Your 40-foot auxiliary sailing vessel has just run aground on a bar. She has a relatively long, deep keel and the tide is falling. You have checked the bilges for damage and found none. Which is the most prudent action to take immediately?

Correct Answer: Option B — Strike the sails. Then run a kedge anchor out to one side, hook the main halyard to it, and heave the boat down onto one side.

When aground with a falling tide, immediately striking sails prevents wind heel while using a kedge anchor and halyard to heel the boat over reduces draft, allowing the vessel to slip off the bar before being permanently stranded.