Pardon the delays in posting – it’s been a very hectic week as you’ll soon see.
On Saturday, James and I headed up to Lake Texoma in order to attend a friend’s wedding. They rented a houseboat and we took off for a beach on the lake. The wedding took place on a beach, then we re-boarded and cruised around for a while. I have to say it was quite enjoyable, as we had the chance to chat for a long time with Kathy Seei, as well as getting to know her husband, Bob, a bit better. Bob is a really neat guy and reminds me of the types of friends my parents had when I was growing up. It was great to get out on a lake on a boat like that, because that is how I spent most of my weekends and summers when I was a kid. It reminded me how much I miss it, and how easily I could slip back into that kind of weekend life. Here’s my perfect weekend, if I had a boat.
Friday – after work, pack and go to the lake. Upon arrival, put on some music, unload and grill dinner. Listen to music and relax.
Saturday – take the boat out for a spin, explore, see what other people are up to, swim, do minor repairs if needed. Have another nice dinner from the grill, watch the sunset, generally relax.
Sunday – repeat Saturday until time to go home.
Sounds nice, huh? It works even better if you have a ski boat or jet ski, or friends who have something like that, so you can have visitors or go skiing.
The day was really pleasant, although I also have to say that the captain wasn’t a very good one. It was amusing to me that he didn’t ask the passengers to stay off the front deck while they put out the land anchors. Instead he made us guess which way he was going to walk so we were in his way. On the cruise back, he literally steered the boat aimlessly, instead of picking an appropriate destination for the time we had left and going there and back. Upon our return, they took us to the fuel dock instead of the regular dock. The captain evidently envisioned everyone just waiting while they got fuel (nevermind we had all been out in 100 degree sun for six hours). He also didn’t ask people to stay back from the side while he brought it in and at one point I thought some kids’ fingers were going to get smashed. He did a terrible job bringing it in, and I can say that because I had the pleasure of piloting a 43″ houseboat my parents formerly owned. It had twin engines and a flying bridge, and piloting it is one of the most satisfying things I think I have ever done. This captain smacked the side a number of times, and attempted a maneuver with a rope to pull the boat alongside, but it didn’t really work. If he had just brought it alongside smoothly the first time, his deck hands could have easily tied it off. Oh well, no one ever listens to me.
A final note, the website for this “Fastrac” from where the boat was rented includes a picture of a different captain, who is “coast guard certified” with the quotes like that. I think that implies he actually isn’t, if it’s in quotes. If he’s the captain on the website, I’m guessing the one we had on board that day must be their inferior captain!