As we continue to work towards becoming full-time RV’ers, we are still hanging out in our camper here locally. One of the benefits is, or was, getting to use our boat and dock it up at the campground. We were late getting on the list to be de-winterized so we were excited when we got the call it was done.
Our grandson was spending a couple of nights with us in the camper and we discover he has never been on a boat before. At this point Cathy can’t wait for me to get the boat. She loves “firsts”. So she drives Cade and I up to the marina and drops us off to get the boat.
I’d like to take a moment here and thank Erwin Marine for taking such good care of us. They are great to work with. The service department is courteous and helpful. Mike and the other guys that put the boats in and out of the water are great. Our boat has been well cared for there and they maintain the Marina.
So, back to the story. Cade and I load up. He was a little amazed by the big fork lift putting our little boat in the water. Anyway, off we go back to the campground to pick up GEM, that’s what the grandkids call Cathy. Cade was instantly hooked on boating and of course being the grandpa that I am. I’m telling him how everything works, what to do, what not to do, why you do it, why you shouldn’t do etc. Of course he makes a smart-ass comment about this to Cathy when she gets on board
We met some friends and tied up for a while and introduce Cade to swim saddles. Our friends had their grandson with them so Cade had a blast. Nothing like making their first experience a good one. Now we checked the weather before we left. No rain in the forecast….wrong!
A nice little thunderstorm pops up out of nowhere. Obviously not the first time this has happened to me on the water. If you spend any time at all on the water. Especially, in the days before cell phones and smart phones. You have had a storm appear out of the bright sunshine suddenly.
I thought we were going to edge around it and get back to shore in the dry….wrong again! Cathy will tell you that I don’t panic. If I’m ever worried in less than optimal situations she knows to be concerned. This was not a bad storm. I’ve been in worse in smaller boats. So needless to say I showed no signs of concern so she felt ok. However, it was her and Cades first time on a boat in a storm. When the rain got hard enough that I couldn’t see well enough to run wide open. They were a little worried, damp and cold. When the lightening and thunder started they were a little freaked out.
The storm ended up being much bigger than it looked like it was going to be and by the time we hit the dock the flood gates were wide open. Part of me is glad that Cade got this unexpected experience and I was even prouder that it did not deter his fondness for boating as he wanted to go back out the next day, which we did.
Sunday ended up being just Cade and I and we had a good time, He was a little bored without another kid to play with so we raised anchor and I let him drive for a bit. He liked this but he was a little nervous.
We got back to the dock and I sold the boat. Yep, A guy was admiring it and said he was wanting one. I said it’s for sale and the rest is history. After all I can’t take it on the road with us and opportunity was knocking.
