Days

Dawn broke heavy over Sorrel Island. The barometer's mercury had fallen through the night, and the sky thickened over the north ridge, bruising purple-grey. Jenny sat on the porch …

Dawn found Jenny on the porch steps, leg propped on a crate, watching cloud stack over the north ridge. Kevin stood by the shortwave, barometer steady, air flattening. "Barometer's…

Dawn found Kevin checking the dinghy's forward spring as the tide turned slack. Jenny sat against the cottage wall, blanket pulled over her swollen thigh, hands trembling. The wate…

Dawn broke heavy with humidity over Sorrel Island. Kevin worked beneath the dinghy at the dock, shimming and bolting the mast bracket while the tide was out. Jenny stood on the pla…

Dawn broke under a heavy overcast sky, air still and humid at 26°C. The barometer held at 977 hPa. Tide was out low, exposing slick rocks and the salt-crusted dinghy hull at the do…

Dawn broke to rain drumming on the tin roof. Jenny sat at the wooden table wrapping her swollen ankle while Kevin checked the barometer — steady at 977 hPa. He tested the Yanmar's …

Heavy rain lashed the tin roof at dawn as the wind picked up from the west. Jenny sat at the porch table wrapping her swollen ankle while Kevin monitored the barometer for a furthe…

Warm rain drummed the tin roof at dawn. Barometer steady at 978 hPa. Kevin moved oak wedges and mallet under the porch against swelling. Jenny sketched sea beet salt glands, cellul…

Dawn found Kevin kneeling over the Yanmar injector pump on the workbench, a bolt extractor seated on the stripped housing. Penetrant had soaked since midnight. Jenny sat on the doc…

Dawn pressed heavy and still against the dock. Kevin knelt over the Yanmar injector pump on the workbench, threading housing bolts to thirty-five Newton metres. Jenny sat on the we…

The barometer read 978 hPa at dawn, the flat sky pressing down on Sorrel Island. A pale bloom of jellyfish drifted in the bay, translucent bodies bobbing in the slow high tide. Kev…

Rain lashed the channel at dawn. Jenny watched the barometer drop to 979 hPa while Kevin tested the new mooring lines. "Lines are tight. Sister plank's holding. Void's still there …

Rain drummed the tin roof at dawn. The water tank hit its 400-litre capacity, overflow running clean over the stone base. Jenny sat at the kitchen table, inspecting the swelling in…

Dawn found the barometer at 982 hPa and falling. "Barometer's at 982. Dropping steady. Gale warning's out for forty-eight hours," Kevin said. Jenny sorted de-salted sea beet on the…

Dawn broke grey and heavy. Rain fell in a steady, numbing rhythm, turning the garden to mud. Jenny sat on the porch sorting de-salted sea beet, her ankle swollen and angry, streaks…

Dawn rain drummed the roof as the tank hit four hundred litres. Kevin watched the barometer; Jenny checked de-salted sea beet leaves on the table. The morning air hung heavy, tide …

At dawn Kevin checked the Yanmar mounts and bolts. "Mounts are good. Bolts holding. We leave at 0500," he said. Jenny, ankle propped on a dry crate, replied, "I'm ready." He cut th…

Dawn broke grey and windless over Sorrel Island. The barometer held at 989 hPa. Tide was fully out, exposing slick tide-pool rocks. Jenny sat on the porch with her ankle propped on…

Dawn found the tide at its lowest, the air motionless over the dock. Jenny sat on a bench with her ankle elevated while Kevin checked mooring lines and watched the barometer needle…

Dawn came grey and thick, humidity already at 24°C. Kevin checked the main water tank while Jenny watched the radio's static dial. The air pressure fell steadily. Kevin boiled limp…