Haven’t Been Aground, Haven’t Been Around

There’s an old saying first heard when cruising the Chesapeake Bay: "If you haven’t been aground, you haven’t been around." The many sandy shallows and substantial tidal ranges there make it a near certainty that keelboat sailors will find themselves high and dry sooner or later.

Here on the West Coast going aground is also a common occurrence, especially when sailing the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta or up in the Gulf and San Juan Islands.

When we ran across this file photo recently, it reminded us that, yes, we’ve been aground a time or two ourselves. In our experience, doing so is always a tense experience initially, where you quickly realize there’s nothing you can do but chill out, make the best of it, and wait for the tide to turn. In fact, if you have the right attitude, it can even be fun.

So tell us, have you ever been aground, and if so, how did you pass the time? Did any laughable memories come out of it?