My instructor suddenly shouted, “Someone has been playing with my dinghy!” Doesn’t that sound rude?
Someone borrowed our dinghy and forgot to put the oars back into the boat. Bastards. My instructor panicked. He exclaimed, “Scallywags!”
Each oar was slowly slipping off the rowlocks (they keep the oars attached to the boat).
“Son of a biscuit eater!”
We started the engine and came alongside the dinghy. “Jeff! You’re gangling!” I wince. “Reach over the side and pull the dinghy towards us!”
I stretched and grabbed the side of the dinghy. As I pulled it towards the boat, my sailboat started to drift in the wrong direction. I was stuck between a boat and a dinghy, with some smiling jellyfish beneath me. How cruel. Then I noticed the starboard oar was slipping off the rowlock.
I panicked. I let go of the dinghy and grabbed the oar (to rescue it) and the rowlock fell off the oar and into the water. Boo.
When it hit the water it made a gleefully tragic sound. Plop! The jellyfish watched it sink and they were suddenly filled with the joy of disaster. I looked at my instructor. If I was standing next to him, he would have clubbed me. If I was running away from him, he would have shot me.
I bought a new rowlock. Why am I cursed with compounding guilt!
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2 responses so far ↓
1 emily // Apr 16, 2007 at 8:53 am
I would probably never face this instructor again. But that’s just me and my debilitating fear of people who are angry with me.
What’s this “wax on radio” thing you commented on? Do I know this?
2 Jeff // Apr 16, 2007 at 2:02 pm
Anger is funny. I suspect you would like the sailing course, although we do sail on the ocean (large, slimey creature fear). Large creatures avoid Wellington (sometimes we get whales, but rarely) but penguins come alongside the boat and splash around. They’re pretty cute.
You haven’t heard of them? I thought I was out of the loop, but as you haven’t heard of them they must not be hip! They’re a Chicago-based band that’s “making it big.” I listened to three songs (depressing rock, like Radiohead) and wanted to know what the hoopla was about.
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