Assault on Goose Island
Apr 27th, 2008 by Lynne
Or, How I Broke My Glasses and Both of Us Took a Dunk in the Lake
So we bought this canoe yesterday, and since the weather was halfway decent this afternoon, we decided to take it out for a spin. Everything initially went off without a hitch. We climbed into the canoe and took off, no problem. Within a few minutes, we got the hang of steering, and then we were off exploring. We finally got to see the Isle of Goose Poop up close, too!
A while later, we started thinking maybe this boating thing wasn’t so hard, after all. We hadn’t tipped over the canoe, nor had we run it aground. Everything seemed rosy. But we had forgotten one thing. We had no idea how to get OUT of the boat.
Oh, maneuvering the boat so that it was close to the bank was no big deal. Even keeping it in a stable position next to the shore wasn’t hard. The problem came when I had one foot on the shore and the other on the boat, and then the boat started heading back out into the water. Splitsville!
If I’d had any sense, I would’ve…hmm…I’m not sure what I would’ve done. I think the trick may be to get out gently and not put yourself in the position of one foot on land and one foot on a rapidly receding watercraft. Once that starts, I think you’re pretty much screwed.
When I (stupidly) tried to get back into the boat, I did it a little too forcefully, which tipped the whole thing backward. John’s elbow got up close and personal with my glasses, and if I don’t have a black eye by tomorrow I’ll be very much surprised. We both ended up flat on our asses in about six inches of water, with the little boat bobbing cheerfully nearby.
The good news is that our combo paddle/oar thingie floats. We found this out because they both went flying when John fell out of the boat backward. Cool. We had been wondering about that.
Also, John’s Treo was safe inside a ziplock bag, thank goodness, so it didn’t get wet.
I have no idea if our neighbors saw us or not. Heard us, probably yes. I bet our cackles — and screams, initially — were heard halfway around the lake. :-)
I’d offer a suggestion, but I’ve biffed that particular task too many times myself. The only thing that’s worked is running the thing into the sand and getting out, but that’s bad for the boat (depending on what’s how far under the sand, it can be very bad for the boat!).
If some boat-getting-out-of-accomplished person has a technique to offer I’m all ears.
OMG! I’m glad you both are all right! But you have to admit, that would be funny as hell if you guys were on your first date!
Lynne’s technique seems to have been the same I used when I last got out of a canoe twenty-five years ago, and produced the same results. Oh, I though I was gonna be cool when we got up to shore, and I braced both paddles in a V to hold us in place, but cool is not what we achieved. :-)
Hi, James! We don’t have a beach here, so the running-it-aground solution isn’t available.
Alas, I suspect I’ll just finally have to figure out how to be coordinated, at this late date. :-P
Hi, Seressia! That would be up there with disastrously funny first dates, huh? :-)
The last time I got out of a canoe, it was tied up to a dock, and I climbed out via a ladder.
We’ll just have to practice, I guess, but I think we need to remove any breakable objects first!
Perhaps 2 sets of waders might be in order?
Heh, waders might not be a bad idea. :-) I’m glad we bought life vests, even though we were only in half a foot of water when we fell in. They’re just a good thing to have around.