The Anecdotal Life Part. 43

Well, I did it. I went back to the marina yard , borrowed a ladder, climbed with faintheart to the top, had to swing my leg up over the transom and roll myself over the side of my boat and finish up details I had neglected in my hurry to put boating behind for the season. I am tired of being scared to death for a while. You'd think all the boating courses would help, but they don't. One instructor hit it on the head when he said "You've got too much imagination." Well yeah, but it serves me well in art and writing... and in problem solving (as long as it's not math). And I must say on my behalf they don't make it easy. All four courses deal with what can go wrong. Fires, explosions from various, numerous and sundry sources, collisions, lightning, broaching your boat in high seas, pitchpoling your boat or merely burying the bow in high seas, man over board, self over board, hypothermia ( immediate and long term), running aground on shoals , wrecks and what have you, miscalculation due to a dozen "blonde mistakes" or fog , wind, current. There are nine hundred ninety nine signals using flags, flares, whistles, bells, flashlights, mirrors, not to forget electronic equipment, radios and etc. Nothing to it. The chilling stories from all boaters and that horrible movie, The Perfect Storm all compile why not to boat. But I bet I will be back at it next spring. Please, don't anybody send any scary things I may have neglected to think of. I will be busy taking care of that on my own.
Copyright: December 7th, 2006