A Lesson Relearned

As my partner, Rob, and I were returning for weigh-in at the Sept. 13 tournament, I made a navigational error that could have turned out a lot differently than it did. The problem developed when I made my approach, from the south, to the two channel markers at the entrance to West Neck Creek off the North Landing River.

I usually wait to make my turn toward these markers until I'm at a point that aligns approximately halfway between the two posts. On the 13th, however, I began my approach early, at an angle, because of some boat traffic ahead that I wanted to avoid. As a result, Rob and I felt a slight but nevertheless undeniable thump neither one of us was expecting. It caused us to shoot a glance sideways at each other.

I remembered afterward that there are some old stumps out in the area we had cut through, and it's evident we had felt one of them. There are some more stumps on the other side of the entrance, too, none of which ever are visible, except during periods of low water.

My memory lapse on the 13th fortunately proved to be just a harmless reminder that it pays to keep your thinking cap on all the time. But what about those boaters and jet skiers who never have seen the river and creeks at low water and thus don't realize the enormous risks they run all too frequently?

I'm talking about those people who cut channel markers on the wrong side--sometimes while pulling children in tubes, on various kinds of boards, etc. I'm also talking about those people who let others ride on pedestal seats when their boats are running under power of the outboard motor. It doesn't take much of an imagination to figure out what could happen if you should hit a submerged stump--like the boat in the above photo. It hit a stump doing 65+. Luckily, no one was injured. Incidentally, this "navigational error" didn't occur locally.

Disaster on the water can strike anytime of year in just the blink of an eye, but the dangers are reduced considerably when you exercise responsible-boating skills and habits.