Looking back at the whole incident, what is the single most important lesson for any skipper motoring near a lee shore?

A. Only experienced skippers need to think about engine failure — beginners can rely on luck

B. Engines are reliable enough that no backup plan is ever needed near the shore

C. Avoid having an anchor on board, since it is rarely needed in normal sailing

D. Always have a backup plan ready (sails ready to hoist quickly, anchor ready to drop) whenever motoring close to a shore the wind is blowing towards — engines can and do fail without warning, and there may be very little time to react

A. Spend several minutes trying to fix the engine before considering anything else

B. Get the sails up immediately if there is enough sea room — sail gives back control of the boat's direction, which is the main danger right now. While crew raise sail, try to restart the engine if safe to do so

C. Drop the anchor immediately without checking the depth

D. Do nothing and wait to see if the wind changes direction

A. Ask everyone to paddle with the boat's oars to move the boat away from the rocks

B. Jump into the water and try to push the boat away from the shore

C. Anchor — check the depth on the chart or depth sounder, make sure there is enough rope/chain for the depth (at least 4-5 times the depth of water), and drop the anchor before the boat drifts into danger. This holds the boat until help arrives or the engine is fixed

D. Keep trying to start the engine and ignore the anchor option completely