The Drift (A Hans Larsson Novel Book 1) Read Free Page B

the surface at slack tide, visibility wasn’t too bad, but the water
was by no means warm. Hans held the family record for holding a breath – four and
a half minutes – Jessica once managing an impressive two minutes twenty.
    Future ’s draft was deeper than Hans had imagined, but
fortunately they were able to swim around her bulbous T-shaped keel instead of
under it. He was pleased to see the agent was good to his word and the hull was
free from algae and other gunk. He felt a pang of pride: their new boat looked as
smart below the waterline as she did above it.
    Surfacing on the port side, Jessica had plenty of breath
left.
    “Reckon you can do it without fins, sweet pea?”
    “Uh-huh.”
    “Pass them here then.”
    Jessica pulled the rubber flippers off one at a time and
handed them to her father, who threw them on deck. On the count of three they
ducked under once more, Jessica’s feet kicking ten to the dozen as Hans
followed close behind. The little girl would quite happily have gone for it
again, only Future had drifted too near the rocks for comfort. Hans
congratulated Jessica on passing the keelhaul challenge, and they climbed the
stern ladder.
    On the return journey the yacht’s engine decided not to play, so
Hans entered the marina under sail, to the delight and applause of the Saturday
and Sunday brigade, who sat sipping Sundowners while waiting for barbecues to
heat. Hans aimed Future at the pontoon at quite some speed, furling in
the remaining sailcloth at the last moment and sluing her around to step onto
the dock, mooring line in hand, as if it were the order of the day.
    “Whey-hey!” came a voice, English and female.
    Hans looked over to see a young woman, late twenties, reading
a book on the adjacent yacht.
    “Good read?”
    “ A Manual of Yacht and Boat Sailing ,” she replied, scrambling
up to help him. “It’s a reprint of Kemp’s original 1923 text.”
    “Oh!” said Hans, marveling at the speed with which she
secured Future ’s front line.

- 6 -
    I n
the morning Hans and Jessica set about getting Future “shipshape and Bristol
fashion,” as the Brits liked to say. She was already well equipped to cross the
Atlantic, but Hans always erred on the side of caution, a trait carried over
from his military service. For repairs at sea, Future carried spares of
all essential items, along with an ample tool kit and materials for
constructing a jury rig and shoring a damaged hull.
    On the next trip to Old Bill’s chandlery, they bought additional
fire extinguishers, a fire blanket and a heat shield that Hans fitted behind
the stove in the galley. To secure the life raft to the deck, Hans opted for a
hydrostatic release unit and a weak-link painter. Should Future sink,
water pressure would activate the HRU, allowing the capsule to float free, the weak-link
painter triggering a carbon dioxide inflation cylinder before snapping under
tension to prevent the yacht dragging the raft into the deep. Hans did not want
to be preoccupied with launching the inflatable should his daughter be struggling
to escape a flooded cabin.
    Foul-weather gear was also on the list, Jessie looking so
cute parading up and down the store in hers that both men chuckled.
    Having figured out why the engine would not fire, Hans replaced
the brushes in the starter motor. He also gave the backup generator a thorough check
over. In the event of further engine trouble, the machine would supply onboard
electricity and, in conjunction with solar panels and a wind turbine, charge Future ’sbatteries. It ran on regular gas, so Hans filled up eight two-gallon
plastic cans at the pump on the marina. He then hired a specialist to test all
the electrical equipment. Their final purchase from Old Bill was a high-power
flare gun and twenty cartridges to send a distress signal in an emergency.
    Just as they were about to leave the cramped store, the door
burst open. It was the young woman who had helped Hans tie up the yacht the
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