Briefly, Desmond explained. Mr. Graham did not even wait for the report to be concluded. Grabbing his clothes he went on deck, the Patrol Leader following cautiously and eagerly. He didn't fancy being below. It was a jolly sight safer on deck, he decided.
"Well, she's all right if that tackle holds," said Mr Graham. "You could not have done much more. It's merely a question of waiting till the tide rises. Low water isn't till seven o'clock. With luck we'll be afloat by eleven."
"No grub till then," added Findlay.
"We can run round in the dinghy," continued the Scoutmaster. "That will give the yacht a better chance than if we remained on board."
"How about sending for Bedford and Coles, sir?" suggested Findlay. He knew that, according to arrangements, Hayes and he would have to return to Wootton, and, although loath to miss the rest of the run round in the Spindrift, he wished to see that his chums had a "look in".
"Not much use doing that until we know we've a yacht for them to sail back in," rejoined the Scoutmaster, glancing gloomily at the precarious state of affairs. "All aboard the dinghy—don't jump about too much."
The dinghy was manned. The Sea Scouts pushed off and rowed slowly towards the channel. As it was, the keel grated on the rocks as she drew clear.
Then the dangerous position of the Spindrift could be fully realized. She was high and dry, with the exception of her keel. Her mast was at an angle of about 15 degrees from the perpendicular. There was a risk of two accidents happening: either the mast-head tackle might part and let the yacht over, or else her keel might slip off the ledge, with the result that she would strike the sharp edge of the rocky shelf and be stove in. Either might happen should a strong wind spring up.
For a couple of hours the crew paddled about in the dinghy, until it was dead low water. They had to keep an eye on the yacht, not that they could prevent disaster, but with the object of salving anything that floated should she sink.
It was a weird sight, for at low tide the keel of the Spindrift was five feet above the water-level, while a plummet from her starboard side would sink in ten feet of water.