The Voyage of the Frog

Later, David stops crying and begins to get the Frog into sailing condition. It has been some time since anyone has boarded it. He pulls out the bags for each sail and works to attach them to their proper places on the mast. All the while, David remembers details that Owen shared with him about the art of sailing, as well as various adventures that they had together at sea. He also thinks about how much the Frog reminds him of Owen—simple, dependable, and all business. When he thinks of his uncle’s ashes sitting in the box below deck, his sadness returns. The wind begins to move the sails, and although it is now evening, David decides that this is the night he will take Owen’s ashes out to sea. He knows that Owen loved sailing at night and believes that this will be the best time for his uncle’s final voyage.

David finishes preparing the Frog and makes his way out of the marina. He uses only the wind to maneuver the boat beyond the harbor, never turning on the motor. He recalls that Owen hated using the motor and scoffed at other sailors who relied on it. Once out of the marina, David immediately notes how different the open water feels, with stronger swells and more wind. He calculates the speed of the boat and uses his compass to chart a course. He plans to sail in a straight line through the night and then turn back in the morning. David suddenly realizes that because he impulsively decided to set sail, he never checked the weather or solidified his plans. He also feels slightly uneasy because he knows that the Frog does not have a radio that he can use to contact the shore or other boats. He reassures himself that everything will be fine and settles in to keep sailing, following the line of the setting sun.

Later that night, David is still awake, thinking about Uncle Owen. He reflects on the fact that Owen’s dream was to study and to learn as much as he could—not just about the ocean, but about the world itself. David admired Owen’s love of knowledge. While he is lost in thought, David looks into the water and sees the blue and green phosphorescent glow of tiny plankton. He is stunned by the beauty of the light. He notices the shadow of another creature beneath the surface and realizes that it is a dolphin. He jumps out of the water at the bow of the boat and admires the boat’s glowing wake. David checks the boat’s current heading and calculates the approximate distance that he has traveled from the coast.

At dawn, David checks the horizon and decides that he has ventured far enough to complete Owen’s last request. He scatters Owen’s ashes into the ocean and prepares to return to Ventura. While adjusting the sails, he realizes that one of them has gotten stuck on a corner of the cabin hatch. He pauses to fix it, and in that moment, he glances out at the swells on the horizon. David notices that there is something very strange about them; it appears as though the tops of the waves have been flattened or cut off. He realizes that the only thing that can cause such a phenomenon is a very intense wind. As this fact dawns on him, the force of the wind from the sudden storm hits the boat. David struggles to take down the sails so that they will not rip and blow away. He tosses them one by one into the cabin below deck, and as he is unfastening the main sail, the beam of the mast strikes him in the head. He is knocked unconscious and falls into the cabin.

David awakens some time later, experiencing intense pain in his head and his shoulder. He is lying on top of the mainsail with several inches of water pooling around him. He understands that The Frog is taking on water through the open hatch and he forces himself to his feet to close it. The physical exertion causes David great pain, and he falls unconscious again. When he reawakens, it is night, and the storm is still raging outside. He forces himself into the corner of one of the bunks before drifting into unconsciousness again. When he awakens later, it is daytime, and the storm has finally subsided. David realizes that at least one entire day must have passed. He checks his head and realizes that it was split open when he was hit by the beam. The pain in his shoulder is improving, and he theorizes that it was dislocated and was later forced back into place by the constant movement of the boat. The cabin is a complete mess. David goes up to the deck above to check for any other damage. The ocean around him is now strangely calm, and there is not a single landmark in sight. Without the resources to calculate how far he has been blown off course, David understands that he is now lost at sea.