In the summer of 2011, my brother and I traveled with two friends to Bermuda. Since we have family there, we visit every summer, but decided to bring a couple friends that year. Where we stay normally varies, however, this specific year we stayed on our uncle's island, Zeta Island. Staying on a private island requires creativity and self sufficiency, unless one prefers to spend a majority of the time traveling to the mainland. From our inventiveness and adventurous attitudes, our vacation truly began.
We found a myriad of activities to do once having searched the shed. Our days flew by as we waterskiid, snorkeled, relaxed on the beach, and created bonfires at night.
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As our days were concluding, we felt quite accomplised. However, meandering through the island, we discovered a Hobie Cat sailboat that appeared to be in usable condition. We had no clue how reliable it was, but we decided to attempt sailing it through the Great Sound of Bermuda.
The shed provided all the necessary rigging materials. My uncle assisted us in raising the mainsheet, and attaching the jib and tiller. Normally Hobie Cats are meant for two or three people, but we managed to squeeze six; the uncles were intrigued by our new venture, resulting in two more passengers. We set sail with not a square inch of trampoline space– we were as crammed as sardines in a can.
Our first gust of wind brought such excitement. The sound of the sail whipping into position, and the feel of the boat swiflty moving forward triggered adrenaline pumping through our veins. Though just as quickly as the wind had come, it suddenly dissipated, bringing the boat to a hault. Attempting to harness another gust became a trivial issue compared to what had been brewing, unnoticed. The stern was beginning to sink lower into the water. There were already various boats anchored to watch the sailboat's sorry crew attempt to reverse the irreversible. Suddenly, the boat flipped, catapulting us into the water. I managed to keep my head and camera dry, waiting for four heads to come out of the blue. My brother managed to cling onto a pontoon above water, but soon his strength dwindled, and he slid down to tread with us. We found the situation we were in utterly hilarious, causing most of us to nearly drown from fits of laughter. We eached grabbed a line and fruitlessly pulled, since we had no leverage against the water. The boats around us began to accumulate, including police and news reporters. We tried one more method before allowing the vessel to sink completely: The police attached a line and pulled at full throttle. The boat finally emerged. We clung on in laughter as we were shamefully dragged away from the scene and returned to our island.
Though our adventure ended disastruously, we could not have asked for a better way to culminate our vacation. Our boat was trashed, however, as our stomachs were sore from hysterical laughter, we knew we'd never forget this incident. I still cannot look at the pictures without laughing to myself, and growing a wide smile on my face. This trip taught me that not everything has to go as planned for success to ensue. As long as a person is optimistic and doesn't dwell on the negative, good will come of any situtation. Therefore, this vacation has proved very meaningful to me not only because of how fun it was, but also because of the underlying lessons that it conveyed.
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