Missing the Summer!

“I spent uncounted hours sitting at the bow looking at the water and the sky, studying each wave, different from the last, seeing how it caught the light, the air, the wind; watching patterns, the sweep of it all, and letting it take me.
The sea.”
― Gary Paulsen, Caught by the Sea

As the boat eased into the gangway, I noticed that a sheer number of spider webs had taken over the dock. The chief mate gave the order for everyone on lines to stand by and squat down to the deck so that Aleythea, the Captain, had a clear view. She needed the perfect angle in order to steer us in the right direction. It was a constellation sail. The Captain gave the order to move all 50 passengers to the starboard side, so that she had a clear view of her approach. She doesn't like to yell, so she used hand signals to communicate with the crew. When we cleared the port side, we stood ready to send our lines, with our eyes and ears on the Captain, waiting for her next command. The tide was low and with limited clearance on the bow, she gave the command to send all lines and get them on the cleat. A gust of wind hit the side of the boat and I saw the spider webs sway left to right. I took a deep breath, stood up and sent my line. The sound of my line hitting the rusted dock and then sliding into the water was refreshing. I hauled in my line as fast as I could, recoiled it and reset myself to send my line again. I heard the engine go into reverse, with the tiller full right, which brought the stern of the boat farther to the dock.