A Liverpool Legacy Read Free Page B

about,’ she yelled to warn Pete.
    She heard another thud and the boat jerked so violently the tiller was snatched from her grasp. She heard an almighty splash and screamed at exactly the same moment Sylvie did.
    This was disaster. Nobody was controlling the boat; they were at the mercy of the wind and the sea. Sylvie was continuing to scream.
    Millie saw another wave bearing down on them on the starboard side and lunged for the tiller. In the nick of time, she managed to bring the bow round so that they rode the wave safely. On her right, a rope had whipped taut straight across the stern.
    She glanced round to see what Pete was doing because the main sail was still up. She couldn’t see him. He wasn’t here. Everything went black in a moment of sheer panic. Sylvie crashed on to the stern seat beside her to yank at her arm.
    ‘Dad’s gone overboard,’ she screamed. ‘Turn back. We’ve got to look for him.’
    ‘Oh my God!’ Millie felt she couldn’t deal with this, she was terrified, but just as quickly she realised that if she didn’t do something, all would be lost. The taut rope pulled tighter, it was made fast to the seat supports, and it dawned on her in that instant. ‘That’s his lifeline,’ she screamed. Sylvie stared blankly back at her. ‘He’s secured to the boat. It’s that rope, next to you. Quick, pull on it. Let’s get him back on board.’
    Sylvie knelt on her knees and tried. ‘I can’t,’ she sobbed. ‘I can’t. It’s impossible.’
    ‘Why not?’
    ‘It’s too tight. I can’t pull him in any closer.’ She gave a scream of frustration. ‘He’s drowning. He must be.’
    Though still struggling to control the steering, Millie glanced behind her and she knew another moment of panic. She could see they were towing Pete in their foaming wake, but the speed of the boat meant they’d never be able to pull his weight out of the water and get him on board. They needed to turn back to make the rope slack, but another wave was roaring towards them. They coasted that in the nick of time but already another wave was coming, it wouldn’t do to let one catch them broadside on. She couldn’t turn in this sea. The boat shuddered, the mast cracked and every other timber seemed in its death throes.
    ‘We’ve got to get the sail down.’ That should make it easier to turn. She had to grip Sylvie’s arm to get her attention. ‘That’ll slow us.’
    ‘But what about Dad? Can he breathe like that?’
    ‘I hope so. You’ll have to steer while I do it.’ She saw Sylvie’s mouth drop open in horror. ‘You’ve done it before, Dad taught you.’
    ‘Not now, I can’t,’ she whined. ‘Dad could be drowning.’
    Millie screamed with frustration. ‘Pull yourself together. You’ve got to help him or he will drown. We’ll all drown.’ Sylvie’s white face was awash with tears and rain, and her wet hair was blowing about her head. ‘Please don’t go to pieces on me,’ she implored.
    Obediently, Sylvie sat down and took the tiller. ‘What course am I to steer?’
    Millie no longer had the faintest idea. ‘Just keep the bow nose on to the waves and the swell.’
    Keeping low, she crept forward as quickly as she could to the bottom of the mast. She could see no sign of any cracks in it. The rope was wet and her fingers stiff with cold but eventually the knot gave and the sail came down.
    She felt the boat slowing as she scrambled back. She had to help Pete. Crying with fear and frustration, she hauled with all her might on his lifeline and managed to twist a little of the spare round a cleat, but his body was acting like a sea anchor. They were travelling at a controllable pace but unless they stopped, she knew they’d never get him aboard. Should she stop the engine? What if she couldn’t restart it? Without the mainsail they’d not get home without the engine. She knew very little about engines.
    ‘Mum.’ Sylvie’s voice was excited. ‘I can see land. We’re heading straight