What happens to an elemental airship when the elemental is exhausted?
For context, I'm looking at this article from Keith Baker: https://keith-baker.com/dm-airships/
Specifically, the line "At six levels of exhaustion, the elemental must be confined to the core, which means the elemental engine (and ring) has to be shut down." He goes on to say that every 8 hours spent at a docking station removes one level of exhaustion.
My question is this: if the elemental is what provides forward thrust, what happens if the elemental becomes exhausted in the middle of nowhere? I realize that the soarwood will allow the ship to hover, but how would it get to a docking station that is maybe a hundred or more miles away, save being towed? I mean, if there's no one around to tow it, you're stuck, right?
Has anyone had this happen to a party? How did you solve it?