A Series of Funny Mistakes (And Almost Accidentally Drowning)

My hands were aching.

I was bouncing up and down over the waves. My breath was coming in quick, ragged bursts timed with each bounce.

Next to me, my cousin shouted with glee. I did the same, but with my teeth gritted so I wouldn’t accidentally bite my tongue off.

Water sprayed at my legs so fast that it hurt. I could see the motor boat up ahead, turning in circles so that we could bounce over its own waves.

Up ahead, there was a problem with a jetski. It had tipped over. The boat slowed down, and my cousin and I both slumped forward in exhaustion.

That was a mistake.

The boat was still travelling at about ten miles per hour (16.1 kph for you metric people out there), and when my cousin and I slumped forwards, the front of the tube dipped into the water. Because we were still moving forwards, the tube began to tip vertically. My cousin let go early, but I was loath to part from the tube and I held on.

Second mistake.

Before I knew it, my face was submerged in water and I was still being dragged forward at 10 mph. I finally let go.

The boat kept going.

“Hey, wait!” my cousin and I shouted. “We kind of fell off!”

Without our weight on the other end of the tube to counteract the force of the water, the tube was now sticking up vertically, with my cousin and I…