It is prudent to start your engine at home one time before heading to  the ramp. I took one pic and left  before things got heated.

“You flooded it”

Oh, and the hull plug, don’t forget the plug. You would be amazed at  how fast you  sink without a plug.

Trust me.

That’s my mooring ball just beyond in the mist, waiting. This was the first year  that I left the ball on the chain. It’s generally not a good idea as the ice sheet can lift the ball and move the mooring. I can discern no movement from last year. This year  I do need to do some maintenance on the mooring to prevent this from happening again.

I came down to pump her out( I don’t like auto bilges) one night last August, and  looked out to my mooring.

No boat.

Checking to see if she foundered on the rocks about the basin and not finding her I figured she was down river.

Nestled in a marsh.

Hoping.

Standing on the dock figuring my next move ,  I  spotted the tip of the bird repeller mount  just  visible above and  beyond the dinghy rack. It was dead  low tide.The boat was high  and dry.

The feeling? Akin to finding your little wanderer, child or dog.

She had  parted her painter given her swing weight being full of water, and drifted over to the wall where she settled right in as the tide turned to the Bay, no damage . You  could not see the boat  from the parking lot or dock. I drained it, tied her off then came back about  2am to  motor back to the mooring. It was a boating adventure.

One Summer I got a call from a boating pal who was  in trouble on the Piscataqua River. He was night fishing with a another guy and his  motor was conked  out. It was 9 or 10pm. He asked me to come out and  get him.

I did.

It was a perfect night for  such a run but Doozie passed  on joining me. “Have fun” she murmured, drifting back to sleep. The tide was just right to allow passage out and back under the  RR trestle at the end of the Squamscott River. On our River and Bay you must consider such things or you may rue the day.

So  off I went with some coffee in hand,and a  beautiful moon to light my way, and the channel markers.

Nope, no chart plotter on board. It was a memorable ride and I made very good time ,the water was like glass.

I didn’t  turn on the radio till I cleared the General Sullivan bridge and was headed down the Piscataqua  River towards Portsmouth.

Map courtesy of GBNERR

The vhf crackled “I see ya” and  he directed me in to his location. Tied up at a commercial dock.

“What took ya so long? ”  This question has a standard reply.

Guy humour.

Towing is slow going so the ride back took forever.

It  was a great  night.

I can’t wait  to go boating.

PS. As I left the  parking lot today there was  a young lady parked  in one of the now off limits( April1) parking spots reserved for cars with boat trailers.

Neil Jones our parking enforcement officer keeps a close eye on these spots. During  the Farmers Market people will  miss the signs and receive a ticket. The signage for the 4 reserved vehicle with trailer slots  needs to be improved to  prevent these  irksome mistakes  for  visitors. Now this  year we are moving the Farmers Market  but   with  Stillwells Ice Cream and no Swasey parking  the lot will be under pressure. Part of the lot is private, some is public. The  lot needs some attention from Town management. We should  discuss the all day parking by employees of Water Street establishments. Downtown parking at one time was a hot topic. It needs to be brought back to the forefront.

The young lady.

So I pulled up to her car  window and  informed her  of the parking regulation to save her  a nickel.

“Oh thanks, I will only be a minute. I want to get a picture of the  lovely pond, I mean lake.”

Mike