BOATS

Loud techno shakes the living room. The crews from competing boats have gathered for a night of camaraderie before heading into battle. Someone is smoking a joint in the kitchen. Hudnut is chatting with Jeremy, his roommate, who is the captain of Mustang’s rival boat, Equus. Steaks are on the grill, though Hudnut won’t be partaking. (“I only eat what I kill,” he explains.) Momentarily, the rain lets up and Hudnut heads outside to the patio. His crew surrounds him, including Pascal, an older Frenchman with a mangled hand. A quiet blonde girl named Meghan watches with undisguised longing as he holds court. “It’s hard being transient,” Hudnut sighs. “You make friends and have relationships, but you’re always in transition.” He gets up to grab another beer. Meghan’s eyes follow him.

✯✯✯

Early the next morning, Hudnut is already hanging high on the mast, adjusting the stays. The boat won’t depart for another two hours, but he’s been working since dawn. Last

year, Mustang won the Opera House Cup and Hudnut is determined to defend his title. Yesterday Mustang sailed poorly, finishing sixth. The sailmakers blamed the performance on a loose mast, which squanders wind power. So Hudnut endlessly readjusts the stays, trying to keep the mast from becoming too tight, which makes the boat jittery and hard to control.

Soon, the forty-five-strong fleet gathers on the water. Mustang, Equus, and the other sloops and yawls approach the third start (the starting times are staggered according to ship type) while trying not to breach the starting plane, an imaginary line that runs between the committee boat and a buoy. Since it’s impossible to reverse or brake, the start is like playing chicken with the clock. It takes both skill and an auspicious wind to cruise over the line at exactly the right time with good speed and in a good direction. Early starters are docked precious minutes, while late starters get weaker air and poor position. Nick, a John Belushi look-alike with an uncanny ability to read the wind, stands at the Mustang’s