Helen was deep in sleep on her project Chris Craft cruiser boat, tied to the visitors dock.
A fellow boater thumped on the cabin side around two o'clock in the dark early morning, informing her that the now blowing gale was making Helen's other anchored out sailboat drag anchor.
She quickly got clothes on, and motored the dinghy out to the wayward possession.
Once in the dragging sailboat cockpit she discovered her keys were left, in the rush, back at the dock.

The anchor had for the time being reset itself... so back she went for the keys.
Catching her breath and calming down somewhat back at the dock, she was feeling more like the whole early morning panic had subsided to the chore at hand. Returning through the rolling windswept waters, and now back on board the sailboat, she first fastened the dinghy's painter to the sailboat stern.

The diesel fired up and pushed the hull forward enough and was in fact almost overdoing it, so she backed off the throttle, and as the sailboat lost momentum, the dinghy bow thumped the sailboat stern. The churning prop caught the sinking towline making a great squeal as the dinghy bow was sucked below the surface. With a loud, thrapp... the entangled line was severed and the diesel growled to a sputtering silence.

The wind was picking up even more, and the loose dinghy, floated away down the bay seemingly unscathed and happy.

Helen said she was left stranded aboard. Not being confident with using the sails of her new sailboat the 'sailor' option was too iffy at best.

Not wanting to bother her fellow boaters at this early morning hour, she called the sheriff boat out, and was brought back to the marina dock with no harm done.
Later in the morning she walked around and down the bay to her grounded dinghy. As the tide came back up she motored it home to her comfort on the Chris Craft.

That's when I came along to ask how her morning was going.