#actæon

[antoniodias]

Thirty

    “Old man beat us, all of us. Even d’a dog. Mama? He put so many of us babies on her she died young. Younger d’an I am now.” She sits up straight.

“When she died. D’a whole t’ing fell apa’rt. I never saw him again. I was old’ah. The old’est. Some o’ mama’s relations took d’a little ones. I never saw d’em befo’h d’at. Must have been a’fra’yd of him. Maybe I couldn’t forgive…. I ran off.” Her…

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[antoniodias]

Twenty Nine

    Splash. Splash. Oars…. Dammit! Skilly didn’t have enough time…

The sound passes close and recedes. I light a cigarette off the tail of the last one. Drop the butt into a bottle. Half a dozen others stain an inch of warm, stale lemonade. Color of bloody piss. The knot in my stomach tightens another turn.

(more…)

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[antoniodias]

Twenty Eight

Actæon’s log:

Actæon schoons. A hard northwesterly blow on her starboard quarter. At the helm for a day and two nights.

A blinding snowstorm rounding Cape Cod. Sailing, decks awash. The Gulf Stream beginning to dissolve a crust of ice. The port rail clear. A thick coating reaches far up her starboard side. Ice high into her rigging. One tack all the way from Race Point. Gibed away from the coast.…

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[antoniodias]

Twenty Seven

Actæon’s log:

Jogging north and south under trys’l and reefed stays’l. On station, ten to fifteen miles off Peaked Hill Bar. A cold night. Stars sparkle. Can imagine they make a sound, lost in the wind in the rigging and the sloughing of the wave-crests tumbling by.

(more…)

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[antoniodias]

The Schooner Actæon

In my novel, Shoal Hope a rum-runner sails a schooner named Actæon. It’s larger than this one, loosely based on McCoy’s Arethusa. (more…)

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[antoniodias]

…Peter

A dusting of snow on the sand, A soft white coat. It ends abruptly in a scalloped edge, Like lace. Right where it was touched by the furthest reach of the last high-tide.

Coursing clouds heavy with snow, Thinning. Gaps appear in the gray expanse. The sun peaks through, sending shafts of golden light to bounce off wet sand and dry snow. The surface of the sea is resplendent, A sparkling, emerald…

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[antoniodias]

Garner

Actæon’s log:

Back to the Bahamas. Met with supplier. Joe kept his end. Wired my share.

Actæon lies down-channel, away from the quay. Anchored by the mangroves around a bend. Let the hands go to spend their pay. Do whatever they do when they’re not doing what I tell them. Skilly’s aboard, puttering, staying out of my way as much as he can. Afraid I’ll send him off too.

(more…)

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[antoniodias]

Bahamas

Actæon’s log:

Actæon schooning. A northwesterly blow hard on her starboard quarter. At the helm for a day and two nights.

Blinding snowstorm rounding Cape Cod. Decks awash. Gulf Stream beginning to dissolve a crust of ice girdling her topsides. Port rail clear. Ice far up her starboard side high into her rigging. One tack all the way from Race Point. Gibed away from the coast. Actæonglistened.…

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