Ed. note: The Block Island Yacht Club created the Short Story Contest several years ago as an opportunity for seniors and juniors attending the Block Island School to write creatively about the island. The format is that the opening paragraph, created by the BIYC, must be used for all entries, but then the writer can let their imagination run free. The contestants are given a time frame to submit their stories which must be fiction. We have a panel of three judges who are anonymous to each other and to the students, as well. The judges are given the stories not knowing who wrote them and they rank them to determine the winner. This year the contest was delayed due to the pandemic, but it did take place in the same format as it has every year.
This is the winning entry by Ruby Crawford.
Evan ran down the bulkhead stairs into the basement, turning on the light, he tried to imagine all the things they would need. Looking around he saw a few of them, extra lifejackets, a sail bag containing a new sail, still unused, and a few tools — just in case. Next he called
