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“If they’re going on the grotto tour, then where are we going?” I ask Andries, who seems to revel in my curiosity.
He is baiting me, I’m sure of it, and it’s starting to get on my nerves.
“We are going to do something a little bit different.” He smirks, raising his hand to wave at a man that is approaching us. Dressed in a solid black wetsuit, I’ve never seen this new person before, and it’s becoming clearer by the second that my friend and his new companion Johan have something up their sleeves.
“Ah! You’re finally here!” The man in the wetsuit yells as he gets close.
Andries holds out his hand and shakes his hand enthusiastically. “Thank you so much for having us,” he all but gushes, more excited than I’ve seen him in days. He turns to me, eyes glinting with anticipation, and tells me, “We’re going to sail on our own! We’ll be on a Persico 69F.”
He jerks his head towards the docks where a number of matte black sailing foils are bobbing in the water, and I frown. They look too small for all three of us, but I am certainly not taking one out on my own, either. “What do you mean on our own?”
The other man steps up and holds his out for me to shake. “I’m Antonio, and I’ll be teaching you boys some sailing today. I’m actually here with my team which is training for an upcoming regatta in October, and you all are going to have the exact same training as they are. I’ll record you all with my drone so we can discuss form and posture once everything is all over. Sounds like a good time, yeah?”
“Uh,” I pause, once more trying to figure out how all three of us are going to fit on the foil. “I’m sure it will be a great time.”
We all walk down the incline towards the docks, where a small group of sailors are getting their own wetsuits on and preparing for what I can only assume is practice. Everyone is in high spirits, and Andries and Johan are chattering amongst themselves about the day ahead, using terminology that I am wholly unfamiliar with. I’m not usually a nervous person, and I’m always up for a new experience, but I’ve never sailed on a foil before. I’m also not looking to embarrass myself in front of Elise’s ex, while potentially drowning in the process.
I interrupt my two companions, pausing in my steps. “So, just so you know, I’ve never done this before in my life. I mean I’ve sailed, but never on anything like this.”
“Relax,” Andries pats me on the back, “the Persico 69F is a great boat for first timers, and Johan and I both are old hands at this. We’ll make sure you don’t fall behind.”
“You’re going to love it,” Johan adds as we resume our walk, which I’m somewhat afraid might be my last. “It’s a thrill like no other. Foil sailing takes real skill and quick thinking. Andries says you’re well suited for it!”
I slide my friend a suspicious glance. “Oh, do you? How can I be sure this isn’t some plan to murder me out on the ocean for seeing your sister?”
Andries throws back his head and laughs. “If that was the case, I’d be drowning you both, wouldn’t I? Plus, I need at least one of you to sail the Persico back with me, so at least one of you is safe from my wrath.”
Still rankling from the change of plans that I had no part in, I take the wetsuit the instructor offers and head inside the sailing club to change in the locker room. Inside, everything is decorated in light wood and navy blue, and there are numerous photos of the sailing team on the water, their foils so high out of the water that it makes my stomach clench. Oh boy, I might be in over my head.
Once we’re all dressed, the instructor shows us to our Persico 69F, which really is the exact same model that the sailing club is using. Andries and Johan board without hesitation, and after a second, I follow them. I might be unsure about all of this, but I’m not about to back down from a challenge. As some of the sailing team takes to the water ahead of us, I watch them closely and have to admit that it does look like a good time.
“Are you sure about this? I’ll haunt you forever if I die,” I hiss at Andries.
“Oh, me and not my sister? I’m flattered.”
I punch him in the arm. “I’ll alternate days. You both piss me off in spectacularly different ways.”
Johan peeks around Andries’ shoulder and gives me a cheery thumbs up. “Don’t worry! It’s going to be fun. I’ve done regattas my whole life.”
“I haven’t sailed much at all,” I admit again, in case he didn’t hear me talking with Andries about it earlier. “But I guess I’m a little excited.”
Both of the other men grin wide, teeth white and expressions mirroring one another. Johan isn’t just a better match for Elise than I am, but he looks like a better friend for Andries, too.
I can’t think about that now. Hell, I shouldn’t be thinking about it at all. I want to enjoy the rest of my time in Capri, even if I have to do so alone.
With a heavy breath, I tell them, “Alright, let’s do it.”
The Persico is larger up close, but the arrangement of the seats still didn’t inspire much confidence in me. On the sides of the black boat, adorned with neon green sails in a loose triangular shape, the long, thin bench-like seats have enough space for two sailors to be able to perch. The sails are connected to so many ropes that it boggles the mind, but Andries and Johan board the thing like they’re born to do it. Andries takes a seat on one side of the foil while Johan takes the other, and after some clear hesitation from me, Johan waves me over to his side. I look at Andries, wishing I didn’t have to sit next to Elise’s ex for the entire day, but he shakes his head, already knowing what I’m about to ask.
“Johan is the more experienced sailor on these types of boats, so you should stick with him.”
Repressing a sigh, I sit next to Johan and strap the helmet I’m given under my chin and pull on a pair of gloves meant to save the skin of my palms from the rough ropes.
“We’ll be moving around the boat anyway,” Johan points out, tugging and pulling at parts of the sail rigging while he speaks. “So we’ll be all over the place before long.”
“Great,” I grumble, buckling the thin life jacket over my wetsuit and settling in. “Sounds safe.”
“It’s not,” Andries says, his grin wolfish across the boat. “But that’s the fun in it, right?”
