Thursday, March 26, 2009

Boat Wranglers

032609: The day started pleasant enough. We are at DefCon 5.

An "East chop" starts mid morning, churning the waters a little and you can see the boats mildly rocking on the dock. Only one fisherman gambled against the morning wind to venture out onto the choppy waters. We are at DefCon 4.

The East winds begin to pick up. The boats are moving to the rhythm of the waves breaking on our shoreline. We check the weather forecast. High wind warnings until late morning. It's time to check the boats on the dock for broken or stretched lines. We are at DefCon 3.

There are some boats that need additional lines and need to be retied. The East wind is now what we call a "low wind" - the worst kind of wind. They are unforgiving and unpredictable. They can last for a 1/2 hr or several. Who knows? We are now wet and at DefCon 2.

The biggest and heaviest boat on the dock is taking an "E-ticket" ride on this low East wind and we decide to be most cautious and start taking boats out of the water. We are at DefCon 1.

Let me tell you that DefCon 1 in a low East wind is where the fun starts! It takes team work, knowing what each of our jobs are, and working quickly and efficiently to take these boats out without injury to boat or person. David & I are at our best during such situations, and when we are really "ON" top of our game, it's really fun! Though we tend to get wet from the waves, and generally that's okay, but the water is especially cold this time of year! Fortunately we have never fallen in the drink (knock on wood).

Living and boating on any lake can turn nasty anytime. Rest easy though, we watch out for the safety of you, your boats and our docks at all times. It's no wonder by the end of the season when we take the docks out of the water that we breath a little easier. DefCon 1 is exciting, but I prefer DefCon 5 on a day-to-day basis!

I caught this photo afterwards, while trying to warm up. The lake had considerably calmed by then.

Good times~!

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