erged and scraped the bottom of the boat and damaged his inboard engine. NOT GOOD!! The boat is only a few years old and I'm sure it cost him a pretty penny. Not what do we do? Uncle Paul's boat has no radio so we couldn't call for help. We started floating into the center of the canal where all the freighters and barges make their way from the Chesapeake Bay to the Delaware Bay. By now my mom is crying. And .... here comes a BIG ONE! Uncle Paul seems as cool as can be and tells us that they won't run into us. I'm not sure he has himself convinced. The big ship is getting bigger by the minute. And then, it slowly passes us and there can't be much room between us and the ship. We are pushed back by the wake of the ship. Pretty scary!! Finally a passing boater comes to our aid and tows us back to a marina where Uncle Paul calls the cottage. His brother is at the cottage and brings another boat to tow us home. After pulling the boat onto a trailer, Uncle Paul finds that there is little damage to the boat, but the propeller is ruined. Results could have been MUCH worst had the big ship decided to run into us. It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.
Monday, May 31, 2010
The "Shedding a Few Tears on the Canal" Story
It was an ordinary day. My mom, dad, brother Steve and I are riding in my Uncle Paul's 1954 wooden Chris-Craft luxury boat with him and my Aunt Doris. Really neat boat. Made with mahogany and polished to a high shine. Christopher Columbus Smith built his first boat in 1874 and was soon joined by his brother Henry in making wooden pleasure boats. They named their company Chris-Craft in 1924. Chris-Craft is one of the world’s most renowned and universally recognized names in boat building. Some dictionaries even list the word Chris-Craft as a synonym for pleasure boats. Today we are on the Chesapeake Bay traveling up the Chesapeake and Delaware Canal. Uncle Paul loved to share his boat and always took us for rides when we would come to visit my Aunt and Uncle at their summer cottage in Locust Point, MD. We are traveling slowly along the banks of the canal looking at the houses and other points of interest. Suddenly, the boat jumps slightly out of the water and Uncle Paul seems upset. Seems he hit something submerged and scraped the bottom of the boat and damaged his inboard engine. NOT GOOD!! The boat is only a few years old and I'm sure it cost him a pretty penny. Not what do we do? Uncle Paul's boat has no radio so we couldn't call for help. We started floating into the center of the canal where all the freighters and barges make their way from the Chesapeake Bay to the Delaware Bay. By now my mom is crying. And .... here comes a BIG ONE! Uncle Paul seems as cool as can be and tells us that they won't run into us. I'm not sure he has himself convinced. The big ship is getting bigger by the minute. And then, it slowly passes us and there can't be much room between us and the ship. We are pushed back by the wake of the ship. Pretty scary!! Finally a passing boater comes to our aid and tows us back to a marina where Uncle Paul calls the cottage. His brother is at the cottage and brings another boat to tow us home. After pulling the boat onto a trailer, Uncle Paul finds that there is little damage to the boat, but the propeller is ruined. Results could have been MUCH worst had the big ship decided to run into us. It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.
erged and scraped the bottom of the boat and damaged his inboard engine. NOT GOOD!! The boat is only a few years old and I'm sure it cost him a pretty penny. Not what do we do? Uncle Paul's boat has no radio so we couldn't call for help. We started floating into the center of the canal where all the freighters and barges make their way from the Chesapeake Bay to the Delaware Bay. By now my mom is crying. And .... here comes a BIG ONE! Uncle Paul seems as cool as can be and tells us that they won't run into us. I'm not sure he has himself convinced. The big ship is getting bigger by the minute. And then, it slowly passes us and there can't be much room between us and the ship. We are pushed back by the wake of the ship. Pretty scary!! Finally a passing boater comes to our aid and tows us back to a marina where Uncle Paul calls the cottage. His brother is at the cottage and brings another boat to tow us home. After pulling the boat onto a trailer, Uncle Paul finds that there is little damage to the boat, but the propeller is ruined. Results could have been MUCH worst had the big ship decided to run into us. It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.
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