Catch the Wind

Tomas races his little sailboat in a junior regatta until fog swallows the bay and the wind turns mean. Can he read the water, right a capsize, and decide whether to win or turn back for a rival?

Tomas tightened the strap on his life vest and grinned at the silver water of Gull Bay. His little one-person sailboat, named Otter, bobbed at the dock like it was already itching to go. Today was the junior regatta, and Tomas had practiced all summer for it.

'You ready, kiddo?' called Coach Marisol from the committee boat. She had taught Tomas everything: how to read the wind on the water, how to lean out and balance, how to bring a tipped boat back upright.

'Ready as the tide,' Tomas shouted back. His hands were a little sweaty, but the good kind of sweaty. The kind that meant something exciting was about to happen.