He had to keep the nose in front, take the waves from the stern, keep the canoe from rolling and he dug deep with the paddle, one side and then the other, trying to increase the speed of the canoe and keep it ahead of the wave. Keep it aimed forwards . . .

And failed. The wave was moving too fast, pushing the stern over to the side faster than he could keep it from happening. He was going to roll, felt sure of it, knew that if he did, the wave would just keep rolling the canoe, and him, keep him under the curl and drown him.

He thought for a part of a moment how silly that would be. To drown and die while riding with dolphins who were just having fun and with the thought came the knowledge that the answer was there.

The dolphins.

How did they do it? How did they keep from rolling in the wave?

He had moments. They were all around him and he had just time for a quick look – a flashing moment of study to save his life.

And he saw it.

They didn’t try to beat the wave. Didn’t fight it. Instead they used their flukes and the curve of their bodies to aim themselves down the face of the wave.

Leif didn’t have to fight the wave, compete with it. Instead, all he need do was use the paddle over the stern as a rudder, pushing sideways against the force of the wave to keep the canoe aimed down-wave, sliding with the wave, not fighting its force.

With the wave.

Of the wave.

Of the sea.

The canoe seemed to jump, come alive, as the stern answered and came over to the rear. The change was so quick it took his breath away. Exhilarating, even wild as the waves grew in size when the outward current flow became stronger still. He laughed out loud at the joy of it.

He quickly found that the canoe performed better not by going straight down the face of the wave but quartering forwards, aimed off at a slight angle and – he saw the dolphins were doing the same thing – an endless, glorious slide-ride.

Except that it wasn’t quite endless. As nothing, he thought, is ever endless.

Two things were happening that changed everything. The wave, with a curling white froth at the top as it bowed over, made a sound now, a threatening sound. As the wave gathered speed, the canoe tore down into the inlet, out of Leif’s control, or nearly so.

He fought to keep afloat.

But worse, potentially more dangerous, as the wave pushed him into the inlet at ever-increasing speed it also, at the same speed, was carrying him across the mouth of the inlet, riding sideways as well as forwards on the surface of the wave.