This one is ALL ON ME:
So the much anticipated weekend has arrived......I'm goin' up to the kawarthas to meet and greet some fellow OFC'ers. Big Cliff is first on the list. He sends me detailed directions....I have a GPS. Need I say more? Yes I do. I plug his address into the GPS, it finds it no problem at all. So up the 115\35 I go. I recall that I need to drive to the first light, la de da de da, I drive PAST the exit for 35 to Lindsay 'cause there is no light to be seen as of yet. When I get to the 7a exit I'm thinkin' (a rare thing for me), I didn't think I needed to drive all the way to Peterborough.....This is at 6:30 in the morning, Cliff said that he is up at 5 am every morning so I reluctantly decide to call. I wake up his wife, (an incredibly warm woman BTW), and she gets out of bed and goes to the top of the driveway into the shop and lets Cliff know that I need directions. (All of this time my GPS is telling me that I need to go back, but, NOOOOOOOO I know better because I remember the directions that Cliff gave me. Well to make a long story shorter, I managed to find his home, (nestled right on the shore of Sturgeon lake), and sat down to a coffee, while waiting for Beans, my fishing partner for the day. We laughed about my misadventures on the way up, and put that down to experience.
Beans arrives, introductions are made, equipment compared, anticipation of a good day is in the air. The downpour had stopped, the sun was out, life is GOOD! So, off to the launch we go, the launch went smoothly, Beans is in my, (yet to be slimed), boat, with no trouble at all. I park the van and trailer, make my way to the boat, fire her up and help Beans into the dodge van captian's chair that I had mounted on the front bench seat of my 14' narrow beam boat. Now, a word about Beans.....Besides being one of the nicest and most worthy of respect men that I have had the pleasure of meeting, he is also an very experienced fisherman. He's gotta have 30+ years of experience on me. As well, he is a large man, in heart and goodnature as well as girth.
OK here is the situation, an older, robust man sitting on a seat that is elevated 8 inches above the gunwales supported by a 10" circular base fastened to a fiberglass bench seat . The base is 12" high. Nothing wrong with that picture, right?
So here we are on the lake; Beans has pulled in two perch, I am still waiting to get a bite. I ask Beans how he likes the seat, "It is very comfortable" he says. I am curious as this is the shakedown cruise with the new seat. I believe him and envy him as it does look very comfy. Beans leans back as he says this, and to my abject, unaldulterated, complete HORROR! he continues to lean back and back and into the drink he goes! I still have a vivid mental image of Beans' head entering the water, he completley upside down, still seated in the chair, legs kicking vainly in the air for some type of purchase, with a look of absolute shock and surprise etched into his face.
Now at this moment in time I am thinking that I have killed him, he is going to drown, and it is my fault. So I do what any reasonable man would do, I panic. Thankfully he does not. Beans makes his way to the surface clutches at the side of the boat, and says something to the effect of " That was interesting", and I am thinking how the hell am I gonna get him back in??????!!!!!
Fortunatly there are two men nearby in a bass boat, I call them over and they CALMLY get us cooled off, well Beans was already cool, he was IN the water after all, and get Beans into a life jacket, haul him into their boat, and transfer him back to mine. They were the true heros of the situation, regretably we did not get their names.
(So if you recognize this situation, and lurk the board, THANK YOU!!!!!!) If you are members here, stand and be counted.
During all of this Beans is concerned for me, because he can see the huge impact that this has had on me. I am not doing well....
Need less to say, that was the end of the outing.
Beans I owe you an apology, and thank you very much for your freindship that was offered despite my attempt on your life.
Cliff I appreciate the sage advice given after this incident, and will take it to heart.
So, do I need to say anything about ALWAYS wearing your PFD????
More about the weekend tomorrow and meeting some more OFC'ers
That is great news! Well done on you and the staff at Service Ontario.