The Adventures of Hotsy Totsy by Clive Cussler

Author:Clive Cussler
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Tags: Transportation, Family, Action & Adventure, Ships & Underwater Craft, Juvenile Fiction, Animals, Fantasy & Magic, General, Boats, Twins, Motorboats, Siblings, Basset hound, Magic, Fiction, Racing, Dogs, Brothers and Sisters
ISBN: 9780399254345
Publisher: Philomel Books
Published: 2010-05-13T07:00:00+00:00

9 Thunder Across the Bay

They had slept only a few hours when they were awoken by the loudspeaker announcement instructing the drivers to start their engines. Casey yawned and lifted Floopy out of the coil of rope that had become his bed and handed him down to Lacey. Then he got busy untying the lines to the dock. Once behind the wheel, he started the engine and moved toward the Golden Gate Bridge and the sea.

Hotsy Totsy moved through the water slowly toward the sea as if they were leaving San Francisco. A fancy yacht with the officials passed them and took up station at the starting line. Lacey counted forty-two boats that moved around in circles as they lined up for the start of the race. At a signal from the officials on the yacht, the pilots would launch a vast free-for-all across the bay toward the entrance of the Sacramento River.

A sea of pleasure boats had already lined up along both sides of the course, which was marked by yellow buoys. A thousand spectators were in a festive mood, many dining on goodies from picnic baskets as they waited for the flare to shoot into the sky from the official yacht that would signal the start of the Gold Cup Grand National Race.

The brilliant colors of the powerboats caught the morning sun and sparkled like Christmas ornaments on the blue-green water. The thrill of excitement was in the air as the pilots revved their powerful engines, the exhaust sounds going from a muffled throb to a low gurgling growl. Now all the boats broke out of the circle and headed slowly toward the start line so they could sneak into a good position to get the jump on the other boats and make a clean getaway.

The orange flare signaling the one-minute warning shot into the blue sky as the pilots looked left to right and back again, seeing how far they were spaced apart. The pack was building into a stampede across the bay. Their big one-thousand-horsepower engines roared as the drivers surged toward the starting line in the same instant the chief official in the white cap raised his hand that held the flare gun.

Unnoticed, Hotsy Totsy moved slowly behind the official yacht and approached from its stern. The race officials were looking the other way as they watched the boats gather in a rough lineup for the start. The excitement was building, but the boat pilots and the thousands of spectators failed to notice Hotsy Totsy suddenly rushing forward behind the fleet. Then the green flare was shot into the air and exploded with green streamers against a white-clouded sky.

The race was on.

Like a Thoroughbred leaping from the starting gate, Hotsy Totsy dug her stern in the water, lifted her bow and leaped over the water into the wake of the powerboats that were cutting across the bay like multicolored missiles.

As they hurtled past the official yacht, Lacey grasped one of Floopy's paws and waved it at the race officials, who were frantically trying to wave them off the course.

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