July 31, 1983

Phil could still remember his excitement when he had first heard that Dad was helping the new commodore organize a junior regatta. Every year, he had watched his parents and his grandparents compete in the regatta, wishing that he could be in the boat with them. Now, it was his chance to be the skipper, and he didn't want to screw up his first chance at being a real sailor.

It was the last race in the regatta, and Phil knew that this would determine whether he and his sister would win. For most of the regatta, he hadn't thought too much of winning. Holly was the competitive one most of the time, and she had made sure that Phil didn't sail too badly in the first two races. She had taken over the tiller when Phil gave up in the middle of the first race, and she had pulled in the sail to go faster when Phil had debated over whether he should just let Theo win the second race. However, going into the third race, Phil knew that he and Holly were in third place, and if he did well in this race, then he might be able to win the whole regatta.

Grandma and Grandpa came over to breakfast the morning before the race. Grandpa, always an expert in making his overly high expectations clear to his grandchildren, told Phil and Holly exactly what he wanted out of them. "You two have to win this race," Grandpa said. "This family has always been successful in the Clearwater Lake Regatta, and I expect that to continue with the junior regatta."

"Okay, Grandpa," Holly said, rolling her eyes.

"We'll try our best," Phil said, eager to please Grandpa. He wanted to make the elder Morrisons happy, even if that was sometimes impossible. Phil wanted to believe that he could win this race, but at the same time, losing seemed far more likely.

Phil finished off his breakfast, and then he headed outside. "Good luck, Phil," Dad said.

"You'll do great," Grandma added.

"Thank you," Phil said. "Holly, are you ready?"

Holly drank the rest of her orange juice, bolted up from her seat, and ran after Phil. "I'm not so sure about this, Phil," she said once both of them were outside.

"What are you talking about?" Phil asked as he adjusted his glasses.

"I don't know if it will be possible for us to win the regatta," Holly said. "We're too far behind at this point."

"We're in third," Phil said. "That's not too far behind."

"We'd have to win this race to win the regatta," Holly said. "There are sixteen year olds out there - we won't beat them."

Phil looked out over the lake, where there were already sailboats lined up for the start of the regatta. Holly was right - several of the other sailors were far older than them, and that would make it nearly impossible to win. However, Phil knew sixteen year olds that were terrible sailors. Older sailors weren't necessarily better, but if the older sailors were more experienced, that did give them a definite advantage.

As Phil entered the boat, he watched the other boats and worried about how his impending loss would affect Dad. He was the one who had set up the junior regatta in the first place. If Phil didn't win, then maybe he wouldn't put it on next year. The regular regatta was an annual event, but this was the first time that Clearwater Lake had offered a regatta for the junior league. Phil desperately wanted this tradition to continue, and he worried that his Dad wouldn't keep it going if his children didn't win.

Phil's hands were shaking as he steered the boat towards the starting line. "Phil, what's wrong with you?" Holly asked.

"I don't know," Phil said. "I think I'm just nervous."

"Relax, Phil," Holly said. "You'll be okay."

"Thanks, Holly," Phil said. Sometimes, it frustrated him that his little sister was a better sailor than he was. She was only twelve - what did she know that he didn't? However, it was nice to have Holly on his team.

To be honest, the race itself wasn't the only thing that was worrying Phil. In less than a month, he would be a freshman at West Clearwater Lake High School. Phil didn't quite think of himself as a high schooler yet, but he would have all of the older sailors as classmates before too long. He didn't know why, but the idea of wandering through crowded hallways as the smallest fourteen year old in Clearwater Lake terrified him. Phil didn't want to think about high school now, but it was a thought that just wouldn't leave his mind.

Phil eventually reached the starting line, but when the race began, he couldn't get past the line soon enough. By the time Phil and Holly made it over the starting line, there were two boats that were almost to the first buoy. "We're never going to win," Phil said.

"Isn't that what I've been telling you all along?" Holly said.

His sister's sarcasm made Phil laugh, and he grabbed the tiller and steered towards the buoy. It took them a while, but eventually, Phil and Holly did catch up. It helped that one of the first boats past the starting line had gotten stuck going around the first buoy. Phil and Holly easily went around that boat, and when he saw that the captain was a high schooler from out of town, he grinned. Now heading towards the second buoy, Phil's confidence began to grow.

Still, Phil and Holly were in fourth place. Phil recognized the boat directly ahead of them as Theo's, and although he was reluctant to pass his best friend, Holly insisted that they could pass Theo on the second leg of the race. As Phil's boat glided past Theo's, he waved to the boy in the other boat, and of course, Theo waved back. "When did you get so good at sailing, Phil?" Theo called, but Phil didn't have time to respond. They were approaching the second buoy, and he had to focus.

Now, there were only two boats ahead of Phil and Holly, but he was starting to think that he would have to settle for second place. Dad would be disappointed, and Grandpa would probably give him some sort of lecture about the family legacy, but there was nothing that Phil could do. The winning boat was too close to the finish line for Phil to win.

Phil and Holly easily overtook the boat ahead of them, but he was losing hope. A boat that proudly advertised itself as being from the Iris Lake Yacht Club was about to cross the finish line, and even as Phil and Holly powered ahead at full speed, Phil was still certain that he couldn't do it. He could already see his father's disapproving frown and his mother's gentle condolences. Second place was better than Phil usually did in sailing, but in the Morrison family, second place was still a loss.

Phil and Holly raced towards the finish line, crossing their fingers that another boat wouldn't pass them at the very end. They were approaching the boat from Iris Lake, and as the two boats passed over the finish line, they were neck and neck. When Seaclusion III was all the way over the finish line, Phil had to look back to see that the Iris Lake boat was behind them. Holly and Phil had won the race.

"We did it!" Phil exclaimed to his sister. He gave her a high five, and then looked towards the judges' boat.

"Congratulations!" Mom exclaimed from the boat. "I'm so proud of you two."

Phil smiled, but he knew that she would have said that even if he and Holly had placed in last. "Thanks, Mom," he said.

Phil watched the Iris Lake boat sail to the shore, and then he focused his attention on the other sailors in the race. Theo ended up finishing in fourth, and Phil was there for him when he was done with the race. "Congratulations, Theo," Phil said to him as Theo did a victory lap around Phil's boat.

"No, congratulations to you," Theo said. "You beat me."

"I really don't know how I did that," Phil said.

"By being a good sailor?" Theo suggested.

"I'm not that good," Phil insisted.

"You're lying," Theo said. "Anyways, do you want to go over to my house to celebrate?"

"I'd like to, but I should probably talk to my dad first," Phil said.

Phil still couldn't quite believe what had happened. Against all odds, he had succeeded, and now, he knew that he was making his dad proud. He steered toward the shore, while Holly got distracted by a fish swimming alongside their boat. Phil rolled his eyes and took control of both the sheet line and the tiller, sailing home on his own.

As Holly tied the boat to the pier, Phil jumped out of the boat and ran into the house, full of glee. Dad was waiting for Phil at the door, and he gave Phil a hug when he entered the house. "I'm so proud of you," Dad said, and Phil grinned. "Now, where did Holly go?"

"I don't know," Phil responded. "I think she's still taking the sail down."

Holly then entered the house, complaining, "Why didn't you help me, Phil?"

"I didn't think that you needed help," Phil said.

"I didn't need help, but help would have been nice," Holly said.

"You two don't need to argue," Dad said. "I'm just glad that you two won."

"Will there be another junior regatta next year?" Phil asked.

"Of course there will," Dad said, and both Phil and his sister cheered. It was quite possibly the first and last time that they agreed on anything.

"Phil, you'll sail with me again next year, right?" Holly said.

"Of course," Phil said. As much as he sometimes hated his sister, he would always enjoy sailing with her.

"I bet we'll win again next year too," Holly said.

"I'm not so sure about that," Phil said.

"I am," Holly said. "We did it once, so we can do it again."

Phil just ignored his sister, and she went into her room to go read a book. He was still certain that his success was a fluke. However, that didn't make him any less proud of himself. He was glad that he had managed to win the regatta, even if he would probably never do it again.

Then again, there was no shortage of chances to try again. Phil didn't know for sure what the future would hold, but he did know that he would always be a sailor. It was ingrained in him, and no matter how old Phil got, he knew that he would be sailing in races like these. Sailing was a part of Phil that nobody could ever take away.

Sometimes, it scared Phil that he only had two more years left in the junior league. After that, he would be a real adult, but for now, he could afford not to think about that. His grandparents were here now, back from watching the regatta, and they were showering Phil with affection, telling Phil and Holly about how they were great sailors and how they were the future of Clearwater Lake sailing.

This sort of bliss was new to Phil, and even though he knew that it was fleeting, he wanted to hang onto it. He wished that his whole life could be like this, where he could do what he loved, and his whole family would love him for it.

Phil wanted to hang onto his moment of success, but before he knew it, it was over, and everyone was talking about next week's race. He would just have to try again next weekend if he wanted to win again.