Saturday, September 02, 2006

Huricane Winds and Boats Don't Mix!

We had an exciting afternoon! Rain started last night and this morning the wind picked up. We had some errands to run in the morning and were sitting in the living room finishing lunch and looking at TV…and a car drove up and D came to the door – the lake was very rough and our boat had snapped a line. So, we quickly got ready, found some line, and took off to the docks. The view was incredible. The wind was coming right at the docks and kicking up white caps. The docks, which are floating, were bounding up and down and our boat is on the end of the dock. Armed with line, we careened down the dock waving back and forth to keep our balance. No time to be nervous…just get to the boat. When we got there, it was the bow starboard line that had snapped – the spring line had held. As the waves rolled in, the boat was lifted and was hitting the finger dock on the port side and almost up and over. We jumped on board to try to figure out what to do…knowing we needed to replace the snapped line. However, getting it off the boat cleats was the hard part as it was below the spring line and that was keeping the boat somewhat away from the dock. All this with the wind continuing, rain pouring and D and John, and George, another neighbor, offering suggestions and help. John had a heaver line. I got in the bow of the boat while B held on to me – couldn’t loosen the snapped rope… so, he handed me a knife, held on to my pants, and I used two hands to cut the line untie the spring line and attach the heavier line. All this with help in getting and tying the line from our friends. We all had trouble keeping our balance but by working together, the boat was “lashed down”. WOW!!!

So, we are back home, it’s still raining and blowing..and we are so grateful for the help of our friends…. THANKS!!!!!

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About Me

After working for 40 years in education, I retired and with my husband moved to the "wilds" of PA. This blog is thoughts and pictures of what we are doing.