The "The Boat's on Fire" Story

It was an ordinary day. We had just arrived at Locust Point, MD for our summer vacation. The "We" is Carol and me and our three kids, Derek, Brynn and Tad as well as Gary and Sandy H. and their three kids Janelle, Eric and Rob. This is our first trip together. We are neighbors and go to the same church so we know each other well, but knowing each other and vacationing with each other are two different things. Well, part way through the week we found we needed something other than games, swimming and eating to keep the kids occupied. After some discussion Gary came up with the idea that we needed a boat, since everyone had a boat and were having a great time. Off he and I went with the kids to find a boat. Around the corner was a marina and they had to have a boat for rent. Sure enough, they had one, but we needed to come back in an hour so they would had time to prepare it for rental. An hour later we returned and were led out to the pier to see the boat. It was a large "wooden row boat" that happened to have an outboard motor attached to the back. Gary said, "I'll stay with the kids while you go out with him to see how it works." "Hey, wait a minute. This was your idea to rent a boat. I have no idea what I'm doing," I told him. But off I went with the guy to learn how to run the boat. Pretty easy really. Prime the motor, pull the cord and steer with the handle. Turning the handle would give you more acceleration. He told me he would take it out into the river and then let me give it a try. I waved good-bye to everyone and off we went. I sat in the front and he in the back. After half a minute I turned around to see what he was doing and realized something was wrong. "Is your boat supposed to have flames coming from the corner?" I asked after noticing the three foot flames. "Holy s**t," was the response I got. "Grab those buckets in the front and get back here." I did what I was told and we started throwing water on the fire. Seems the gas line had developed a sizable leak and the gas leaking out had caught fire next to the fuel cans. After what seemed like forever we put the fire out, but with all the water on board, we were starting to lean heavily towards the back. Next we had to bail. A half hour later, after rowing the boat back to the pier, I got off the boat. "I'll have another one ready for you tomorrow," he yelled. Yeah, right! It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy. (Story in Memory of Gary H.)