So, there I was...

 So, there I was...standing on my tippy-toes, on the dock, stretched up and over the bow of the boat, with my arm stretched as far as it would go and my old little fingers holding tightly to a short 3" or 4" piece of rope.  Letting go of the rope would neither sink the boat nor do me any irreparable harm, but it would go flying to the top of the mast as the genoa sail came sliding down towards the deck at the same time.  In and of itself that is not a problem.  The problem would be...how do I then ascend the 29' foot mast in order to retrieve that blasted little line that I just let go of?  

Of course, you could say that I never should have been in this predicament.  And, you would be right.  First, had the previous owner ever sailed this boat...EVER...this would not have happened.  At least not to me...he would have discovered that the roller furling headsail's halyard was not properly attached to the bow of the boat.  But, perhaps it is too easy to blame the previous owner...though I find I do it often and quite enjoy it.  Secondly, you could say that I should not have been unprepared to tie an extension line to the roller furling headsail halyard.  But honestly...who expects that when you fully unfurl a headsail that the halyard would not be properly attached and the whole sail will quickly come sliding down?  Well, next time I buy a boat I'll be certainly be expecting that; but next time I'll also be prepared.  But that will be the next boat.  For now, there I was...in quite a predicament.  

No extra line, no phone, no means of securing this piece of halyard I was desperately grasping.  What do I do?  I mean, not a single person is out walking along the docks of the marina.  After some time passed, and as my fingers were starting to cramp up, I remember that our slip neighbor, Pete, is in.  Now Pete is a talker and I had not seen him all day...which is one reason I was in this predicament I was in.  I had completed the other projects on my list and had moved on to changing the furling line.  Changing the roller furling line is pretty straight forward and it went smoothly.  Replacing the line allowed me to fully open the headsail.  Unfurling it wasn't as smooth as I had hoped it would be...but it has probably been 6+ years since this sail has been opened.  I managed to get it all unfurled, except for the last 2 wraps or so.  So, I jumped off the boat, walked to the bow, and gave the furler drum a little nudge.  That was all it took.  The drum spun the last couple of times and suddenly I saw the broken halyard going up and the sail coming down.  I stretched out as quickly and as far as I could and managed to grab the frayed piece of halyard.  So, there I was...

I finally called out to Pete who came out and saved me.  Honestly, we all need saving from time time to time.  Pete grabbed some spare line and we tied it to the halyard.  Finally I could relax and get off my tippy toes.  We then stitched a new line to the old one, which allowed us to lower the sail to the deck.  This took weight and pressure off the halyard...and a removed a of pressure from me.  With the sail removed, we were able to secure both ends of the line until I can get it replaced.  I guess you could say I lived to fight another day!    

But now, at least, I now what my next project is...replacing the roller furling halyard.