THE STORM ON THE LAKE

There was a day when I was working on the boat and we got into a big storm on the lake on the way to pick up a load of sand from Black Island.

We left Selkirk in the morning. There was the captain Frank, the mate Earl, the engineer Reuben, the cook Barb, and the two deck hands I and Glen. We were on a boat that was 80 feet long.

When we got out on the lake the wind started to blow a little. Frank was driving the first hour of our six hour shift.

When I started to drive the boat, Frank told me to watch the radar because there was a storm on the north east corner of the lake. We both thought it would just pass on the other side because the wind was coming straight north. Frank went to watch a little TV we kept in the kitchen and to have a snack.

I was watching the radar and keeping an eye on the storm. started to grow. As it got closer, the wind changed.

The waves got bigger and I had to do something fast, so I called Frank the captain by blowing the horn on the boat. When he got to the wheel it was raining really bad. We couldn't even see the barge that's how bad it was raining. The mate came up from his room and the engineer came up, too. The other deck hand was in the kitchen tying the food down.

The engineer went to close up the back of the engine room door. I went to put away the ropes that we keep on the side of the boat.

When I got back to the wheel house the captain told me to look for the barge but we couldn't see it. The mate left to see if the engineer could see the barge.

The water started to come in the windows. Then the captain told me to keep an eye on the wheel for a second; he was going outside to see if he could find the barge. All of a sudden he came in and said it was right beside us and going straight into the wind.

The lake was really bad that day because of how strong the wind was blowing.

E D C Student