Brief like your life depends on it

A true story: Some years ago, a family group in a runabout was travelling across a large lake in windy but not unpleasant conditions when the skipper’s cap blew off his head. He immediately stopped the boat and leapt into the water to retrieve it. He was wearing a lifejacket but it wasn’t securely fastened, so it slipped off when he jumped in. A strong swimmer, he left it behind, retrieved his hat and turned to swim back to the boat.

But the strong breeze was blowing the boat away from him. A family member tossed him a line but it