Landfall – A Story. (642 hits)
Category: GeneralRating: 1.33 on 9 reviews (Rate this item) (V)
Submitted by dakingisdead<ojs.at.iinet.net.au> (View user info) at 2004-09-01 20:22:59 EDT
Howling through the rigging the wind played with us in its sprays of ice and froth. Tahi shivered violently as she fell off each wave and ploughed into the back of the next.
We were now running on the storm jib and had reefed the main down to a mere flag of canvas.
The rope from the sea anchor was taught and hummed its own sorrowful tune as the tension increased and slackened with each passing wave.
The storm had been forecast for some days now and we had been hoping to reach landfall before it hit.
Now we were in a precarious position with being so close to land on the Shipwreck Coast.
Over ten sailing ships had run ashore in this area in past times due to the number of reefs and the prevailing onshore winds and currents.
The rain was coming down in great grey sheets closing us into a small cocoon of noise, waves and spray. Every so often it would briefly clear and if Tahi crested at the time I could just make out the faint flash of the Lighthouse about three miles distance.
This was our life line and to the best of my ability I kept trying to determine our relationship to it. We had to be at least half a mile off shore to avoid the reefs that sheltered the entrance to the channel over the bar.
At this stage it was looking tight but passable.
Half an hour later and the waves are now huge as the ground rises under us. We can hear the roar of the surf even above the howling wind. Now we are totally committed to our course as we are entering the channel and we can see the hungry rocks reaching out for us on either side.
Tahi is now surfing on the face of the waves with great streams of spray flying up from her bow. Behind us at times the sea anchor pops out of the water and we fly forward at amazing speed until it grabs and drags again.
A single gull flies overhead and the rain has cleared but the wind has picked up and there is no communication possible with the rest of the crew.
The tiller thrums in my hands and I need all my strength to hold course as each wave comes behind us. The headland is now closing fast and I feel incredibly alive.
The wind, the waves, my beautiful yacht and my incredible crew fill me with awe and happiness.
This is why we live. The moments like this when it is men and machine pitted against, and in some way in harmony with, the most primal elements.
I look at my wife and she is smiling madly at me. I realise that my face is almost splitting and I cry out a great whoop as an enormous wave picks us up and hurls us forth through the channel in a kaleidoscope of sea and air.
Ten minutes later and we round the headland and enter a world of peace and quiet. Everyone begins to move around the boat straightening ropes and picking up broken crockery and restacking cupboards.
We are all quiet and subdued in our own thoughts.
"Damn," my wife says, "I almost wish we could do that again."
User Reviews
Submitted by dakingisdead (user info) at 2004-09-02 00:59:23 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
Thanks for the compliments. I do not always post boobie pictures and will be writing more story type posts in the future.
I had a bit of a bad experience writing original pieces when I first came here and so tended to avoid this form whilst trying to improve.
Baby steps................I still don't see that they will be rated very highly however.
A pic of boobies and a nice big NSFW always seems to have a better strike rate; unless you can instigate some sort of idiocy, as Fetish has, which achieves nothing and seems to involve everyone.
Submitted by dakingisdead (user info) at 2004-09-02 00:50:42 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
is this a REAL sentence????
"We were now running on the storm jib and had reefed the main down to a mere flag of canvas. "
...................................................................................................
Sorry La Nuggeta I see you are not a sailor.
I am not a fan of jargon BUT unfortunately there is no way around using maritime terms in a piece like this.
An interpretaion would be:
We were now sailing on the smallest of sails (storm jib) that would fit on the wire (forestay) holding up the big stick (mast)from the front of the boat (bow) and we had tied (reefed) the big triangular sail (main or mainsail) to the horizontal stick (boom) attached to the big stick thus making it as small as we could.
....................................................................................................
So yes it is a real sentence. I guess someone describing what it is like to operate a combine harvester would have the same problems trying to describe it to someone from the coast who had never seen one of these machines.
Submitted by Impassive-Digressive (user info) at 2004-09-02 00:23:32 EDT (#)
Ranking: 1
Not a bad piece of writing. I really like the picture too.
Submitted by corn_nugget (user info) at 2004-09-01 23:25:48 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Daking... it's nice to see you post something besides titty pictures.
I liked this post, good imagery... but...
is this a REAL sentence????
"We were now running on the storm jib and had reefed the main down to a mere flag of canvas. "
WHAT?!
What's a jib?
What's reefed?
What's a Main Down?
What?
It's like going to the doctor, "she appears to have a yabbidy do in her yikity yak- hand me the popometer so I can measure the velocity!!!"
Submitted by SPECIALk (user info) at 2004-09-01 22:53:27 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
No Comment
Submitted by ohlookasquirrel (user info) at 2004-09-01 22:03:46 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
No Comment
Submitted by dakingisdead (user info) at 2004-09-01 21:00:08 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
Submitted by puggso_32 (user info) at 2004-09-01 20:43:31 (#)
Ranking: 0
+2 for massive punnage
-2 for expected ending.
...............................................................................................
Obviously you would not know a pun if it sat on you and shat on you. (alliteration)
But seeing you are so clever and have written such great postings then perhaps you could educate me.(sarcasm)
Pugso the writer. (oxymoron)
As for the cuming up with a different ending I would not expect you could cum up with too many in an Ode To Masturbation. (pun)
Submitted by puggso_32 (user info) at 2004-09-01 20:43:31 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
+2 for massive punnage
-2 for expected ending.
Submitted by shitfuck (user info) at 2004-09-01 20:32:19 EDT (#)
Ranking: 1
No Comment