Devil's Rock - Chris Speyer [84]
‘There!’ shouted Anusha.
Zaki looked to where she was pointing. At first, he could only see the white crests of waves and then he saw the unmistakable shape of a sail on the far side of the bay.
‘There’s a pair of binoculars in the chart table. Could you fetch them up please?’
‘It’s her all right,’ Anusha said, once she’d got the binoculars focused. ‘But what’s she doing?’
‘Let me see.’
Anusha passed the binoculars to Zaki.
‘Could you take the helm?’
‘What do I do?’
‘Just follow Curlew, but stay up wind of her.’
‘I wish you’d speak English!’
‘I mean that way. A bit out to sea.’
Zaki trained the binoculars on the distant sail. ‘She’s hove-to.’
‘And what does that mean?!’
‘It means she’s not going anywhere. It’s a way of stopping when you’re under sail.’
‘Why would Maunder do that? Does he know we’re following him?’
‘No – I don’t think so.’ Zaki tried to keep the binoculars steady but it wasn’t easy with Morveren pounding along at full tilt. He lost Curlew and found her again. ‘The wind’s too strong for him. He’s reefing.’
‘He’s what?’
‘Making the sails smaller. We should catch up a bit,’ Zaki said, as he and Anusha changed places again.
‘What are we going to do if we do catch them up?’
Zaki had been wondering the same thing. He didn’t have a plan. He just hoped he could do something – anything, to help Michael fight against Maunder. Drive him out like he had driven him out. There had to be a way.
‘I don’t know.’
‘We’ll think of something.’
‘Yeah – we have to catch them first.’
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As the morning wore on, the wind gradually but relentlessly veered from south to south-west and grew in strength until Morveren, leaning at a crazy angle, was driving through the mounting seas. As the wind veered, it freshened. Now streaks of white spray were being blown off the tops of the waves.
The fresher conditions favoured Morveren, as she was the bigger boat. They were definitely gaining on Curlew now, but Zaki knew that if the wind got any stronger they wouldn’t be able to control Morveren. They had to reduce sail. He was reluctant to throw away the ground they had made up but the darkening cloud-bank he could see building to the west told him that worse weather was on the way.
‘I’m going to reef the mainsail.’ Zaki had to shout to make himself heard over the roar of the wind. Do you think you can manage the helm?’
‘I think so. But you’d better tell me what to point at.’
‘You see that far headland? Keep that to starboard.’
‘That’s the right, isn’t it.’
‘Yes.’
‘I’ll do my best.’
With Anusha on the helm, Zaki got to work. Just as he was returning from the side deck, the boat slid down the back of a wave, dug her nose into the next one and sent a torrent of green water flying across her deck, most of which seemed to go down Zaki’s neck.
‘Oi!’
‘Sorry!’
He rejoined Anusha in the comparative shelter of the cockpit.
‘Didn’t mean to soak you,’ Anusha said.
‘Try to take the waves at more of an angle – you’ll keep us drier.’
‘I’ll try. How much further?’
‘Can you see Curlew?’
‘Yes.’
‘Follow the shoreline along to her left. Do you see that tall rock?’
‘Got it.’
‘That’s Devil’s Rock. The entrance is beside the rock.’
‘So they’re almost there?’
‘Yeah – but I can’t believe he’s going to take her in this weather. It’s madness. They don’t even have an engine!’
‘Looks like he’s going to try.’
‘What could be so important?’
‘The treasure? What if he’s made Rhiannon tell him what she did with it?’
‘My God!’
‘What?’
‘He’s not going to try to get into the bay. He’s aiming for the rock! Half tide – the sand bar will still be uncovered – he’s going to beach her at the foot of the rock. He’s a wrecker – he doesn’t care what happens to the boat.’
‘What about Rhiannon? Will he leave her on board?
‘If she is on board.’
They watched as the distance between Curlew and Devil’s Rock gradually diminished.
Anusha suddenly gave a shout, ‘That’s it! Don’t you see? It’s part of his