Free Sample
Preview from chapter one
K9 Life Pt. 2
Kira Lee Scott
We left the canal systems behind and entered Lake Erie proper and I can still remember my first thought as I gazed out across the expanse to the north and west.
Holy fuck, that ain’t a lake, that’s a damn ocean! I had grown up on the relatively small lakes and ponds of Florida and that had left me poorly prepared for what lay ahead of us. Had the waters not lay flat and calm for as far as the eye could see, I might have turned tail and beat a hasty retreat. We had a sound and well-equipped vessel, we had gumption aplenty but if the wind so much as sighed, my sailing qualifications were going to be seriously over-matched.
Don’t get me wrong, we weren’t stupid. We had paper charts, a Garmin chart plotter and Google Earth. We knew the exact size of what we were getting into, but until you look out on one of the Great Lakes in person, all that info doesn’t mean diddly squat.
“Fuck me!” whispered Milo, “We’re going out there?”
“Ummm, not just yet we’re not.” I replied as I looked down at the Garmin. “Let’s head west, Landfall Marina is only three miles from here. We’ll arrange to have the mast reinstalled and grab a drink if there’s a bar nearby.”
We got lucky and caught the yard crew with an opening, so they were able to bring us alongside the seawall where they quickly stepped our mast and held it in position as we reattached the stays and shrouds. After that, we took out time reinstalling the sails and doing a double check of the running rigging.
Four hours later, we left the marina and headed next door to Peg Leg’s Place for some much needed nerve soothing. We’d been there about an hour sitting at the bar drinking and chatting up the bartender regarding our concerns about sailing safely on such a huge body of water.
“Hold on folks, it sounds like what you need is a crew to get you where you’re going.” he said, removing his phone from the shelf under the bar. “I can call a couple of guys to come over so you can interview them if you want?”
“Sure,” I said, hoping I could afford someone to get us across that great watery terror waiting for Milo and I outside.