by Ann Bryant
Another huge gasp filled the pool area and I snatched a glance at Mrs. Truman and the other two ladies who I noticed were also standing on the side. Not one of them moved at all – not even a twitch – which made me think that Ryan must have fallen in on purpose. But I could see quite a few girls who were still looking shocked and others who were laughing.
A moment later he heaved himself out of the pool, dripping wet but smiling all over his face. “There you are, girls. Falling in is nothing to worry about. That’s the first lesson. So what if you’ve got all your clothes on? Yes, it might be a bit cold, but there’s no need to dwell on that – you just need to think safety. So, let’s get started. My name’s Ryan, as I said, and I’m from the Pollington Water Sports Club. Here’s our logo!” He tapped the red and pale blue picture on his shirt. It seemed to be of two trees growing towards each other on an island in the middle of a lake. But when I looked closely I saw that the trees were actually a pair of oars with a sail in the middle. “This is Celia, and this is Penny,” he went on, introducing the two ladies, who were also wearing dark blue polo shirts with the same logo, only they had shorts on rather than combats.
“Hi!” they said, giving us a little wave.
I thought they looked really nice and friendly, and a little of my nervousness dissolved – but only a little. We’d not started the session yet and I had no idea how on earth anyone was expected to balance in such a narrow boat that didn’t even have a flat bottom. And worse, it looked like you had to sit on it, not in it.
“Right we’re here today to learn what to do if ever you should happen to…fall in.” He gave a little chuckle. “Which is most unlikely, because the boats you learn in are sturdier than this. We call this the capsize drill. It’s something we have to practise before we set out on the lake and start sculling properly. I’m going to choose five people to stay here and work with me and Celia on that, while the rest of you go off to the shallow end with Penny. Then we’ll swap to another five and so on. Now, I’ve already checked with Mrs. Truman and I know you’re all good, confident swimmers so it doesn’t matter who I choose. Right…” He was looking over the heads of the people at the front to the ones at the back, like me and Izzy. I tried to shrink away from his gaze so he wouldn’t pick me, but it didn’t work. I was the first one he pointed to, and Izzy was the second. Then there were three Year Eights – Kerry, Rhianna and Poppy.
Penny gathered everyone else around her and they went off to the shallow end. Izzy and I exchanged scared looks and I think Ryan must have noticed, because he quickly told us there was nothing to worry about, and that the boats we were going to use at Pollington Water were called stable sculls. “That means it’s pretty much impossible to fall in,” he grinned, “as they’ve got flat bottoms! We’re only practising in this racing scull because it’s so much easier to turn over.”
“So will we be in stable boats for the whole course?” asked Poppy.
“Probably, yes, because it’s most unusual to progress to a racing boat in the short amount of training that you’ll be having. Although some of you might move on from Virus singles to a double for two people, or quad scull for four. And in case you’re wondering, ‘Virus’ is just the make of the boat.”
Izzy and I exchanged an anxious look. We’d been so sure we’d be sculling together in a double boat. But we had to quickly put that thought out of our minds and concentrate on what Ryan was doing. He was back in the water, and a moment later, with what seemed like no effort at all, he’d got himself into the boat. At exactly the same time there came a loud splash, followed by a lot of laughter from the shallow end, and I was aware of everyone around me looking over to see what was happening. But I wasn’t interested. I couldn’t take my eyes off the oars that rested gently on the water at either side of the beautiful racing scull, like they were part of it.
“Right,” began Ryan, “I’ve got my feet in the special shoes which are attached to the boat, and I’m just going to throw away the blades – or oars, if that’s what you prefer to call them – then immediately hold on tight to the riggers, which are the metal bits on the side of the boat. And once the boat has rolled over, I’ll slip my feet out of the shoes. Here we go!” He did exactly as he’d said and we watched him go right under for just a couple of seconds, then quickly come up and loop his arm over the upturned boat.
My heart was beating faster as I tried to understand the feeling that was coming over me. I couldn’t work out if I was really scared or really excited, but I thought it might be a mixture of both.
“Have we all got to do that?” asked Kerry, which made one or two people laugh.
“Yes!” said Ryan plainly. “But just for now we are going to work with this upturned boat, okay?” His expression became much more serious as he continued. “Now, if you’re near the side of the lake when you fall in, the obvious thing to do would be simply to tow the boat in, and it’s much easier if it’s the right way up. But imagine you’re far away from the side. One option would be to right the boat, get back in and row back. Can anyone think of a reason why you might not right the boat, though?”
Ryan was looking around at us waiting to see if anyone knew the answer, when the shape of the upturned boat that was right before my eyes in the middle of our pool gave me an idea. But I didn’t think I dared to speak in case it was stupid. If only I could whisper it to Izzy first to see what she thought… So I leaned towards her – and Ryan spotted me straight away.
“Girl with the blue eyes…what do you think?” He was smiling at me in a kind way, so I plucked up all my courage and decided to risk it.
“Er…is it easier to cling to the boat when it’s upside down?”
“Absolutely! Well done…er?”
He was waiting for me to say my name. “Sasha.”
“Good answer, Sasha. And why might you cling to the boat rather than getting back in?”
“Because you might be too scared or hurt or something,” answered Kerry.
“That’s right,” said Ryan.
“And if anyone was watching, they’d realize you were in trouble when they saw the upside-down boat,” added Rhianna.
As Rhianna had been talking I was imagining how freezing cold and frightening it would be to be stuck clinging to your upturned boat far from the side of a lake, and I did a little shiver just at the thought of it.
“Good!” said Ryan to Rhianna. “And if possible you should try to get out of the water and on top of the upturned boat. Why is that?” His eyes swept over us again, and I quickly answered before I had time to worry that I might not be right.
“Because the water would be so cold…I mean colder than the air.”
“Yes, absolutely. And it’s important to keep your body temperature up. Well done! Actually you can do a kind of surf paddle with your hands while you’re lying on top of the boat, but for now let’s just get you used to climbing onto it. Only before that, we need you all in the water.” He rubbed his hands. “You can jump in, if you’re feeling confident, or slither in, if you want the torture method!”
We looked at each other and shivered, then every single one of us sat down on the side ready to slide ourselves in.
“Come on, girls! Be brave!” said Celia, jumping in with a big splash to set a good example.
No one took up her challenge, though, and I wondered whether Ryan and Celia thought we were a bit of a pathetic lot. They’d probably done this drill at loads of schools, and I didn’t want them going away thinking that Silver Spires was for wimps. If only Bryony had been with us, she would have jumped in and not even thought about it.
The water seemed cold at first and it felt funny wearing clothes in the pool, so we all started treading water frantically, while we watched Celia demonstrating how to climb onto the upturned boat.
“Okay, Sasha, you go first!” she said as she slithered off. “Don’t worry, Ryan will keep the boat steady if you need him, and I’m here to help too.”
I felt quite nervous to start with, be
cause I was certain I was going to wobble around or fall in, but surprisingly I managed to scramble on straight away without Ryan or Celia helping me, and the moment I was lying on my tummy on top of that boat, I felt a lovely thrill, as though something had clicked in place inside me.
“Fantastic!” said Ryan, giving me a friendly grin. “Who’s next?”
So one at a time the other four did exactly what I’d just done, but I felt so proud because no one seemed to manage it quite so easily as I had.
“You were great,” said Izzy when she’d had her turn. “It took me loads longer than you!”
“Okay, now I’m going to turn the boat the right way up and you can take turns towing it to the side,” said Ryan. “Listen to Celia.”
“The front of the scull is called the bow,” she said, pronouncing “bow” to rhyme with “cow”. “And this is the end you should hold firmly, like this, with two hands.” She was lying on her back. “Now watch how I use a kind of kicking action, a bit like treading water… See how my head stays clear of the water so I can keep a look out.” She stayed in that position as she towed the boat to the side. Then she guided it gently back to the middle, and asked me to be the first to have a go again.
I swam up to the boat, then suddenly started worrying. Desperate to get my turn over with, I quickly grabbed the front – I mean the bow – trying to imitate Celia’s demonstration. I heaved myself up with a big kick, so my head was well out of the water and I could see over the boat. And, finally, I kicked my legs and started moving back towards the side of the pool, clinging on hard to the boat with my hands.
“Well, that was absolutely brilliant!” said Celia. “You seem like a complete natural, Sasha. You didn’t need me at all! Well done!”
I’d been feeling cold, but Celia’s words warmed me up more than the hottest sun could have done. I was so relieved and happy that I’d managed to do the first two exercises right, and Celia thought I was a natural. I couldn’t wait to tell Mum and Dad! But a moment later I felt guilty for only thinking about my own success, because it was Izzy’s turn now and she was really struggling to get the boat moving the right way.
“I was hopeless,” she said through her shivers, as she swam over and clung to the side with me. I put my arm round her and told her she was fine.
“Well done, all of you!” said Ryan after the three Year Eights had had their turns. “Off you go to the shallow end, and then, when the other two groups have had a go, we’ll bring you lot back for the full capsize.”
Holly was one of the group that had their turn after us, and, while we were having fun with Penny at the shallow end, I couldn’t help noticing how Holly was getting on with the same moves that we’d just done. As I expected, she managed everything really easily and got lots of praise from Celia and Ryan. But then, when everyone from her group had had a turn and they were about to swap to the last group of girls, Holly asked when they were actually going to practise capsizing.
“All in good time,” said Ryan.
Holly nodded but she looked a bit sulky as her group swapped places and came to join the rest of us. We were diving for coins at the bottom of the pool. Penny had thrown them in because she wanted to see how well we could hold our breath underwater.
When Ryan finally announced that the moment we’d all been waiting for had arrived, I felt my old nervousness creeping back.
“First group back here please for the capsizing of the boat!” he called and we swam towards the deep end, where we clung anxiously to the side, muttering about how scared we were. But Ryan cut through all our nervous chatter. “Okay, watch carefully while I do another quick demo.”
I noticed again how smoothly he got himself into the scull without Celia steadying it for him, and held onto the oars – I mean, blades – so easily. Then he kept his balance as he explained to us that he was going to pretend to lose control.
“Remember that the first thing is to release the blades, and then hold on tight to the riggers. Then you’ll roll into the water and go under and you can slide your feet out of the shoes and pop back up again. Now this time I want you to imagine you’re in rough water, so you’ll need to cling to the boat before it gets swept away. Notice how, once I’ve gone under and come up again, I grab onto the boat as soon as I can. Okay, here we go!”
Ryan threw away the blades just like the last time, rolled the scull over and, in what seemed like no time at all, he’d popped back up to the surface and looped his arm over the upturned boat. “Right, let’s start with Sasha again. Celia will help you to get in, Sasha, and I’ll be steadying the scull.”
Celia smiled and held out her hand to me, then she showed me exactly where to place both my hands and how to push down against the top of the boat to lift myself out of the water. After that, I knew I had to swing my feet in and kind of lift myself as best I could onto the seat. I was very tense and felt as though I was using all my strength, but, incredibly, I managed it first go. Celia said I did it amazingly well, which sent another little surge of pride whizzing through me.
“That’s it, now get hold of the blades,” she said.
“And in a moment I’m going to let go of the boat,” Ryan called to me. “Stay calm, just let go of the blades and hold on, then get your feet out of the shoes once you’ve rolled over and fallen in. Celia will be there if you need her. Here we go then!”
I was bracing myself, all ready to roll into the water the second Ryan let go – and then he had, and yet I wasn’t rolling. The boat seemed to be staying upright. I felt absolutely brilliant.
“Nice one!” called Ryan.
But from the other end of the pool came Holly’s loud voice. “It’s not that hard to balance when the blades are resting on the water.” And it was as though her words had broken a spell, because I suddenly felt as though I was losing my balance and a second later I found myself in the water. I’d let go of the blades and released my feet from the shoes without even realizing, and I was coming up to the surface. Gasping for breath, straight away I grabbed the boat, and that’s when I heard clapping.
“Well done, Sasha!” called Izzy from the side.
Ryan did a big whoop. “Excellent stuff, Sasha. Good work!”
I had never blushed so deeply. It felt fantastic.
In our dorm that night we all lay in bed and talked for ages after we’d turned our lights out. We often whisper in the dark, once the person on duty has popped her head round the door to tell us it’s time for lights out, and then been round a few minutes later to check we’ve done it. Tonight we were trying to cheer Izzy up, because she hadn’t really enjoyed anything during the session in the pool, and I felt really sorry for her.
“You were so good and I was so rubbish,” she wailed.
“No you weren’t!” I kept telling her. “Anyway, remember, Ryan said that there’s no way we can fall out of the flat-bottomed stable sculls, so you won’t have to worry about that tomorrow.”
Izzy seemed to cheer up after that, and we were all quiet for a while. Personally, I was thinking about the phone call I’d had with Dad before we’d had to hand our mobiles in to Matron. Mum had been putting the twins to bed, so I’d spoken to Dad for ages, telling him all about the capsize drill and how well I’d done. I was dying to tell Mum too, but she was so long with the twins that in the end Dad promised she’d phone me back the next day.
“Shall I tell her what you’ve told me, or would you rather tell her yourself tomorrow, Sash?”
“It’s okay, you can tell her, Dad.”
“Well, she’ll be really pleased, I’m sure.”
I did want her to be pleased, of course, but more than that I wanted her to be really interested and maybe a bit proud of me. But then, when I came to think about it, there was nothing for her to feel proud about really. All I’d done was to survive the first session of the course and not let myself down too badly. It was nothing great, it just felt great to me, because I’d been so worried about it.
“Holly was good, wasn’t
she?” came Izzy’s sleepy voice from the semi darkness.
I thought back to the way Holly had rolled the scull so easily when her group had finally had a go at capsizing, just as though she was playing with a toy.
“Yes, she was great.”
And then I imagined us all out on Pollington Water in our stable sculls the next day, and a part of me couldn’t help feeling a bit sad that I wouldn’t be in one of those beautiful racing sculls. That thought made me smile. Something had changed inside me. The racing scull didn’t fill me with fear any more. It filled me with…excitement. And ambition.
Chapter Three
I woke up really early on Sunday. It was as though my mind was prodding me out of my sleep, saying, Remember, this is the day when you’re going to get your first proper taste of sculling!
Emily, as usual, was already up. On Sundays we always have a lie-in because it’s the one day of the week when there aren’t any lessons. But, even on Sundays, Emily seems to wake up early. She says it’s because she’s lived on a farm all her life and can’t break the habit of getting up to help with the milking.
“I’m going to the garden,” she said, rushing off. “See you at breakfast, Sash.”
Emily is never still for a moment. She hates flopping about and chilling more than anyone I know. When she’s got any free time, she’s always outside gardening or just breathing in the fresh air, because she’s so used to the big open spaces in Ireland where she comes from.
Last night Bryony, Nicole and Antonia told me they planned to have a lovely lie-in this morning, then after breakfast they were going to take Mrs. Pridham’s advice. “Silver Spires is so beautiful in the summer term,” she’d said, “go and have a wander round Pets’ Place and down to the athletics field. Explore the back of the boarding houses or sit on the grassy slope behind the main building. There’s a wonderful view across the countryside from there.”
