SARGASSO SAILS

CHAPTER 3

SAILING THE SUMMERLANDS SEA




   When one lives on a boat, much of one's time, energy and finances are spent in the upkeep of the vessel. Sargasso was meant for travelling, not to be kept at the dock as a day sailer. We were always on the move. However, this often meant for a lot of tacking to make any passage way. Nevertheless, there were days when we would take her out just for the joy of sailing...usually around in circles. We loved the way that the dolphins played in the wake of the bow and we would often be treated to the sight of flying rays.
   Crossing the Summerlands Sea was one of those days. the usually lugubrious Sargasso seemed unusually graceful and rejuvenated. However, the electronics were still out of whack and no matter which way I turned, the compass pointed to the west. I obviously didn't have any charts so I gave Coco Key a wide berth. Then I went below to try and revive Nelligan and get some local knowledge of these waters.
   I've witnessed the resurrection of many drunkards in my time, but watching a Peliguin come out of a stupour was something special. First the flins, as the flippers were called, came together in a prayer-like manner and then it burbles:
   -Yarny, splaharny,bullarny, and then it rises.
   -No more rum until we get to land, I told him.
   -Yes, the Green Flash...nobody has ever returned from there. It's on the other side of the Summerlands...beautiful but lethal. There is supposed to be a sort of gateway where the Mist meets the Green Flash. Maybe that's how ye got here, Nelligan said.
   I wasn't planning on returning just yet. I at least wanted to drop my passenger off at Emerald Isle and perhaps take a look around. I had to find out more about these Summerlands.
   -Oh yes, the Summerlands...prettiest place on earth. Of course it's the only place I've ever seen. The sea a perfect twin of the sky...never a rough day. The sky is a palette of blues, except of course over Konkerland.
   -And what is this Konkerland, I ventured.
   -Nay, I won't be troublin ye with our problems. If ye stick around ye be surely findin out for yer own. By the way, we've just passed Coco Key, which is the home of the Bamboozlers.
   -Now this I gotta see. Is a Bamboozler a sort of con man?
   -No, no, no, where have ye been? What I means is, they are all con artists but they don't mean no harm. They just has a way of saying everything backwards. Either that or they means the opposite of what they says. It's rather confusing but harmless. They sing 'tuk-tukka-tuk' a lot and are very funny. The Bamboozlers make some fabulous bamboo wine among other things. Bunky be the name of their chief, and Shahairy be his wife. Ye be takin' a shine to them. Just prepare yerself for the retrograde and antonymns. Nelligan continued:
   -The sparkling green and white cliffs ahead of us be Emerald Isle. That be where I live with me fellow Peliguins, and some other feathered friends called the McCormants and the O'Henries. Past that is Mangroville where Rastjahzz and the Jahstamoments live. They be sort of plant creatures that move about about their island on a series of rootlegs. Obviously, they can't visit the other islands but they seem content to smoke their herb and play music all day long.
   -The Irogators and their friend, Akviro, live on the far side of Konkerland in a place called Atalantoll. They haven't been visiting much lately due to some problems with the Konkers. For an instant, Nelligan looked apprehensive. Then the tremendous smile returned.
   -You don't seem to have a very high opinion of these Konkers, I probed.
   -Aye laddie. They be set on takin over is what I feels. Irogators gone missing...O'Henries' feathers floating in the Summerlands Sea. Strange things have been happening lately and I be sure it has something to do with Oopslop and his thugs.
   -Well let me change the subject for a minute...er, I mean for a while. I keep forgetting that you are unfamiliar with the concept of time. Have you never been in contact with the world beyond the Mist or the Green Flash? No other visitors? I asked.
   -There's been signs that we're not alone. Flotsam and jetsam and stuff have drifted through here. And then there's this Golden Shell that the Konkers found but Akviro says that they stole her. I not be sure what to think, Nelligan said thoughtfully.
   -The Golden Shell? I inquired.
   -Yeh, the Coners, who are part of the Konkers, said they found the Golden Shell on a hunting expedition. Akviro and the Irogators claim that she was stolen from the lagoon at Atalantoll. Anyhow, the Coners got her back to Konkerland and have her under wraps there. There not be much that Akviro can do against Oopslop and his gang.
   - You've mentioned this Oopslop before, I said. What's he all about?
   -He be the head honcho over there. He has his own brigade of Konkers, Coners and Crushtacians to do his bidding. Ye don't want to be messing with that bunch. Oopslop has the sign of the web on his throne. It really be quite scary.
   Too much information. I just sat back and let it flow over me. It was too nice a day to get my dander up. At least I had an idea what the Summerlands were all about. Just mind my own business and stay away from Oopslop. Before I returned to the subject of time I had to ask:
   -So Nelligan, I dont understand why Peliguins don't eat fish. It seems to me that with all your skills,they would be easy to catch.
   -They are easy to catch. Some of them love to go flying with me. And why should I eat me friends? I'd be no better than a Konker, Nelligan stated indignantly.
   -Alright then, I replied, let's talk about time. You really have no idea what time is? In my world we have these things called clocks that tell us what time it is. Look in the galley and you'll see a clock on the wall.
   -That really looks swell but what do ye do when they tell ye the time? he inquired.
   -Well, you really don't have to do anything but...I thought for awhile. But usually we do things according to the time, I finished.
   -So these clocks tell ye what to do?
   -No, the clocks are more of a guideline so we can get out of bed on time. I was getting frustrated. I really hadn't thought about this in a logical manner before. Actually the clocks tell us when it is time to eat and time to go to work. Now I was beginning to feel ridiculous. It sounded as though I couldn't feed myself without a clock. How do I explain?
   -In other words, ye be ruled by these clocks, Nelligan retorted. We manage to eat and sleep just fine without being told to do so by a circle with a strange face on it.
   Now as I thought about it, he was right in a way. Society as I knew it revolved around the strictness and restraints of time. I tried to surmise how this had come to happen. With no way of an explanation left, I simply told Nelligan that our clocks had conked out.
   -Conched out...that's a good one boy. There also be an herb the Irogators grow that be called thyme. It's green and rather bitter and ye can't make whisktea out of it. As far as the day goes, there's top day and bottom day and other bottom day. How complicated is that? I have heard tell of this thing ye call nighttime on the other side of the Green Flash. It doesn't sound appealing to me. How can ye see without the sun?
   I bypassed this question as something just dawned on me. This was a land of perpetual sunshine! I was in the Summerlands. Tropicals breezes... no storms...no worries. If worst came to worst, I could always head back towards the Mist. But would I return to where I came from or was this some sort of stargate that could transport me anywhere? Those spurious Nunaviks had one day for their summer solstice, along with millions of black flies. The Summerlands must be drifting somehow, in order to have the solstice everyday. I had stumbled upon an uncharted Galapagos where life had obviously evolved differently.
   When I came out of my reverie, I saw that I had made a terrible mistake. Nelligan had already drained the contents of a second bottle.

ON TO CHAPTER 4 "EMERALD ISLE"
GET ME OUTTA HERE...MACK IS OFF HIS ROCKER