By Marc Gagnier, 9th Grade

 

It was a cool, windy day in May and the Academy had gone on a field trip to St. Clement’s Island in the Chesapeake Bay. It was an especially windy day, and the water was pretty rough. To get to the Island, one had to take a canoe or some sort of boat to cross the water. We all made it there fine, without any problem. After spending the day on the island, we all started back to the shore. At this point the water was pretty wavy, and one instructor said, “make sure you hit the waves dead on. If you don’t, the wave will tip the boat over!” We started off, with an alumni of the Academy in the front, Mr. Byron, a teacher in the back, and me in the middle.

 

Suddenly, we hit the first wave broadside and toppled into the water. Splash! Fortunately the water was warm, and we had life jackets on. Seeing our predicament, two alumni, who were riding in small, rubber canoes, tried to help us flip the canoe right side up. “We’ve gotta flip the canoe back over!” one said. We did not succeed because the canoe was too heavy. Finally, we left the canoe in the bay, and I got on the back of their rubber canoe. In this way we were all put back on the island.

 

 

We waited on the island for two hours while the people who had made it back to shore got help. Finally, we spotted a small police boat coming towards the island. When the small boat finally made it to the island, one of the officers told us to climb aboard the boat. On the way back to the shore it seemed like the little boat was going to tip over from the big waves. When we reached the shore, we found a firetruck and an ambulance waiting there just in case. Everyone asked us to tell our story, and many others had stories of their own. We were all sunburnt and tired, but happy. It was good to be back!