A Simple Little Boat Ride

Watermen bringing in the days catch..Blue Crabs

　

　
Whenever you are around water, such as a bay or river, you will find little coves and creeks that the casual viewer would never know about. Now these places have either deep or shallow water, as far as boating goes, so you have to know how to read the water. Of course, today there are plenty of devices to help you do that.

Well, back in the day, my mom decided to buy a boat for the family. Actually, it was mainly for my brother, he was the only one that would know how to take care of it and keep it running. I wasn't any help, other than to drive it to the cottage. Well, the day had come to pick it up and head to the cottage. I had never in my life pulled a trailer before. However, I figured, what's the big deal. I have ridden in the truck with a cattle trailer being pulled, many times. I could do this, piece of cake.

My mother was a bit more trepidatious about the trip though. She was a bundle of nerves and made me take the old roads to get there, instead of using the interstate. These were the roads that wind and twist and are so narrow, you have to ride the shoulder to pass another vehicle. She was scared, now that the deed was done, and we had no choice but to get it there. I wasn't scared, too stupid to be at that point. So, we take off for the cottage, with the boat behind the car. The winding route that we take is narrow and bumpy, but we do finally get there, unharmed and in good spirits. Of course everyone is anxious to get the boat in the water. The plan was, we would put the boat in the water, and mom would bring the trailer back. Now, that meant, she would get to have coffee, while I, would be riding in the boat. A fair trade off, in that I still love to go boating.
We pull into the boat ramp area and decide how we need to get set up. Great, except that this is now where I have to back down into the water. Not too close or I would hit the dock, not too far or the car wouldn't stop. Saw that happen one day, not a pretty site. So, I back slowly, closer in the water, not being able to see on the other side. They were guiding me, from the dock, while holding the ropes. We do manage after some time to get the boat in the water.
Oh, we were so excited! My brother gets it started and off we go, under the bridge and through...almost. We are stopped dead in the water, and right in the middle of the path that all other boats had to use. There was plenty of water, meaning it was deep enough, where were sitting, but if you went too far off to the left, it was shoal and we would run aground. So we paddled, and paddled, without much success, but a lot of work.
Paddling is hard work and you get nowhere fast. Finally we had gotten over into the shallow water and my brother and I got out of the boat and pushed her. Still trying to get it to start again, every now and them. Now, my youngest son at the time was sitting in the seat with a life preserver on, and had turned the color of Shrek. Totally green!! So it goes without saying, he was seasick and we weren't even moving! This could prove to be a messy boat ride, I thought, looking at the poor little thing, should we ever get it going.
Now this is back in the day, of certainly no cell phones. I have said many times, how did we ever get along without them?

After a whole lot of pushing that big heavy boat, I was tired, and a thought came to me, from back in the days when my older brother and I had our own boat. I asked my brother if he had pumped the bulb on the gas tank. The look on his face, as I remember it today, was priceless. He had not. Poor thing, he had worked so hard at being the man of the day, and forgotten a key component. We climbed back into the boat and he pumped it up. It started on the first turn of the key! Off we go, we are flying now, and his "look" had turned to joy and confidence.
Well, we all felt a little stupid at the mistake we had made in our hurry to have fun. But it sure has given us a good laugh for many years, every time we think of it, fondly. We spent the rest of the day playing in the boat. Now, my older brother and I had already had the pleasure of a boat in our day, but now it was my younger brother's turn, and he was as happy as could be, he was the Captain. He was quite good at it too. He wasn't old enough to drive a car, but he could sure drive a boat. The day was looking good.

We could pull the boat up on shore and anchor it to a tree in the yard for the day. At nightfall though, we had to take the boat out of the water, just in case a storm would suddenly form. We were prepared to take the boat back around the several miles to the boat ramp in plenty of time. We went in to have lunch and rest up a bit before having more fun. Taking my coffee and looking out the front window after lunch, I see clouds forming on the horizon. I didn't think too much of it, they would pass as usual. A few minutes later the sun disappeared, and the sky turned dark.

My brother and I looked at each other, and then out at the bay. It had already started to churn and whitecaps were forming on the waves. This was not good. We knew that we had to hurry and bring that boat around, and out of the water before it got any rougher. Several of our neighbors had lost boats in the past, leaving them on shore during a storm. Our mother, nervous Nellie that she was, decided I had to go with him, while she brought the car and trailer to the boat ramp, with my two kids. So, she didn't want anything to happen to my brother without me! I was not, I mean really not happy about this. After all, I was the official driver, what more must you ask of me, my children need a mother! Nothing worked, I was going with him. Not that I minded taking care of my brother, I just wasn't at all sure there was anything I could do, besides the fact I was scared out of my wits!

I looked out at that dark water with waves crahing against the shore, no sun in sight and I wanted to hide under the covers. My brother never showed any sign of fear. He knew he had a job to do, and went about it, the same way he does today. We started out not too bad, but the further we went, the higher the waves were, and the harder they hit us. With each rise of a wave, we had to come down, hard. We knew we had to take it slow, to keep the boat from breaking too hard against the waves, it was excruciating to go so slow, when we really wanted to hurry. The arduous task of guiding the boat into the waves correctly, so we wouldn't become awash, was achieved by my young brother with skill. The bend was in sight, that would take us to calmer seas, and it seemed to take forever to reach that bend. Finally, we rounded the bend and the waves were not as strong, and didn't hit us with quite so much vigor.

It was still rough water, but not nearly as bad, and we were able to get a little more speed up. Thankfully so, because it had started to rain and it pelted down hard as we struggled to see through it, constanly wiping our eyes . We finally reached the boat ramp, and there was Mom with the trailer. Mom was finally relieved as she saw us come under the bridge. When I got out of the boat and to the car, she slid over, so I could take over and back the trailer in the water. I began to get nervous now, about getting that boat on the trailer for the first time in this pouring down rain. My brother drove the boat onto the trailer, with a skill I had no idea he possessed. I was quite impressed, as I still am today. We strapped it down and headed back to the cottage to change, soaking the inside of the car as we went, with our drenched clothes.

The best cup of coffee I ever tasted, was when we got back and changed out of those wet cold clothes. Thankfully, the next day was beautiful, and we didn't have to fight the waves or the rain, as we rode along in the boat most of the day, stopping to fish for awhile. Somehow, the first day of the new boat, never repeated itself, it was quite enough for the rest of my life anyway!
The funny thing is, my little Shrek boy, has now grown into a man, and makes his living as a commercial waterman. Every day that the wind blows in a certain direction, I worry, and wait. He knows I'm watching the wind, and calls me as soon as he reaches shore. Sometimes he forgets to call if he gets busy, and I will call him. He answers with, I'm on shore. That's all I need to know, for now.