I tell newbies, “There are only three kinds of sailors; those who have run aground, those who are about to run aground and liars.” The  nonprofit sailboat Defy The Odds #Sailforjustice was donated to help formerly incarcerated teens learn to work as a team and break the cycle of returning to the slammer. Saturday (6-4-16) on our afternoon cruise Karen and I passed Defy The Odds firmly aground.

Stuck on the shoal with the tide going out means enduring the embarrassment until higher water returns.

Stuck on the shoal with the tide going out means enduring the embarrassment until higher water returns. 

While your waiting, get out and scrub the bottom, take a swim and meet the locals. It'll be at least six hours before another attempt to tow you to deeper water can be made.

While your waiting, get out and scrub the bottom, take a swim and meet the locals. It’ll be at least six hours before another attempt to tow you to deeper water can be made. Learning this lesson on sand, instead of a rocky bottom, is much easier on the boat.

So, pay attention to markers, know what they mean and if you see a dog standing on the bottom, it's way to shallow for a deep keel sailboat. Nothing like getting stuck at a busy intersection with hundreds of party boaters looking on and giving advice to  create an indelible memory of the challenge at hand.

So, pay attention to markers, know what they mean and if you see a dog standing on the bottom, it’s way to shallow for a deep keel sailboat. Nothing like getting stuck at a busy intersection with hundreds of party boaters looking on and giving advice to create an indelible memory of the challenge at hand.