel the world by boat, I didn't hesitate for a moment and now, 2 months later in August I decided to take a break on Puerto Rico for a few days in the town of San Juan.

I've been on land for too long now, I miss the rocking of the ocean under my feet and decided that this was my last night on this island. I picked up the maps that I took home before I left and took the map of the area. Soon a small island called Hamilton called to me. it wasn't so much Hamilton itself that caught my attention, but more the word 'Bermuda'. It immediately reminded me of the Bermuda triangle, the place where all those vehicles were missing. Immediately I knew I had to go there to see if all those stories were just fictional or real.

That night I went to the bathroom of my room and started to shave my beard.
When I finished shaving I took a while to take a shower and when I was done and dried up, I looked at the back of my body and looked for the scratch that i got from a rope that got loose and hit my back, it was almost completely healed and only a slight line was visible. I also decided to cut my long blond hair straight away. When I finally finished in the bathroom I went to my room and went to bed.

~ A few days later ~
"It was a big mistake to go sailing," I thought to myself as I was maneuvering my boat on the tip of an upcoming wave. When I wanted to leave that morning, I saw on the news that there was probably a storm coming in a few days. So far, I've always taken this into account and I did not mind it, but this time it actually does matter!
It all started with the sea which became wilder when I was halfway to the island and later I saw the dark clouds that came down upon me. But it was already too late to return and I would rather arrive on Hamilton and then take shelter than arrive on any other island nearby. Unfortunately, the wind is vicious and throws me into the next wave, it almost made me fall into the sea. The cramps and the lack of sleep I've felt since today makes me slow and I know it won't take a long time before I'm actually swept away by the sea.

...

One moment I am using all of my power to try and launch my boat through the storm and the next, all hell breaks loose and a lightning bolt hits the top of the mast. With an enormous crash the mast pummels into the sea. Because all of the ropes that were on the mast, were thrown around me by the mast, I'm  panicking, I try to let go of the ropes and try to cling myself onto the railing. Suddenly I feel something pulling me and see how the ropes around my ankles have pulled tight.  I'm thrown into the turbulent sea. With the last bit of strength I have in me, I try to save myself from the ropes, but it's too late. For a while, I'm being pulled into the sea.
The last thing I see is how the mast and ropes pull me further under water when lightning blasts continue to penetrate the sky and brighten the night above me, but then everything slowly turns black and I feel how the last bit of air leaves my mouth.
...