No one knew how to sail. We were clueless 8-year-olds with zero experience sailing. It was 9:30 in the morning on a cold summer's day in Maine. The sails were violently shaking. I crawled up to the bow and threw the buoy off the boat.

The wind whistled in my ear. My sister, Izzy, and my friend, Ellie, were the only other people in the boat. Izzy had the most experience out of all of us in sailboats, but it wasn’t a lot. She got the walkie-talkie acting as the instructor. Her hands were slipping as she tried to untie a cleat and her face was pulled tight. 

The wind forced us to tack, making us turn in a zigzag way. The boom swung over our heads. The sharp and jagged rocks were close. A wave crashed over the side of the boat, drenching everything. Our sails were dripping with cold water, and I felt goosebumps growing on my legs. We could see the water reflecting on the sails as they got closer and closer to the clear water. 

We were in the middle of the harbor trying our best to get to the open, choppy waters. The wind carried the sound of a motorboat approaching.

“Get out of the harbor,” the instructors were yelling at us. We started making our way to the floating green can that marked the exit of the harbor. I heard the sound of an approaching boat crashing against the rough water.

“You need to hold onto the walkie-talkie, it's your only way of communication,” Izzy said as she eyed the advancing boat. 

“I’m getting too seasick,” she said as she hopped out of the sailboat and into the motorboat while it was parallel to us. The instructors were taking her back to the dock. She was supposed to be with us the entire time. The instructors promised that we’d be fine. I should have asked to go back too, I thought.

“How do I sail?” I say. There was no one around. Everyone was outside the harbor. My eyebrows furrowed as I watched the massive and sharp rocks that were coming out of the water. They were sharp enough to put a hole in the boat. BAM we hit an enormous sailboat in our way. I looked to my right to make sure there was nothing else. BAM there was another one on my left. We were still stuck in the middle of the harbor. We had no idea how to get out. 

The boat was gliding through the ocean, half in it, half out of it. Water filled the boat bringing in seaweed and even little fish. We needed help.

“The walkie-talkie! Where is it?” Then it hit me. I remembered when the water was rapidly filling the boat, and I heard a splash as I fell. It had to be the walkie-talkie

The wind was brisk as I crawled into the minuscule hull and grabbed a rope. I frantically climbed up to the top of the bow and tied the cleat. It was the only thing that I knew how to do. Knots were the only thing I could count on. Then I toppled back into the boat and pulled the sail in all the way. The dock rapidly got closer. I felt the wind on my face. It suddenly jumps out at us and BAM. My muscles loosened throughout my body. I smiled with pride. Ellie grabs the bow line and jumps off the boat and onto the dock. The sails go down as quickly as possible and I tumbled out.