Elmer Higgins is a sailor. The ship that he is sailing on crashes into another ship, a schooner that is captained by a formidable woman named Hat Tyler. As the ship sinks, Higgins helps Hat Tyler get out by throwing her a rope. Higgins used to sail with Hat Tyler, and they were once romantically involved. After the crash, Elmer Higgins tells everyone that he laughed at Hat Tyler when he was rescuing her. However, in her recollection of the events, Hat Tyler says that Higgins was just standing there, not knowing what to do, and she had to instruct him on how to save her. Elmer's wife Pearl is angry to hear that Hat Tyler is contradicting her husband's story and making him seem like a liar. She is also jealous about Hat Tyler's previous relationship with her husband. 
Hat Tyler is made the skipper of a new schooner. They day that the ship is set to leave and be christened, the whole town is watching. However, the ship gets stuck, and Hat Tyler yells orders but it is futile; the ship will not move. Pearl yells that Hat Tyler better get out of her traveling suit, because she is not traveling today. Everyone starts laughing at Hat Tyler, who bursts into tears. That night, Elmer Higgins tells his wife that he would not want to have Hat Tyler as an enemy. Pearl accuses him of defending Hat, and she is also angry at him because he is going to fight in the war and is leaving her there.
That night, Hat Tyler is on the schooner with her husband when the ship finally gets unstuck. However, it is still attached by the anchor chain. Hat Tyler uses the ship to crash into the Higgins house. Elmer and Pearl at first see the stove slowly moving across their kitchen as it is moved by the front of the ship. The stern moves the roof of the house, and the walls begin to fall down. The couple looks up and sees Hat Tyler standing over them on the ship. Pearl screams in fury, but it is too late. The schooner recedes back into the fog with no damage, while the Higgins' house is left in ruin. While Pearl yells at Elmer for not trying to damage the ship while he had the chance, Elmer thinks about how clever Hat Tyler is.