The Argonaut

Jason stops the boat, takes down the jib(?), and goes for a swim. I change into Ingrid’s shorts and jump in feet first. There’s a bit of a shock when I hit the water and a shot of Lake Washington up my nose. What am I doing? I remember to swim and paddle up to the surface. The others are laughing. What? What did I do? Did I look funny when I jumped? A wave hits me and I take in another mouthful of Lake Washington. The boat is slowly creeping away from me. I can’t quite manage a reasonable breaststroke (I chalk that up to the choppy water.), so I just dog paddle after it. The waves aren’t helping, it seems like I’m not moving at all. Jason tosses a little buoy out in case one of us gets too far away. (The buoy immediately detaches itself from its line and floats away.) Finally I manage to reach the boat, I clutch the pontoon and just hang there for awhile, sometimes relaxing and letting my body float to the surface, sometimes wrestling with the waves or with the boat.

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