Stranded at sea aboard a lifeboat after Joe ditched his airplane,the gang spend restless hours at each other's throats, awaiting rescue.Joe watches his plane sink,and Helen loses her cello.Just as things are at there worst,and the lifeboat is losing air,they are rescued by the Coast Guard.But for Joe things don't get better,as the unpaid bills begin to pile up and his search for a plane to rent proves futile.Finally he decides to sell Sandpiper and move to the South Pacific,and convinces Helen to come with.But then Lowell comes out of the hangar and says he has something Joe might wanna see,it's his plane that was just salvaged.After seeing that he cannot leave.