This is the box i carry and what it says...not everyone understands what it means.
Thank you for your SMILE.
"To give a person a tree is to give them a present...To teach a person how to make a tree is to give them a GIFT for Life."
A spiritual journey through the senses of ancient clown. My path is not yours to follow, rather take what i have learned that you may find your own.
Sunday, July 27, 2014
Thursday, July 10, 2014
Up One Boat, Down One Dingy
As the author, the title of this story is a bit misleading i must confess. For in Truth, the dingy remained intact through to the end of the journey and beyond. It is only as a, P.S. in a letter, that it gets a mention as an update, or a reminder, or in this case...Both.
The voyage itself, was in moving a boat with no motor or rudder, from Burgoyne Bay to Fulford Harbour. Acting on a tip from a friend, (Ziggy), i was given a Gift from another, (Micheal), and all i had to do to earn it, was to remove it, and with a handshake the deal was done.
I've been told when a person accepts a boat, he accepts a responsibility to the safety of others, not just on his boat, but on and in the water. The Captain must also consider his crew, as he is putting his life in their hands, as much as they place theirs in his. As a newer Captain, i had very little Ocean experience and zero experience moving a lifeless vessel in the ancient tradition of using tidal ebbs and flows along with the ocean currents.
You are never given a dream without the power to make it come true however, and Destiny provides for the Faithful, though you will still have to earn it. I had a friend, (Brett), that not only had experience with those waters, but also in moving boats...First Mate Found. I also had a friend, (Jonathon), that had recently returned from the East Coast, and had the equipment and experience to document the adventure...Crew list filled...The adventure begins.
As i used my Dingy-Bat (nickname), to load the boat with provisions, Brett and Jonathon brought Brett's aluminum boat with a 9 horse Evinrude to help guide us in tow. As we re-united on the boat and prepared to leave, my first order was to make Brett acting-Captain and though i was still making the anchor drops, it was on his advice of safe areas and overall, it was his experience in these waters and moving boats we were relying on, not mine, so it was his guidance we would follow, though i still trusted my own instincts on 'when' to drop or how much line i let out, it was roughly based on his input of 'where' and suggested length...Afterall, then i would have no one to blame but my Self.
To make an already long story shorter, we left Burgoyne Bay as the sun set on Tuesday Night and anchored in Fulford Friday afternoon. We could have come in Thursday night, but i didn't want to anchor in the dark and it also seemed a good excuse to draw out the adventure another night and day.
Throughout it all, the voyage went very smoothly, with only a couple of tense moments with the currents and the lesson every Captain must learn...when someone throws you an oar, use BOTH hands to catch it, unless you want a black eye.
I have to admit though, it was a glorious voyage with many moments that felt like Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn, river-rafting the Mississippi. And considering we all made it in safely, boat and dingy included, with only a few minor injuries to Jonathon (whom fell despite me telling him not to), when he slipped on the rocks beach-combing and taking pictures...Oh and my shiner for trying to catch an oar one-handed...All in all, i think i get to chalk this one up as a very successful, 4 day adventure, that only cost $40.oo in gas.
As to the P.S. of this story that concerns 'One Dingy Down'. That is the cautionary part of this saga, as a reminder to all. Just because you have safely brought your boat in, doesn't mean the adventure is really over and you can let your guard down a few days later, when the wind picks up, and the tide is rushing out and you are adding more line to Dingy-Bat so she isn't slamming against the boat with the wind and waves.
No...when your instincts remind you to tie the new line to Dingy-Bat BEFORE untying it...That would be a wise thing to do. Instead of getting out there and suddenly noticing how the waves were glowing, effervescent as they capped and splashed against Dingy-Bat and all around.
Instead of finishing what you were doing, BEFORE taking a moment to pause and appreciate the wondrous beauty all around you...No, instead, you mindlessly do exactly what you just told yourself not to do, and untie Dingy-Bat while looking at the pretty waves and then have the wet, slimy, rope, slip from your fingers and immediately gets claimed by the winds and waves, as you, partly coming, to your senses and had began quickly, tying the new line to the boat, instead of wisely, retying Dingy-Bat first.
A novice Captain's mistake i am sure, but one i also made sure i'd remember well, with every stroke i made, as i swam to shore the next day. It's not that i couldn't have just waved down one of the other boaters for a dry ride to the docks...It's that i did HEAR my little voice warn me ahead of time, and i didn't LISTEN, and that can be a deadly mistake on land or water, so was a lesson i did not want to soon forget again.
The voyage itself, was in moving a boat with no motor or rudder, from Burgoyne Bay to Fulford Harbour. Acting on a tip from a friend, (Ziggy), i was given a Gift from another, (Micheal), and all i had to do to earn it, was to remove it, and with a handshake the deal was done.
I've been told when a person accepts a boat, he accepts a responsibility to the safety of others, not just on his boat, but on and in the water. The Captain must also consider his crew, as he is putting his life in their hands, as much as they place theirs in his. As a newer Captain, i had very little Ocean experience and zero experience moving a lifeless vessel in the ancient tradition of using tidal ebbs and flows along with the ocean currents.
You are never given a dream without the power to make it come true however, and Destiny provides for the Faithful, though you will still have to earn it. I had a friend, (Brett), that not only had experience with those waters, but also in moving boats...First Mate Found. I also had a friend, (Jonathon), that had recently returned from the East Coast, and had the equipment and experience to document the adventure...Crew list filled...The adventure begins.
As i used my Dingy-Bat (nickname), to load the boat with provisions, Brett and Jonathon brought Brett's aluminum boat with a 9 horse Evinrude to help guide us in tow. As we re-united on the boat and prepared to leave, my first order was to make Brett acting-Captain and though i was still making the anchor drops, it was on his advice of safe areas and overall, it was his experience in these waters and moving boats we were relying on, not mine, so it was his guidance we would follow, though i still trusted my own instincts on 'when' to drop or how much line i let out, it was roughly based on his input of 'where' and suggested length...Afterall, then i would have no one to blame but my Self.
Throughout it all, the voyage went very smoothly, with only a couple of tense moments with the currents and the lesson every Captain must learn...when someone throws you an oar, use BOTH hands to catch it, unless you want a black eye.
I have to admit though, it was a glorious voyage with many moments that felt like Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn, river-rafting the Mississippi. And considering we all made it in safely, boat and dingy included, with only a few minor injuries to Jonathon (whom fell despite me telling him not to), when he slipped on the rocks beach-combing and taking pictures...Oh and my shiner for trying to catch an oar one-handed...All in all, i think i get to chalk this one up as a very successful, 4 day adventure, that only cost $40.oo in gas.
No...when your instincts remind you to tie the new line to Dingy-Bat BEFORE untying it...That would be a wise thing to do. Instead of getting out there and suddenly noticing how the waves were glowing, effervescent as they capped and splashed against Dingy-Bat and all around.
Instead of finishing what you were doing, BEFORE taking a moment to pause and appreciate the wondrous beauty all around you...No, instead, you mindlessly do exactly what you just told yourself not to do, and untie Dingy-Bat while looking at the pretty waves and then have the wet, slimy, rope, slip from your fingers and immediately gets claimed by the winds and waves, as you, partly coming, to your senses and had began quickly, tying the new line to the boat, instead of wisely, retying Dingy-Bat first.
A novice Captain's mistake i am sure, but one i also made sure i'd remember well, with every stroke i made, as i swam to shore the next day. It's not that i couldn't have just waved down one of the other boaters for a dry ride to the docks...It's that i did HEAR my little voice warn me ahead of time, and i didn't LISTEN, and that can be a deadly mistake on land or water, so was a lesson i did not want to soon forget again.
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