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She let out a long breath, then a laugh. ‘It was so close!’
‘Likely hunting penguins. But that’s the benefit of being in the kayak. It’s the closest you can get to the wildlife here.’
Seeing the seal had made her forget herself – and her fear – for a moment.
Another kayak pulled up alongside them, pushing the nose of their boat. Cutler was snapping pictures with an enormous telephoto lens.
‘Where’d it go?’ he demanded.
‘Under the waves,’ she replied. She looked over her shoulder at Melissa, who rolled her eyes but gave a small smile.
‘If you let us take the lead, I’ll show you some of our favourite wildlife-spotting places,’ said Melissa. She waved her oar in the air, trying to get the attention of all the kayakers, signalling for them to follow her. With a few deliberate strokes, she steered the boat in front of Cutler and Ingrid.
‘OK, Olivia, let’s see what you can do. Traditionally I would steer from the back of the boat, but I have to keep an eye on the other passengers. So if you could steer us around the back of this island, that would be great.’
Olivia took a deep breath, trying to remember her skills. Even though Melissa said she was watching everyone else, she knew she was also being assessed – to check her competency levels, see how worried she needed to be about her fear taking over. She shifted in the seat, sitting upright and strong. Making sure her grip wasn’t too firm on the paddles, she picked up the pace, turning her torso in time with the strokes. The kayak skimmed the surface like a water beetle, and she felt powerful, not afraid.
Away from theVigil, the wildness of the continent was so much more apparent. On the ship, wrapped up warm, hot chocolate in hand, watching with feet firmly planted on the polished wooden deck, she felt detached from the landscape – like she was watching a super-high-definition movie. But out on the water, with the waves lapping the kayak’s hull, freezing droplets splashing on her cheek as she raised her paddle, the cries of the birds overhead, knowing that leopard seals lurked under the waves – she was immersed. It felt very real.
‘Great job,’ said Melissa. ‘You’re a natural, even in these conditions. I don’t often get to paddle with people with so much skill.’
Olivia blushed. ‘I was lucky to be able to learn from my dad. How did you get into this?’ she asked over her shoulder.
‘I grew up near the water, but honestly my mum thought I was crazy to always want to be out either swimming or surfing. She ran a holiday let in Dorset, so I had the whole of the Jurassic Coast as my playground.’
‘Oh, I’ve sailed around there. It’s beautiful.’
‘Seriously? I rarely meet anyone who’s been there.Anyway, then I took a summer job in teaching sailing and supervising watersports. But I wanted something wilder.’
‘What does your mum think now?’
‘That I’m still as mad as a hatter. But she sees how happy I am and she shuts up. I mean, she’d still prefer I was working as a nurse or something, but she lets it go for now.’
‘Liam said you were new on theVigil. What were you doing before?’
‘Oh, this and that. Mostly private charters. OK, hang on, let’s slow down the pace—’
There was a cry behind them, and both Olivia and Melissa put their paddles in the water, applying the brakes. Cutler appeared to be in the centre of the action again; this time, his kayak somehow seemed tangled with Janine and Robert’s. They were close to a rocky promontory where two seals were lounging, and Cutler had his camera out.
Janine wasn’t helping matters, her paddle was flailing around in the air, almost making contact with Ingrid’s head. Her kayak was tilting dangerously, the nose caught underneath the other’s.
Melissa was shouting at them to calm down, while also trying to signal Liam. Finally he spotted the issue, and in his nimble solo kayak he powered his way towards the kerfuffle.
Janine looked panicked, clawing at the skirt of the kayak, then at the thin ropes criss-crossing the hard plastic nose, as if she wanted to get out. The boat began to rock violently, and Olivia’s heart leaped into her throat. She turned to Melissa. ‘You have to help her!’
Melissa was already on the radio, asking for one of the Zodiacs – the big inflatable boats used to tender passengers from the ship to the mainland – to come to the rescue.
Olivia kept paddling until they were near enough for her to talk to Janine – but not close enough to get in the line of fire. ‘Janine! Breathe for me; you’re having a panic attack.’ She tried to keep her voice calm.
Janine was gasping for breath, in between begging to get out of the kayak. It looked like she was trying to stand. Robert was red-faced from yelling at her – not the way to help.
Finally Liam reached them. He grabbed hold of their boat and took the paddle from Janine. He shoved Cutler and Ingrid’s kayak away so that it was no longer attached to Janine and Robert’s. When they were stable, the Zodiac pulled up alongside and Liam helped her out of the kayak and into the safety boat.
A whistle sounded, signalling them back to theVigil. Their kayaking excursion was over.
‘Let’s make our way back, shall we?’ said Melissa, her voice surprisingly even after all that action.
For her part, Olivia was breathing hard, sweat gluing strands of her hair to her forehead. But she nodded. She glanced over at Janine in the Zodiac, hugging her knees up to her chin.