The Captain Does not SQUARE DANCE!

Out On The River

When I volunteered for this trip, I promised to stay out of the way and not interfere with the “Girls” fun week on the houseboat. I went so that none of them had to worry about being 'responsible' for driving the boat. Besides, I really wanted to drive the houseboat.

What is rockin the boat?

I quickly discovered that just driving was not that easy. The 'bridge', such as it is, is right in the main cabin next to the dining room, so you don't get a nice quiet 'bridge' to pilot the boat. Now there are advantages to this. Your coffee comes quickly in the morning, and when the boat starts rocking badly in perfectly calm water, you do not have to go look for the problem, you can see that it is just the line dancing going on in the living room - when all eight of them sashay one way the boat does tend to participate in the dance.

Tying up the boat

I also discovered that the captain's duties do go beyond just steering the boat (Silly me . . . ). I discovered that my 'deck hands' were actually more of the 'deck fluff' variety and it was me that had to jump ashore when we chose a spot to stop for the night and tie the boat to a couple of sturdy trees. They were willing to throw the ropes to me but balked at jumping ashore to do the actual tying. When the table wouldn't come apart at bedtime to convert to a bed, I had to do it, and of course when the hot tub sploshed out in the wind, I was on deck to fill it again and get the temperature up to the suggested 110° required by Karen.

Square Dancing on the Lido

I did draw the line in the sand (We were actually pulled up on a lovely sandy beach in Nackawic) when I was asked to take part in Sharon's impromptu Square Dance lessons that started up on the 'Lido' deck because they couldn't convince the attractive EMO guys to come back and fill in for Elayne's bruised rib they were asked to attend to.

The captain DOES NOT SQUARE DANCE!

Boating With The Girls

Boating with the Girls

Ok, now retirement is all about finally having the time to try new things, challenge yourself, take chances and test your limits. Well, my latest adventure was probably my most adventurous. Regis, always looking for interesting things to do, found an advertisement in a 'tourist' magazine for a houseboat rental on the Saint John River. Now some of her ideas don't go very far, but this one proved popular and in no time she had nine girlfriends willing to go with her.

The Captain at work

I don't know what I was thinking, but I suggested that I would go along to drive the boat so they could all 'party' without having to worry about a “Designated Driver”. If it has an engine and a throttle I want to try to drive it, and since I liked the narrow boat in England I thought this would be fun. I should have realized when no one tried to talk me out of it that I might be in trouble. After all I had been in the house during their “serious” book clubs (I didn't know that much wine was involved with reviewing novels), and I had heard about some of their “get-a-ways” in Cape Breton. This wasn't one group, it was a combination of three groups, a book club, a Monday coffee group and some family & friends thrown in for good (or bad) measure.

Line Dancing on the Boat

Now I have never piloted a boat. In England I was designated “Engineer”, and Master Mariner Brother-in-law handled the difficult piloting duties, but he did let all interested parties a chance to man the tiller, and I only hit one other boat during my turns, and Regis was assured by the company that it wasn't difficult to pilot the boat, so I figured I could handle it. It was in the wide part of the river above the dam, and it was off season so I could learn to drive the boat without endangering other mariners too much. I even went so far as to take my 'Pleasure craft boating licence'. The interesting thing was that I worried about getting the licence and didn't really think about actually piloting the boat, but once I actually passed the test and had a piece of paper in my hand that said I could actually legally drive the boat, I started to think about all they things I didn't know. Which side is starboard again, where do you get fuel, how big was the holding tank going to have to be with nine girls wanting a shower every morning, where were we supposed to tie up every night . . . . . .

Sharing the fun

No problem, the “Boat Rental Folk” gave me a 10 minute course and when he asked if I knew about piloting a boat , and I said I had only helped with a narrow boat in England, but had driven RVs and trucks, he said “No Problem, you'll be fine!”

Walking the Plank

Actually it is pretty easy, and the boat is well suited to the river. It is an aluminium pontoon boat and I was told to just run it gently ashore, tie it to two trees and all would be good. It is no speed boat and you don't need worry about fuel, oil or even water. Back out, point it where you want to go and keep it steady until you get to the next night's mooring.

Filling the Hot Tub

And the “girls” genuinely appreciated my sacrifice and I was waited on and thanked by everyone for driving them. As I write this, we are safely tied up in a little cove along the river. The boat is nosed into the shore just like I was told to do it, and as I write this, the boat is rocking to line dancing. Now it is only the first day . . . . . . .