Captain Pike's Ship Log II

Chapter 7 -- A Talk with Mom

Anthony took his mother's hands as they sat at the kitchen table in the sun and he told her how he had found himself swimming longer and longer in the ocean, and how it had given him renewed strength and perseverance. He told her how he had designed the barge for overnight "camping" at sea. Her obvious incredulity had the effect of quickening the meter of Anthony speech, as if to prevent her from interjecting before he had a chance to impart a sufficient amount of his narrative. He went on at great length about his apparent lack of fear and the beauty of the nature he had become involved with. The expression on her face began to change from shocked fear to thoughtful consideration with clear adoration of her sons odd achievement, as Anthony delineated his trials and the achievements and setbacks of the summer. They talked well into the evening, he took her out to the garage and showed her his barge with all of its comforts. She seemed to be most interested when he spoke of his attainment of a new tranquility, apparently bestowed upon him through extensive exercise. "Ah, my son," she shook her head in awe, "you have become quite a man." In relating his new love to his mother, Anthony noticed a comforting ease flow in. He never wanted to keep this new joy from his mother.

"Mom," he felt new resolve, "I really want to make something of this. I mean, I know this is something I am supposed to do." He felt he made good headway and was satisfied with the logic of his presentation.

"I just don't know how I would," she spoke slowly, looking up as if to select from a group of words floating near the ceiling, "feel about your staying out to sea overnight, or for days at a time", she concluded with a definite frown set in her forehead. Her point hit hard and was well taken. It seemed like a crazy idea again to him now. He had done well at first, but this last part had just seemed too audacious to his mother. He decided to let it lie and quit while he was, well, not losing too badly. He rose from the table and stretched. His stomach growled almost as if on cue. A quizzical expression appeared on her face, "say, that's a great suggestion, let's go out to eat tonight." This seemed like a good truce and he agreed to leave immediately.

During the rest of that summer, Anthony confined his swimming to day jaunts. He made refinements to his gear and developed a sea anchor that seemed to hold the barge in place even in substantial wind. He returned to school that autumn and selected two subjects outside of his normal curriculum which were quite formidable: oceanography and marine biology. The study of celestial navigation was something that peaked his interest. He bought himself a cheap, plastic sextant and set to work painstakingly measuring the height of the sun. He learned that if he knew the exact time, the height of the sun along with tables could be used to determine his exact position.