In the Wake

The stern of a white sailing yacht off the coast of Scotland on a grey windy August morning, grey-green sea, low cloud over a dark headland, hanging from a taut braided line just above the water a small towed sampler of brushed stainless steel, a slim cylindrical body, at one end a bronze-coloured threaded head with open slots, a half-round fin on top, at the other end a perforated tab with a steel shackle and swivel on the line, beneath it a slanted steel plate and a conical tip, in the foaming wake tiny coloured specks of plastic, two hands in red sailing jacket sleeves easing the line over a steel cleat.