The Squall Off the Point

Ines had watched the sky darken over the point for the last twenty minutes, telling herself it was probably just a passing shower. By the time the wind shifted hard from the north, she knew she had waited too long to decide.

Ines sudah dua puluh menit mengamati langit yang menggelap di atas tanjung, meyakinkan dirinya bahwa itu mungkin hanya hujan sesaat. Ketika angin berbalik keras dari utara, ia tahu ia terlalu lama menunda keputusan.

"Reef the main, now!" she called to Rhys, already moving toward the halyard herself. The boat heeled sharply as the first gust hit, spray coming clean over the bow.

"Kecilkan layar utamanya, sekarang!" serunya kepada Rhys, sementara ia sendiri sudah bergerak menuju tali penarik layar. Perahu miring tajam saat embusan pertama menghantam, percikan air melintas bersih di atas haluan.

Rhys scrambled to the mast, fighting the flapping sail as rain began hammering the deck sideways. "How far out are we from the harbor?"

Rhys bergegas ke tiang, berjuang melawan layar yang berkibar-kibar saat hujan mulai menghantam geladak dari samping. "Seberapa jauh kita dari pelabuhan?"

"Four miles, but we're not running for it in this," Ines said, judging the whitecaps building around them. "If we turned downwind now, we'd be overpowered before we got halfway there."

"Empat mil, tapi kita tidak akan lari ke sana dalam kondisi begini," kata Ines, menilai ombak berbuih yang menggulung di sekitar mereka. "Kalau kita berbelok searah angin sekarang, kita sudah kewalahan sebelum sampai setengah jalan."

Once the reef was set, the boat steadied slightly, though it still pitched hard against the swell. Ines held the tiller with both hands, watching the compass rather than the horizon, which had disappeared into gray.

Setelah lipatan layar terpasang, perahu sedikit stabil, meskipun masih terhempas keras melawan ombak. Ines memegang kemudi dengan kedua tangan, menatap kompas, bukan cakrawala, yang sudah lenyap ditelan kelabu.

"There's a cove just east of the point," she shouted over the wind. "Sheltered, if we can reach it before this gets worse."

"Ada teluk kecil tepat di sebelah timur tanjung," teriaknya mengalahkan angin. "Terlindung, kalau kita bisa mencapainya sebelum cuaca makin buruk."

Rhys nodded, bracing himself against the cockpit rail as another wave broke over the side. "You've sailed in here before?"

Rhys mengangguk, menahan tubuh di pagar kokpit saat gelombang lain pecah di sisi perahu. "Kamu pernah berlayar ke sini sebelumnya?"

"Once, years ago. I remember the entrance is narrow, but it's deep enough."

"Sekali, bertahun-tahun lalu. Aku ingat pintu masuknya sempit, tapi cukup dalam."

They tacked twice against the wind, the boat groaning with each turn. At last the cliffs of the cove rose ahead of them, cutting the worst of the wind. The water inside calmed almost immediately, the roar behind them fading to something more distant.

Mereka berputar haluan dua kali melawan angin, perahu berderit pada setiap putaran. Akhirnya tebing-tebing teluk itu menjulang di depan mereka, memotong angin yang terburuk. Air di dalamnya langsung tenang, deru di belakang mereka memudar menjadi sesuatu yang lebih jauh.

Ines dropped anchor with hands that were only now beginning to shake. "That was closer than I'd have liked."

Ines menjatuhkan jangkar dengan tangan yang baru sekarang mulai gemetar. "Tadi lebih dekat dari yang kuinginkan."

"You read that squall better than I would have," Rhys said, wringing out his soaked jacket. "I'd have tried to outrun it."

"Kamu membaca badai itu lebih baik daripada yang bisa kulakukan," kata Rhys sambil memeras jaketnya yang basah kuyup. "Aku pasti sudah mencoba mendahuluinya."

"Running would've been faster, if it had worked," Ines admitted. "It's the 'if' I wasn't willing to bet on."

"Berlari memang bisa lebih cepat, kalau berhasil," Ines mengakui. "Kata 'kalau' itulah yang tidak mau kupertaruhkan."

They sat in the sheltered water until the worst of the storm passed overhead, watching the point they'd nearly rounded disappear behind curtains of rain.

Mereka duduk di perairan yang terlindung itu sampai badai terburuk berlalu di atas kepala, menyaksikan tanjung yang nyaris mereka lewati menghilang di balik tirai hujan.