Free Knockdown by Brenda Beem

“I want those sails down. Now!” He spun the boat into the wind.
    The boat went into a dive. I gr abbed the dodger as I fell. Zoë groaned and stumbled to the rail.
    Dylan held her while she leaned over the boat. “A little notice would be nice!” he shouted at Cole.
    Nick dropped the main sail.
    Cole gripped the wheel and aimed Whistler into a direct westerly route. I braced my feet on the seat across from me and glanced at our speed. We were going seven and a half knots, fast for our boat.
    The sun was low on the horizon. I’d been watching the receding coastline. “How far out do we have to be?”
    “Can you see land?” Cole asked. He didn’t bother to check.
    I squinted. “Yeah.”
    “Then we aren’t out far enough.” He shoved the throttle down further. The engine roared in protest.
    “ When we are getting the boat ready for a knockdown, we should take the sails off,” Cole said. “If we lose them when the tsunami hits, we’ll be totally screwed.”
    “Great idea. But how do we put them back on?” Dylan smirked and glanced around at the crew. “Anybody have any idea how to rig a sail?”
    “Don’t be a jerk , Dylan.” I glared at him.
    Zoë put her head on Dylan’s shoulder. “Just throw me overboard.”
    Dylan stroked her cheek . “It won’t do any good to take the sails off to save them, if we don’t know how to put them back on. Rigging a sail is very complicated, and if it isn’t done right, the sail is worthless.”
    “You made your point. What do you suggest?” Cole rubbed his eyes.
    “We’ll just have to tie the sails and the jib down tight and hope for the best.”
    “Hope for the best?” I put my hands on my hips. “That’s your great idea?”
    Dylan wiped drool off Zoë’s chin.
    I thought for a moment. “We have Dad’s bo ok on rigging. Maybe we could teach ourselves.”
    My brothers shook their heads.
    I grinned up at Cole. “What about duct tape?”
    Cole chewed his lip. “Duct tape couldn’t hurt. We could tie the sails down like normal and then wrap tape around them and the boom. We can do the same for the jib.” He studied the sail and mast. “Duct tape could even secure the rigging lines to the mast. If we lose the mast or boom, saving the sails won’t matter anyway.”
    Takumi and Nick followed Cole’s eyes.
    “Are you serious? Duct tape?” Dylan sneered.
    “Beats your ‘hope for the best’ idea.” I waited for his snarky comeback.
    Dylan shrugged. “Whatever. We’re going below.”
    Zoë leaned on Dylan and they headed to the cabin. When they passed by, Cole grabbed Dylan’s shoulder.
    “I need you to have my back, bro. If you have a better idea, let’s hear it,” Cole said.
    “ Sorry! I always have your back. My nose… is killing me.” Dylan gently touched his raccoon eyes. Zoë started to fall and he steadied her. “Call if you need me.”
    Cole nodded at me. “How much duct tape do we have?”
    I nudged Takumi.
    “There was a three-pack. Lots,” he said.
    Cole stepped to the side of the wheel. “Good. Let’s do it now. It will be one less thing to take care of later. Nick, you have the wheel. I need to re-fold the sail. Toni, get the tape and ask Jervis to help.”
    Soon we had the sail neatly folded and tied off. I stood on one side of the main, wrapped tape around the sail, and then handed the roll to Takumi. He did the same to his side and handed it back. Jervis and Nick stuck more of the silver tape around the jib, winding it around the wound-up sail as high as they could reach.
    Soon we looked like a boat from the land of misfit toys, b ut if it kept us from losing our sails, it’d be worth it.
    The ocean swells were huge. Jervis and Nick came back from the front of the boat and braced themselves in the cockpit.
    “ The anchor is really bouncing. It almost fell off its holder thingy during that last dip.” Jervis pointed to the bow.
    I held on to the lifeline and moved to the front of the boat to check. I opened the hatch