Clive Cussler by The Adventures of Hotsy Totsy Page B
Authors: The Adventures of Hotsy Totsy
Tags: Fiction, General, Action & Adventure, Family, Juvenile Fiction, Magic, Fantasy & Magic, Brothers and sisters, Twins, Animals, Siblings, Dogs, racing, Basset Hound, Transportation, boats, Ships & Underwater Craft, Motorboats
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along the riverbanks. "Yes," he agreed reluctantly. "More people are watching this race than ever before. But regardless of the publicity and interest, those kids can't be legally qualified as participants."
The official smiled. "I think we'll be safe in giving them a small trophy."
"I'll go along with that," said the director. He stared at the boats disappearing up the river. "Whatever became of that black boat that nearly crashed into some of the boats yesterday? I don't see it registered to participate."
"I was told the San Francisco police reported a bank robbery downtown. It was thought the bandits escaped in a black powerboat."
The director looked confused. "What happened to them?"
"Nobody seems to know," the official said with a shrug. "It's as though they disappeared into thin air."
Lacey studied the charts in her lap, now splattered by all the water that had been thrown into the cockpit of the boat. "A sweeping turn coming up," she alerted Casey. "Then it's under the Sinclair Freeway bridge and into the mouth of the river."
"It will be nice to enjoy the smoother water ahead," said Casey, happy the river was flatter than the water in San Francisco Bay. He felt as if he and Hotsy Totsy were one. The boat and he had created a rhythm. The big Wright aircraft engine was running smoothly without a miss, and as time went on, the speedy little craft increased her pace, working her way through the fleet until she was passing boat after boat.
"How do we stand?" asked Casey.
Lacey made a rough count of the boats she could see up the bay. "Twenty-eighth, we've moved up to twenty-eighth."
Ahead, two more boats were limping off the course. The red boat Rum Tum Tum had sucked up a plastic bag from the water into its cooling system, and Tin Lizzie was having mechanical problems. So on they went. Now they were twenty-sixth.
Hotsy Totsy pulled even with the blue-and-gold- striped powerboat that had become her nemesis. One minute Zippity Doo forged in front, then Hotsy Totsy, then Zippity Doo. Together, Casey and the magical powerboat made a wide fast turn to line up a heading between two yellow buoys that marked the race course into the bay. Zippity Doo stayed right with her.
Casey began to think Hotsy Totsy was merely playing with the other boat. The crowds of people lining the shore were madly cheering the varnished mahogany hull to pull ahead of the brilliantly painted powerboat. They were hypnotized by the spectacular action and glamour of speed.
Each boat would take the lead and then lose it. Zippity Doo's pilot pulled every trick in the book to outdistance Hotsy Totsy but couldn't gain the lead for more than a mile before Casey forged past.
They were catching up to the main fleet and passing other boats strung out along the course. Their crews were stunned to see an old V-shaped hull battling it out with a modern, carbon-fiber-hulled boat powered by a one-thousand-horsepower, turbocharged engine. Hotsy Totsy had pulled ahead of Zippity Doo, which was in hot pursuit. To the growing astonishment of Zippity Doo's pilot and copilot, they found themselves losing ground.
"The river is beginning to narrow," Lacey yelled into Casey's ear. "A red buoy is coming up on your port side."
"I see it," Casey yelled back. "We're about to enter the Deep Water Ship Channel, which lets big ships sail up to Sacramento."
"Yes, I see on the map that it's a canal thirty feet deep, two hundred feet wide and forty-three miles long."
"The race goes up the ship channel to the state capital before we return to San Francisco Bay by racing down the river course."
"The channel is clear. They must have stopped all the river traffic."
"Good thing all the tugboats and barges were tied along the shore until the race is over," said Casey. "I'd hate to chase other boats around them."
"The best I can guess is that we're in twenty-first position."
10 The Dash up the Channel to Sacramento
The ship channel banks rose fifteen feet above the water,
The official smiled. "I think we'll be safe in giving them a small trophy."
"I'll go along with that," said the director. He stared at the boats disappearing up the river. "Whatever became of that black boat that nearly crashed into some of the boats yesterday? I don't see it registered to participate."
"I was told the San Francisco police reported a bank robbery downtown. It was thought the bandits escaped in a black powerboat."
The director looked confused. "What happened to them?"
"Nobody seems to know," the official said with a shrug. "It's as though they disappeared into thin air."
Lacey studied the charts in her lap, now splattered by all the water that had been thrown into the cockpit of the boat. "A sweeping turn coming up," she alerted Casey. "Then it's under the Sinclair Freeway bridge and into the mouth of the river."
"It will be nice to enjoy the smoother water ahead," said Casey, happy the river was flatter than the water in San Francisco Bay. He felt as if he and Hotsy Totsy were one. The boat and he had created a rhythm. The big Wright aircraft engine was running smoothly without a miss, and as time went on, the speedy little craft increased her pace, working her way through the fleet until she was passing boat after boat.
"How do we stand?" asked Casey.
Lacey made a rough count of the boats she could see up the bay. "Twenty-eighth, we've moved up to twenty-eighth."
Ahead, two more boats were limping off the course. The red boat Rum Tum Tum had sucked up a plastic bag from the water into its cooling system, and Tin Lizzie was having mechanical problems. So on they went. Now they were twenty-sixth.
Hotsy Totsy pulled even with the blue-and-gold- striped powerboat that had become her nemesis. One minute Zippity Doo forged in front, then Hotsy Totsy, then Zippity Doo. Together, Casey and the magical powerboat made a wide fast turn to line up a heading between two yellow buoys that marked the race course into the bay. Zippity Doo stayed right with her.
Casey began to think Hotsy Totsy was merely playing with the other boat. The crowds of people lining the shore were madly cheering the varnished mahogany hull to pull ahead of the brilliantly painted powerboat. They were hypnotized by the spectacular action and glamour of speed.
Each boat would take the lead and then lose it. Zippity Doo's pilot pulled every trick in the book to outdistance Hotsy Totsy but couldn't gain the lead for more than a mile before Casey forged past.
They were catching up to the main fleet and passing other boats strung out along the course. Their crews were stunned to see an old V-shaped hull battling it out with a modern, carbon-fiber-hulled boat powered by a one-thousand-horsepower, turbocharged engine. Hotsy Totsy had pulled ahead of Zippity Doo, which was in hot pursuit. To the growing astonishment of Zippity Doo's pilot and copilot, they found themselves losing ground.
"The river is beginning to narrow," Lacey yelled into Casey's ear. "A red buoy is coming up on your port side."
"I see it," Casey yelled back. "We're about to enter the Deep Water Ship Channel, which lets big ships sail up to Sacramento."
"Yes, I see on the map that it's a canal thirty feet deep, two hundred feet wide and forty-three miles long."
"The race goes up the ship channel to the state capital before we return to San Francisco Bay by racing down the river course."
"The channel is clear. They must have stopped all the river traffic."
"Good thing all the tugboats and barges were tied along the shore until the race is over," said Casey. "I'd hate to chase other boats around them."
"The best I can guess is that we're in twenty-first position."
10 The Dash up the Channel to Sacramento
The ship channel banks rose fifteen feet above the water,
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