An Even Keel for the Blue Minnow

The boat club's notice had a cheerful heading: Saturday Model-Boat Regatta. Beneath it, a photograph showed last year's tiny sailboats. Its caption read, “Small boats, big breezes.” Now I stood beside the club's shallow sailing pond, with the real harbor glittering beyond the seawall. The harbor was a sheet of wrinkled silver, flashing wherever sunlight caught a ripple. My Blue Minnow looked ready for its first race.

“Still learning the ropes, Zadie?” Ivo asked. He set his sleek red model on the launching shelf. I had practiced steering with a remote control for three afternoons, but this was my first club event. Aunt Celia had helped me build my boat, and I wanted to show that I could manage it myself.

I tested the controls. The rudder turned, but the sail stayed stuck. A thin cord that should have moved freely lay taut across the deck, stretched tight as a guitar string. I pressed the control again. Nothing. Around me, other sails swung smoothly from side to side. A knot gathered in my stomach.

“This has taken the wind out of my sails,” I muttered. A minute earlier, I had imagined my blue boat skimming ahead. Now I wanted to pack it away. Ivo crouched beside me, although the starting bell was only five minutes away. “Let's get you on an even keel first,” he said. “Hands off the buttons. Take a breath. Then we'll look.”

I breathed slowly until my fingers stopped fluttering. Instead of staring at the whole boat, I followed the cord from the sail to the little arm beneath the deck. It had slipped under a metal clip. I had been ready to blame the motor, but the snag was right in front of me.

Ivo held the boat steady while I lifted the clip. Using the blunt end of a pencil, I began to coax the cord out, nudging it a little at a time rather than yanking it. At last it slid free. When I tried the control again, the sail swung across the deck. I grinned.

“You could have been testing your own boat,” I said. Ivo shrugged. “I'd rather race your boat than watch it sit on a shelf.” He checked his red sail once more, and we carried both models to the water.

At the bell, six boats slipped away from the starting line. Near the turning buoy, I steered too wide and lost a place. My thumb jumped toward the control, but I paused, watched the sail, and made one small adjustment. Blue Minnow rounded the marker and headed back. It crossed the finish line third, just behind Ivo's red boat.

We lifted our boats onto the shelf together. I still had plenty to learn, but I had solved a problem and finished my first race. Ivo offered me a damp handshake. The knot in my stomach had finally come undone.