ok... so if you follow along your fully aware that I'm off on a cruise... those who don't know me personally may not realize the irony of it all... so lemme tell ya'... I've been on a boat approx. 3 times in my life... settle back... get yourself a good stiff drink and I'll regale you with my stories of "Me & My Boat Rides"....
Boating experience #1: Those of you familiar with West Brookfield may know Lake Wickaboag... a medium sized lake... pretty... a nice place for a Sunday boat ride... A friend had just purchased a brand new 14 foot boat so we all decided to round up the families, kids and all, and take a nice float on the lake... it was a lovely clear day.. white puffy clouds... very serene... we loaded that boat up with 9 of us... and set off across the lake... about half way across the lake the sky began to darken... about 3/4's of the way across the lake it began to rain... by the time we were on the far-side of the lake it was thundering and lightening... NOT where you wanna be during a storm... so... back across the lake to the boat ramp we go... faster.. faster.. storm is really bad now... EXACTLY in the middle of lake... where the shoreline is an equal distance away in any given direction (as in too far to swim!) - pla.. pla... PLA.... the engine dies... we're dead in the water... the lightening is flashing... the thunder booming... and we've got no power... we had blown a fuse... it took 10 minutes, and the person with the smallest possible hands to reach into that dash and replace that fuse... luckily we HAD a replacement... I've never been so happy to be back on dry land in all my life.... UNTIL....
Boating Experience #2: This one was an ocean voyage... well.. ok.. a Harbor Cruise.. down in Hyannis on the Cape... I was down there for a weekend getaway with big Sister... sitting at breakfast, right at the Hyannis harbor, Sis says "Hey, lets do something touristy... lets take the harbor cruise and see the Kennedy compound"... I reminded her of my last boating experience (she was there) and said "I don't think so"... OH.. but she replied.. it's just a Harbor cruise.. they do it all the time.. what could happen.... not wanting to be a wet blanket.. I reluctantly agreed... yeah.. ok.. what could happen... so.. woofing down the last piece of my french toast we hurried to the ticket office... *phew... we just made the next trip.... For those of you who aren't familiar with this cruise, they have 2 boats.. the Prudence.. and the Patience... they take turns doing the tour... we happily boarded the Patience and set off thru the harbor... as we were motoring across the nice calm bay we encountered the Prudence returning from her tour... "Your gonna get wet!" someone on the other ship yelled... HUH?? What?? Oh well.. maybe it's raining out there... so on we continued to sail... just before approaching the Kennedy compound it seems there's an opening in the nice breakwater line... you know it's like a big damn that keeps the harbor water calmer than the open ocean... so we hit the opening in the breakwater... first we pitched left... then we pitched right... sitting on the top level of this double decker boat we were able to reach out and touch the waves... people were screaming... and I don't mean a little "oh"... I mean blood curdelling - from deep in the lungs SCREAMING!!! Turning around to see the captain in the wheelhouse I was looking for some reassurance that it was gonna be alright, but what do I see?? Just as we hit another HUGE wave the Captain - who was standing at the wheel of the ship went flying... hit the back wall of the wheel house... fell onto the deck.. and proceeded to just about roll completely off the ship... he caught himself at the rail.. jumped up and ran back to the wheel... OH.. so re-assuring... Well... we managed to get thru it... only to have to turn around and go back thru it again to get back to the pier where they promptly cancelled the cruises for the rest of the weekend!
Still with me here? ok... on to...
Boating Experience #3... Again... down in Hyannis... with the same Big Sister... this time it was "Hey... let's take a day trip out to Nantucket.." uummm... "no thanks, last time we got on a boat, people were screaming.." OH.. come on... it's a REALLY big ship, run by a professional company... what could happen? So.. again.. not wanting to be a wet blanket... I caved... alright... so off to Nantucket it is... other than some sea sickness (note to cruisers - DON'T play cards below deck when the water is rough!) our voyage to the Island was relatively uneventful... we had a lovely day and boarded ship for the ride back to Hyannis... approx. half way back... in the middle of the ocean... no other boats in site.. no rocks.. no nothing... the captain suddenly, for no apparrent reason, decided we needed to take a HARD LEFT!!! So hard that it was all anyone could do not to be pitched from their seats... WHAT THE?? nope... no explanation... did a whale swim out in front of us? was the captain letting a 10 year old drive the ship? who knows... all I know is it is just another boat ride in my short but exciting list of boating adventures...
So... now that you know my boating experience... wanna wish me a "Bon Voyage!"
Later....
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