The Burlington Island Race was cancelled last weekend due to a forecast northeaster. I walked Thelma down to the river end of the street at about the time the race would have started and was greeted by the sight of spinnakers flying -- and I use the word in its aeronautic sense -- downstream. Some other club was not quite so timid as we, I guess.
That's okay, because of course the Mariner sat on the boathouse apron, relieved of its rust-pocked centerboard. Now the Mariner is on its trailer up in the back lot, as if it were prepared for winter. And the centerboard is off in a corner of the apron where it will offend no one.
Still, there are a couple of weeks left before the moorings are pulled, so it is still possible that we'll get to sail her this year.
On the book front, I'm almost done editing the manuscript for Swimming in the Shadow of Death and will ship it to Keith Wallman, my editor, probably on Monday.
Also, I got a review of the youth novel, Leaving Harwich, that was at once both scathing and promising. The review is by a literary agent who represents best-selling authors of youth novels, so her comments are important. I will attempt to understand them and to see whether I am capable of addressing her concerns, with the goal of getting her to represent the book.
Sailing a Mariner is a forgiving experience. Trying to get published is not. One's skin must be thick and wear-resistant.