Without a Paddle

Come sail away...

Come sail away...

Come sail away with me!

Oh goodness, how I wish all of you could have gone sailing with us on that beautiful 27-foot Catalina sailboat. This particular weekend the weather was delightful... beautiful blue skies, feathery white clouds, and just the right amount of breeze to help us “sail away” out into Charleston Harbor.

We raised the mainsail, the breeze grabbed it and, before we knew it, we were out in the harbor. The breeze felt wonderful.

On our boating outings we always packed mouth-watering lunches and today was no exception. Fried chicken, potato salad, snacks, and plenty to drink (or so we thought).

We had been sailing most of the day relaxing, sunbathing, eating, laughing-- just enjoying each other’s company until we felt it was time to head back to dock the sailboat at the marina.

As we approached the neck of the harbor, we spotted two men standing up in their boat and it looked like they were waving something in the air. “Oh.” I said, “They sure are friendly!” And we waved back.

All of a sudden, we heard a sound like we had never heard before – the sailboat came to a sudden stop as the keel sliced deep into the sandbar that we never saw until it was too late! We were dead in the water.

“So that was what those guys were trying to tell us,” I said, “too shallow!”

All the guys in the boat looked at each other with expressions on their faces like “did I do that?” like Urkel would have said.

Well, yes, they did! The girls were on their boat to relax not watch out for situations like the one we found ourselves in, right? How are we ever going to get out of this? We were really stuck!

We were spotted by two men from the US Fish and Wildlife Services as they were patrolling the area. They suggested that they take the ladies off the boat and deliver us somewhere so we can be picked up later. They gave us a lift to a bait shop near the marina where the boat was kept.

The guys-- being the Macho men that they were-- decided to go down with the ship; I mean-- they decided that they would want with the boat till the tide turned and then they would head over to pick us up.

It was a very long afternoon as we waited at the bait shop.

Meanwhile, back at the sandbar, the guys had gotten out of the boat and were in the water trying to see what they could do to lighten the load. They were trying to pry the boat loose from the sandbar. All of a sudden, with the tide having turned, the wind picked up, caught the sail, and the boat was free.

The guys, still in the water, managed to pull themselves out of the water and onto the boat... Except for one person. And, he had managed to grab a rope that was hanging over the edge. He was holding on for dear life. The boat was slicing through the water at great speed, dragging him along, and he looked like he was going to drown as all the water slapped him in his face. The guys scrambled to pull him on board. All safe. The guys said it was quite a sight to see him struggling and stay afloat.

Once off the sandbar, the guys quickly headed over to the bait shop to pick us up. Boy were we glad to see them! Hungry, tired, thirsty, and cold – by this time, we just wanted to go home.

What started out to be an unremarkable day of sailing turned out to be an adventure that we talk about to this day and will for years to come.

~ Jeannie Joyner