20As Fantasie threads through the coral ahead of us, Dad calls, ‘Something’s wrong with the voltage regulator. Can you take the wheel?’ He disappears downstairs. I steer through the coral and rock.
‘You need to keep our speed down. Watch the dial doesn’t go over 8,000 rpm.’ Cornelius slips further in front.
‘What’s going on?’ I ask. ‘We normally motor at 15,000 rpm.’
‘The voltage regulator isn’t reducing the power to the batteries. They might overcharge. There’s nothing we can do but motor slowly.’
I turn the wheel to counteract the wind, as Fantasie slips over the horizon. Dad’s voice breaks into my misty unformed longing. A longing, deeper than Cornelius but drawn out by him, a longing to be united, surrendered, transported beyond myself, a longing for oblivion, wholeness.
‘I’ll tak
