Chapter 1

The sun glinted off clear blue water. The only sound was the flap of sails and the splash of waves against the side of the boat. Horatio lifted his head to the warmth and sighed.  He and his friends were staying with Horatio’s Nan and Pop at Cleveland Point for the school holidays. Today they were out sailing in Pop’s two dinghies.

Horatio looked around to see if his friends were enjoying the day as much as he was. Grace lolled in Penelope with him, her hand trailing in the water as the wind caught the sails of the small boat and it picked up speed.

In Odysseus Ming argued with Wheels about who should take the tiller.Not that Wheels actually argued. Ming didn’t give him a chance to get a word in. Wheels’ chair lay folded under the seat and took up almost half the little dinghy. Wheels had been in a wheelchair ever since the car accident, which had killed his father, but it didn’t slow him down at all. He looked as if he’d been around boats all his life.

“How long does it take to get there?” Ming yelled from Odysseus.

Horatio looked at his watch. It was 20 minutes since they’d left the cabin and camping ground at Shippy Point on Shipwreck Island. “If the wind keeps up we should be at Crystal Lake in about ten minutes,” he said.

They were almost at their destination when the roar of a motorboat broke the quiet. Horatio peered into the distance. He couldn’t see the boat, but it sounded like it was moving fast. A minute later a streamlined cruiser appeared almost on top of them.

Ming screamed. Horatio looked back to his friends’ boat, where Ming was waving her arms above her head and jumping up and down, trying to catch the attention of the people on the cruiser. Odysseus wobbled dangerously.The cruiser loomed over the tiny yacht, blotting it in its shadow. It was at least 30 metres long and was travelling too fast so close to the shore. Horatio registered the name painted in large letters on the side, High Jinks.

“Hey!” he shouted. “Watch where you’re going!” The cruiser plowed on a direct path towards his friends, giving Ming and Wheels no chance to avoid it. “Jump and dive!” Horatio yelled.

Ming heard his yell but didn’t appear to understand. “Jump!” Horatio screamed again. Ming tacked to starboard. The sail touched the water. Horatio’s heart jumped into his mouth as the little boat bounced in the wash of the cruiser.

The waves slammed against Odysseus, throwing water all over Wheels, whose chair rocked dangerously. For an agonising minute it looked like the little craft would be safe, and then it slowly turned upside down. Ming screamed and grabbed at Wheels’ chair. The chair rolled over the side, taking Ming and Wheels with it.

By the time Horatio recovered from the shock, the cruiser had already passed them and Penelope bounced in its wash like Ming at a judo competition. Horatio turned her bow away from the wind and let go of the jib. The sails fluttered and collapsed.  Grace still hadn’t moved. She looked terrified.

“Hold the tiller steady!” he yelled. He kicked off his shoes and dived into the water.

Despite the sun, the water was freezing. As he swam towards the upturned dinghy he saw the cruiser continue past them, without offering any help. Surely someone on board must have seen their boats? He squinted. Maybe the sun had blinded them.

Just then, a man came on deck and held a loud hailer to his lips.  “This is private property,” he yelled. “Get out of here.”

He looked directly at Horatio and then turned away before Horatio could reply. At the same time, Wheels and Ming’s heads broke the surface. 

He swam over to them. “Are you okay?”

Ming nodded, too breathless to speak. He looked at Wheels who nodded also. Out of the corner of his eye he could see Grace had brought Penelope next to the upturned Odysseus. The cruiser had slowed, and circled about four hundred metres away from them. The man with the loud hailer had disappeared.

Ming swam to Penelope and slid over the side to land next to Grace, who immediately wrapped a towel around her. She still hadn’t spoken.

“Are you sure you’re okay?

“Stop fussing, Horatio. It was a bit of water, that’s all.” She took a deep gasp of air. “What I want to talk about is that cruiser.”

“The one that made you capsize?”

Ming looked at him as if he was stupid.  “What other cruiser have you seen lately?” She rolled her eyes and Horatio laughed. There was clearly nothing wrong with Ming.

“I mean, what about the cruiser?”

“Just before it hit us I saw a man standing on deck. He looked straight at me and lifted his finger,” Ming said.

Grace gasped. “Are you sure?”

“Totally sure. They ran us down deliberately!”