Trouble ahead

We pushed off into a windy Lake Winnipeg on the second leg of our trip to Hudson Bay. Within minutes our canoe was taking in water over the bow because of the big waves. Debbie and Debbie both concluded that the best way to avoid taking on water was to move to the back of the canoe. Over the roaring wind I shouted, “No, no! Don’t come back!” They ignored my exhortations and crowded into the stern. The result of course was that the bow lifted up into the air and the stern began to sink under the water. Soon the canoe was totally filled with water. Our gear was starting to float away and we were dog paddling at chest level to try to keep the canoe from sinking to the bottom. I had spotted two beautiful houses on the shore that shared a dock and we headed that way. After what seemed like hours of doggy paddling, we reached the dock. By that time, the owners of the houses were standing on the dock watching. As we approached, we yelled, “Can we use your dock?” As is often the case with strangers we have met, we received conflicting answers. One of them shouted, “No you can’t use our dock!” while the other invited us up. We pulled up to the side of the dock with the positive person, and while the two Debs were crawling out, our canoe sank to the bottom of the lake. It fell to me to retrieve it somehow. I was swimming around underwater trying to figure out the best way to raise the ship. The water was very clear so I could see just what needed to be done, but it was very heavy. Finally I got it up to the surface, emptied it out, and moored it to the dock. At that point I looked around and one unspecified Debbie had all her wet clothes, including her lacy underwear, hanging from every rope, crossbar and and pole in the area. I said, “Well, that’s rather presumptuous!” And that is when I woke up.