# My daughter is a telltale!



## Mareld (Mar 21, 2007)

A few weekends ago we were in the marina getting the boat ready for the winter.

After having taken the mast off my husband went to put the mast in the shed and I decided to show off a little and drive the boat back to our slip single handed. Half handed really as I had our four year old daughter on board.

Any way, I untied the ropes and backed away from the dock, did a fancy turn around in front of the "crane area" and drove the boat slowly back to our slip and docked without problems.

So far so good.

When my husband came aboard he looked at me and said "are you sure nothing happened last weekend?". 
The weekend before I hade been all girls sailing on our boat with 3 other women, in quite rough weather.

I said "What do you mean?" 
It turned out that one of the wooden planks on our bowsprit had become dislodged and had a big crack in it.

You can imagine the following conversation where I assured him I had not done it, and did not know what had happened and him not believing me...
After a few minutes of this I ended it with a comment like " well I don't know what happened but I have NOT hit anything!".

This is when my little darling daughter who is usually on my side says in her angelic little voice:
"Yes you did mummy, you hit the dock twice before by the crane. Once in the bow and once in the stern, while you were untying the lines... Don't lie to daddy!"

You can imagine the laugh that my husband burst into...


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## TSOJOURNER (Dec 16, 1999)

thats classic


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## Tartan34C (Nov 21, 2006)

You can only keep something a secret if you are the only one that knows.
All the best,
Robert Gainer


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## Jotun (May 4, 2006)

Hello from Gothenburg! It seems that some of my favorite bands come from your city! Nice story.


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## Melrna (Apr 6, 2004)

Lesson learned. Never mess around with Daddy's little girl. My daughter was the same way when she grew up.


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## sailingdog (Mar 19, 2006)

LOL... you didn't pay her enough...  You really need to bribe her better to get her to keep quiet.


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## sailortjk1 (Dec 20, 2005)

I thought this thread was going to be about wind direction and sail trim! LOL! (Telltale / telltail)
Nice story. Kids say the darndest things.


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## TrueBlue (Oct 11, 2004)

Great story, but if I were your husband, I'm not so sure I'd be laughing.


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## ReverendMike (Aug 1, 2006)

When I first saw the title of the thread I thought you had taped your daughter to the sail! Boy would that mess up the air flow.


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## camaraderie (May 22, 2002)

Mareld...welcome and funny story! 
In case you have not figured it out here... telltale= a piece of string or tape on a sail that shows wind direction.
Tattletale= a funny daughter who holds Mommy accountable!! (g)


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## Tartan34C (Nov 21, 2006)

camaraderie said:


> Mareld...welcome and funny story!
> In case you have not figured it out here... telltale= a piece of string or tape on a sail that shows wind direction.
> Tattletale= a funny daughter who holds Mommy accountable!! (g)


In the old sense of the word a telltale is something that tells the truth or "tells the tale". A telltale compass for instance is the upside down compass over the captain's bunk. It was used to tell the captain that the boat was on course while he was in his bunk. A tattletale is someone who spills the goods on someone else and a telltale person can be someone who either spills the goods or just reports a fact.
All the best,
Robert Gainer


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## TrueBlue (Oct 11, 2004)

From now on, I'm referring to my sail's telltales as tattletales.


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## sanctuarysam (Sep 16, 2006)

if memory serves correctly Ben Franklin said..."Three may keep a secret, if two of them are dead."
always liked that quotation, and it seems appropriate here...


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## sailhagg (Feb 19, 2007)

Loved the story! Reminds me of when my daughter was little. Now she's a surly teen and barely speaks 
sancturarysam-nice quote!

Welcome Mareld!


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## Mareld (Mar 21, 2007)

*Telltale - telltail!*

You know I actually looked the word up before using it in an online dictionary...
Guess I got it wrong anyway!

Oh well, now I know the difference... I can hide behind the fact that I am both blond and swedish!

As for the comment from TrueBlue about not laughing - I can assure you that the damage wasn't that big and for my husband to actually get my daghter to side with him in a conflict made his day....

I did not even notice bumping into the dock or crane or whatever it was that I bumped into...


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## sailingdog (Mar 19, 2006)

MarelD-

You sure it was you, and not your husband that did the damage...  He could have paid your daughter off, knowing that you might not realize it wasn't your fault.


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## merttan (Oct 14, 2007)

That's funny!!!


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