It was the first really warm day of spring here in Ohio, the kind of day when spring fever abounds, when you can't wait to leave work just to be outside.

My P18 was sitting on it's trailer in the driveway. The boat always seemed to have a bit of lee helm last year so I wanted to make sure the mast rake was correct. I followed the instructions, going through the steps one by one until I was satisfied that it was right. It felt good just to be on the trampoline again. I reached up to the backstay and, with two fingers, pulled it forward to feel the tension on it and "twang", I let it go with a smile. I can't wait to get back on the water. Then I remembered that during the winter, I also fixed the shrunken boltrope problem I had on my main sail. Now I was anxious to see the sail on the mast. I jumped down & ran to the basement to get the sail bag.

Back on the boat, I pulled the sail out of the bag and attached the foot to the boom. I hoisted the main tied the halyard off on it's cleat as the gentle breeze filled the sail. It looked so bright and white in the afternoon sun. Not satisfied with that,I pulled the jib out of the bag. As I hoisted it up, the breeze picked up and I thought I felt the boat move, so I stopped. Hmmm... Everything seemed alright so I cleated it off. The wind was whipping it so I ran the sheets through the fairleads and pulled it in a little just to stop the luffing. Now the picture was complete. I sat down on the tramp, looking up at the sails, dreaming of far away places, when the boat moved again.
This time I was sure of it. I decided the wind was getting too strong for this nonsense, so I got up to douse the sails.

Uh-oh, too late! The trailer took off down the driveway. The tongue jack on the trailer has a wheel on it. It's handy for moving the boat around when necessary, but right now there was nothing stopping me. The first thought in my head was I hope the neighbors aren't watching this. Then I realized there were several kids riding bikes and scooters up and down the road. What am I going to do? My mind raced. The boat wasn't slowing down. I could jump out but it was going to keep moving. There were kids in the way! I grabbed for the sheets and released the main. With that, the wind pushed the trailer to the left. I trimmed the jib in a little and I actually turned the trailer onto the road, away from where the kids were. By now, they were all laughing and pointing at me. I managed to turned the boat but I was still moving. Luckily, this subdivision is fairly new and all the electrical wires and phone lines are buried instead of being up on poles. I'd really be in trouble then. OK, I thought, take a deep breath. There's a corner coming up and I need to make a decision. What am I going to do? The wind was over my port stern now, so I trimmed the main just a little and felt the boat pick up speed. I needed to turn right at the corner, so I'm going to have to
jibe. I found that I could steer the boat somewhat by trimming the sails just as if I were on the water. I helped the boom across to starboard and let the main way out. I released the port jibsheet and pulled the jib across to starboard. As the wind grabbed it, the jib pulled the bow to the right and I just made the corner, missing the curb by inches. I couldn't believe it. That was close.

Now we were off on a new heading. I looked down the road and saw a woman coming toward me in a car. Words can't describe the look on her face as she picked up her cell phone. Damn. I knew what she was doing and I'd have company soon. I trimmed both sails and really got moving. That little trailer jack wheel was just humming! I didn't have to worry about any corners for a stretch, so I sat down, paying close attention to the sail trim, keeping the boat going straight. I looked behind and I had seven or eight kids laughing and screaming as they followed me, some on bikes, some on scooters and some running along the side of the road.. The woman in the car also turned around and followed. I ran the stop sign at the next corner - what else could I do? Then I heard the siren. That didn't take long. He must have been in the area. Soon I had seven or eight kids, a panic stricken woman, three barking dogs and a cop following me. The circus is in town.

The cop turned on his PA and told me to pull over. I raised my hands like I was helpless to do anything about the situation. What was I thinking? He wasn't going away. So I thought to myself, I have no brakes. How am I going to stop this boat? I know. How do I always stop the boat? I'll ease the sails and throw the anchor out. So I let the sheets loose and dropped the anchor into the soft muddy grass alongside the road. It stuck and as the rope fed out, the boat slowed and clunked to a stop along the curb. I fell back down on the tramp and waited.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" The cop screamed at me. I sat quietly as he chastised me up and down about public safety and traffic laws and illegal vehicles. He didn't know if there were any ordinances governing the driving of a trailer without a tow vehicle, however. I'll bet it took him twenty minutes to write up the ticket, the whole time he paced back and forth shaking his head. He didn't seem to see the humor in my situation. He finally handed it to me and I glanced at it. The first thing that caught my eye was the date in the upper right corner. April 1, 04.

Jack