My Kingdom for a Pin

Halyards rang calling us.  We hurried to the pier and stepped aboard our newly purchased Morgan sailboat.  She had never been out of her dock because the previous owner, a Russian diplomat, probably only used it for eavesdropping at the marina.

The cushions inside the cabin appeared unused as did the sink, cherry wood floor, and ice chest.  Our last sailboat was a Rainbow with a seven foot keel.  She turned on a dime.  However, with that much draft we ran aground a lot in the shifting sands of the Bodkin. This sloop was a centerboard keel which should aid our sailing in narrow creeks.

We loved the challenge of sailing to the Chesapeake Bay.  It kept our skills razor sharp.  Tacking in the creek, the wind would circle not able to make up its mind.

 The April sun warmed our faces as we hoisted the main and jib.  My husband took the helm.  A stiff breeze caught the sails.  Neighbors watched as we heeled over. The wind as usual came straight at us so we set the sails for a close haul. We tacked.  However, the boat did not respond quickly like our Rainbow.  Ever so easy she came around and in doing so, slowly, we headed for our neighbors pier.  

“Let the sails out. We will jibe to turn her, “ my husband yelled. We missed the pier and headed for the shore.   

“I’ll start the engine and we’ll back up,” shouted my husband. He pulled the cord on the outboard motor.  It started and he put the gearshift in reverse.  Putt. Putt. Putt.  Relieved.  Sailors hate engines with their unreliability and hate backing up a sailboat.  
   
“We are still moving forward,”  I said as we drifted closer to shore. He shook his head in puzzlement.  Looking over the side he saw that there was no turbulence in the water.  Whomp.  We settled nicely hard aground.

“Not to worry.  I’ll jump off and push her.  The water is not deep since her draft is shallow.” Speaking those words he put the engine in neutral and was over the side.

Now he was yelling,  “Cold.  Ice cold! The water’s freezing.”  With that I saw fast movement as he managed to scramble back on board at tremendous speed. I have never seen anyone move so fast.  Neither had the neighbors who were enjoying the show.

“Painful.  Extremely painful,” he murmured as he rubbed his legs and feet.  “I had no idea the water would be that cold in April.  I guess I’ll try to reverse again.” Putt.  Putt. Putt.  The boat slowly moved backwards and we motored to our pier.

He turned the engine off and found that the propellor was always free no matter what gear.

“Well.  Look at that,” he said as he took the propellor off.  “The Russian put in half a shear pin.  The propellor would only engage if you were lucky.”