It happened at first sight!

Editors' Choice Winner

Lionel was in his element, at the helm of his C-class catamaran, “The Racer”, flying at nearly twice the speed of wind, over the smooth waters of the Red Sea. He looked back at the land in the distance and checked the dashboard, quickly ascertaining from the ship’s instruments that he was about ten miles from the port of Dubai. The sea was blue and clear and the shadowy shapes of numerous fish of various shapes and sizes swimming made him feel part of nature.  Overhead, a plane of Air Arabia had just taken off, the noise of its engine temporarily overpowering the natural sounds of the sea.

Hardly thirty minutes had elapsed since Lionel had departed and set sail from Port Rasheed intending to sail the miles of seas along the Arabian Gulf for as long and far as he could. It was around the beginning of March when the heat was starting to flirt with the coolness of a receding winter. And Lionel was enjoying every moment, his senses tuned to the sea.

But what was he doing out here all alone? Running away from his feelings or looking for them?

Reminiscing the past year since he left South Africa for Dubai, and particularly the day when he had heard about the group of fifty young men and women, all sea lovers and sailing aficionados who had come together to form a club, calling it “All Sails,” dedicated to encouraging the passions of sea lovers. Lionel was soon a dedicated member of this multinational group of young and middle aged people. The meetings of “All Sails” were excitingly full of multihued accents yakking about the seas, sailing experiences, the waters, boats, yachts, engines, rigging….to name a few. Lionel had never missed any get together or meeting. Except for the one today. Not that he was averse to the event, but that he wanted to get his mind off Daniela.

It was on his tenth meeting at “All Sails” that he had met Daniele, the most vivacious and appealing woman he had ever seen in his whole life of 28.  He remembered the instant he saw her, it was fresh in his mind as though it were yesterday. Entering the room of Hotel Rotana, in downtown Deira Dubai, where  an “All Sails” meeting was being held two months ago, hand raised in greeting to his friend Hans from Berlin, when he suddenly stopped, as though a large wave arose. His heart started pounding; his eyes took in a lady, her blonde hair flowing gracefully over her shoulders, her body lithe and athletic, standing beside the coffee table. She was wearing a long flowing gown, off white and body hugging. It seemed to flow on her body accentuating every contour, and, like the most exquisite of waterfalls, called all too rapt attention to her without saying a thing.

He must have been staring a life time when, possibly feeling his eyes on her, she turned and her eyes locked with his in a surprise look and the hint of a blush. In the blink of an eye, life changed that instant.  He fell in love with her.

Heart thumping, he went forward, saying, “Hello, there. I’m Lionel, am from Manchester”

And was rewarded, with a soft voice, “ Hi, am Daniela and I am from Miami” and a look into the most magnificent eyes he had ever seen, blue as the oceans and skies and with a liveliness to it that he soon forgot the rest of the people present.      “I’m new to this part of the world, though not new to the seas. I sail very often in Miami and love scuba diving,” she continued.

“I sail as well; my craft of choice is a catamaran. I learnt sailing when studying in Auckland, and now have landed me a job in Dubai.” Lionel replied.

She could see the burning interest in his eyes and blushed red. Eyes locked, he took her arm and she quietly followed him to the window overlooking the magnificent view of the Dubai skyline. They spoke a million words without uttering a sound. What was this all about, they both wondered.

Reality was the intruder when he heard her saying that she was engaged to be married to a leading businessman. Still, she reciprocated his interest with no sign of rejecting him. Placing her hand on his, she said,” Do you attend these meets often? I would love to come and meet everyone”

The touch of her hand remained with Lionel as he went back to his apartment later in the night. And he knew that he would do his best to woo her to him or remain celibate for the rest of his life.  He could not think of life with any other woman.

Her interest in the seas and sailing drew them closer and closer and they met at every meeting, each Tuesday.  Their mutual happiness was patently evident.  Their excitement was palpable at every “All Sails” meeting, the yearning for fulfilment so strong, it was almost physical.

The “All Sails” club had organised a ball for thanksgiving and it was scheduled to be held in the ball room of the well known Jumeirah Beach Hotel in Dubai. Lionel looked forward to the day, planning to dance with Daniela. When he arrived at the hotel, dressed in a stylish three piece suit, he saw her entering the foyer, dressed in a shimmering green dress with a shawl draped over her left shoulder. She was stunning and every person gave way for her. BUT, she was walking on the hand of a very distinguished looking gentleman in a tuxedo. This looked liked her fiancé, Lionel thought. Feeling jealous, Lionel studiously avoided talking to her. Instead, picking up a glass of beer, he launched into a spirited discussion with his friend Hans.

Lionel’s friends could recognise his emotions under his spirited conversation, and cautioned him to relax saying, there was nothing that he could do.  Tasting rejection was no easy pill to swallow, Lionel soon figured out and, letting Hans know, he left the ball quietly. Heading to the port, he took off on his catamaran, preferring to be alone, with the seas and fish for company!

As the catamaran glided effortlessly, he could see Hammour and King fish swimming in the sea. And, by gosh, was that a shark fin just ahead! Overhead the sea gulls flew in their ever ending search for food from nature’s larder, the sea.  The silence was so peaceful in contrast with his emotional turmoil. Lionel decided to drop anchor for a while. He had brought along fishing tackle and bait and soon threw a line overboard.  The water was mild, undulating and the seas were peaceful. A wind was blowing inland, probably time for water to flow ashore for the high tide. Lionel was feeling drowsy and nodded off.

He awoke with a start. A few miles away, he could see two fishing boats headed to the open seas with their cages loaded.  Holding his fishing line, relaxed and patient, he looked into the distance and wondered at his whole experience in such a short while. His thoughts went deeper and deeper until he was so absorbed he almost missed the Hammour biting on the sardine- baited hook. But snapped alert with the bending fishing rod and, reeling in the line, soon landed a fat five pounder beside him. Fisherman and fish eyed each other.  Was it a lost battle? Lionel decided to let the fish have another chance and he dropped it back into the sea, where it was soon gone. He looked at the sea which was starting to heave. The wind had increased and clouds were accumulating. Was it going to rain, he wondered? But saw no cause for alarm.

Far ahead, he saw a yacht with its blazing lights and wondered at the antics of those aboard. He idly wondered how long it had been there. Turning away, he soon turned back because something caught his attention. Was someone waving out from the yacht?  Taking out his night vision binoculars from below, he trained it on the yacht and saw three people on the top deck waving a white cloth. They seemed to be frantically waving out and screaming.  Were they in trouble? Lionel did not hesitate and soon turned around and shot his catamaran towards the yacht. For sure, they were in trouble, he discovered on reaching and possibly big trouble. “Our yacht collided with a fishing boat and sprung a bad leak, the fuel tanks were damaged and water had entered, effectively putting an end to the engine,” said two gents. The yacht was listing to the port side, he observed. They also had two women onboard, he learnt and were very worried.

Lionel was not sure how he could help them short of calling for help. Meanwhile the wind had increased and the sea was starting to get rough. Lionel realised that he would have to get out of there else he would also be in trouble. But had to try and help them immediately. His catamaran could hold one more, possibly two.

“Can you take the ladies to shore and send help for us?” one of the gents asked.

“Sure, I can try,” said Lionel, a little worried at the request, because any accompanying person or persons would need to be not only agile but also savvy of the movements of the catamaran. Lionel’s amazement turned to tongue tied shyness when he saw that one of the women was no other than Daniela, who looked more beautiful than he had ever seen her. Had she also bunked the “All Sails” ball? he wondered. They shimmied down the rope ladder of the yacht and onto the catamaran. Lionel readied to sail, assuring the men that he would inform the coast guard and return soon. With studious care for the comfort of the ladies with him, a dreamy look on his face, he turned his catamaran and sailed smoothly towards shore.

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