Saturday, November 12, 2011

That gentleman sure does know how to handle a boat!!!



Time travelled:  6:54
 Nautical miles:  54.6
 Docked at:        Clifton Marina

 I have already put another pillow on Garth's side of the bed for his inflated head!
 We pulled into the marina this afternoon and an older man came out of the marina office to see the gentleman that was "drivin the boat".  He saw me at the side trying to hook a cleat with the mid line and said - in his best Tennessee drawl - THAT GENTLEMAN SURE DOES KNOW HOW TO HANDLE A BOOOAT!  He did not offer to grab the line I was desperately trying to hook he walked right by and stopped at the salon door to congratulate Garth on maneuvering the boat backwards and sideways onto the transient dock.  He has been on the rivers for over forty years blah blah blah ,,,,,,,, I could just see Garth's ears spreading and his hat slowly getting too small for his head!!! Afterwards Garth's reaction was , I wish Dan were here to see this - he taught me everything I know - then he stopped himself and said -" sixteen foot canoe - fifty three foot boat - it's all water and physics".  
Just so I could live with him for the next few weeks I was quick to add that yes Dan did teach you a lot but I turned you onto the "Frank Maneuver"!  So. to Dan from "Quest" and Frank from "Once Around" your training and information sharing has wowed the locals here in Clifton, Tennessee.
It is odd that nobody ever comes up and says " nice line throwing" , "great placement of the fenders", "great job you did in town, getting everything you need in the two hours allowed in the marina courtesy car"  - oh well, I have broad shoulders and can handle it, for now. But I must add, it is amazing what you can get at Wal-Mart and it seems every place has a Wal-Mart!  You meet all kinds at Wal-Mart to - last week in Paducah, Kentucky the women in front of me noticed I had Chicken Jerky (for dogs) on the belt - she turned and said to me - "You are going to think I am crazy but I have a few coupons for things you are buying" and handed over the coupons. I was a little miffed because she had handed the poor cashier a mittful of coupons and she took what seemed like for ever to scan each and every coupon into her machine.  She saved twenty five dollars so you can imagine the number of coupons she had. I thanked her and saved two dollars. 


Until we arrived here it was yet another uneventful day but we did see some wildlife - a wolf swam across the river in front of us early this morning and some beautiful big blue herons flew along side of us. 

It is really a wolf - it's my camera skills that are questionable. 




Blue Heron on bare branch above the orange clump.