Pride, disgrace, humility, wisdom

I went fishing on Saturday and our team hooked up four sailfish and successfully landed and released three of them by noon, and then went offshore and spent some time deep-dropping and caught several tasty fish for a fish fry that night. When we headed back inshore we proudly flew our three sailfish flags high up on our outriggers to let all of the other fisherman who saw our boat go by know just how successful we had been that day; (Key word “proudly”). We did not see another boat with more than one flag which means that our team had experienced an exceptional day of fishing and we had bragging rights for that day; (Key word, “bragging rights”).

I had a broad smile on my face and was feeling pretty good about the day as we headed into the marina to get gas for the boat. As we headed towards the channel into the harbor I saw a coast guard vessel with blue lights flashing and siren wailing screaming out of the twisting and turning channel coming our way. I was completely caught up in watching this boat racing through the narrow channel that I was entering; partially because the coast guard vessel was heading right towards us. All of a sudden I heard someone say, “Look out”! Whoomp! My boat hit a sandbar and the engines shot sandy muddy water twenty feet high.

I immediately shut the engines off and used the trim to lift them out of the sand, but the boat was solidly stuck on the sandbar. I had not been paying attention to the opening to the channel because I was watching the coast guard vessel coming towards me and had missed going through the headpins that clearly mark the channel and was to the left of them a good twenty feet heading for the second set of markers that identify the channel when I ran aground. The coast guard vessel did not even slow down and screamed by us siren wailing as he raced through the channel to our right.

When we came to a stop, I immediately looked at my tide chart and it indicated that it was dead low tide, which meant that we would be stuck on that sandbar for at least five or six hours as we waited for the tide to come in and raise the water level enough to float our boat and get it off the sandbar. In the meantime all of the fishing fleet and everyone and his brother would be going through the channel as they came in from fishing and all would see me, “Captain Bob the great” with three sailfish flags flying high, stuck on a sandbar like a tourist in a rental boat. SighNOTHING could be more humiliating or embarrassing than this. I went behind the center console to hide and would not make eye contact with any of the boats that were passing us, too embarrassed to even look up; knowing that I would be enduring five or six hours of this. I wanted to dig a hole and go into it and hide.

My neophyte crew decided they would get out of the boat and push it off the sandbar. I knew better. The 12,000 lb. boat was no match for them. We were stuck and I saw no way out until the tide came in. Just then I heard someone yelling and asking me if I wanted them to pull me out. I turned around and there was a huge “head” boat, (one of those boats that charters throngs of people that fish for snappers and assorted bottom fish). This boat had the power to pull us off the sandbar for sure. After some flouncing around and one broken rope, the huge boat indeed pulled us off the sandbar and we were on our way.

In the small fishing village that I live word travels fast and in fact something like this spreads like wildfire, and in as little time as it takes to write this, all of my friends found out about it. They have been having a great time calling to let me know that they know that I ran aground and they think it is pretty funny. Ha Ha Ha Real funny

No one called to congratulate me on my catch; everyone called to rub it in. My pride was replaced with disgrace. Now humility is coming into play as I endure call after call and e-mail after e-mail. According to the Bible wisdom is next and nothing could be more accurate as I will never run aground on that sandbar again. Thus we have yet another proof of the accuracy of the Bible. Sigh…

Proverbs 11:2
When pride comes, then comes disgrace,
but with humility comes wisdom.