I am not a boater—there, I said it. On the other hand, my husband Mitch loves fishing on his rented boat. I have a 2-3 hour ADD attention span for the high seas while he is just getting started. But our last boating experience was the first one for me!
We were somewhere off the Florida Keys—as you can see above, my map knew precisely where we were. I had already texted, read, ate, and drank and was ready to move on. Did I mention that Mitch anchors the boat and fishes? When I refer to boating with Mitch, we are not going for rides—we are anchored while he teases the unsuspecting (by this time, they should be suspecting) fish.
Uh-Oh
Finally, it was time to move to our next spot of fish hunting, and our engine died. Well, that’s an exaggeration. Our engine turned and sputtered continuously. Did I mention that we were quite a distance from the house?
Gilligan’s Island?
One dot was on our phone as we tried to contact the boat rental company. They were initially slow to respond but eventually texted that they were dealing with “another” emergency. (Was our situation an emergency? Help!) Yes, typical Vickie panic set in with wild thoughts of Gilligan’s Island or drifting into the evening without proper evening wear—did we have lights on this boat?
To my relief, a boat was cruising in the distance. I waved furiously, Mitch was waving too, but to another boat in the other direction. The boat I was beckoning slowed down and turned in our direction, our heroes.
Disclaimer
Disclaimer: This retelling is my opinion only. Mitch was not concerned at all. There, I said it. Now, can we move on?
The couple on the rescue boat said they would tow tow tow our boat home. To say we were grateful is an understatement. Farewell, Gilligan’s Island! The couple admitted they had been tow-tow recipients many times and it was really no big deal. Until…
Blimp Island – Is Not A Resort
The realization was that it would take hours at this pace to get back to our key. We were nearing Blimp Island—yes, that’s correct—the island where the weather or drug scanner (I’m not really sure which) Blimp lives. It’s actually Cudjoe Key – which I didn’t realize until I asked Siri – Who also told me It’s not a resort but a homeland security site that monitors air and sea traffic from Cuba and other areas. A small dock is connected to the island, and we decided they would drop us off there.
Thank You, George
Fortunately, the boat company called us and was ready for our emergency. They told us they were sending the Mechanic to meet us. We were going so slowly that the Mechanic (George) got to our spot at the same time we arrived.
We offered a gift to the couple for helping us but their reply was for us to Pay It Forward as they scooted off at a more reasonable speed.
Blah Blah Motor Blah Blah
There was something wrong with the motor that needed to be repaired—it’s all boat talk. The Bottom line is we anchored the boat near Blimp Island, transferred all of Mitch’s “essential” fishing gear, and hopped on George’s jet boat.
WOW! This boat was lightning-fast, and I loved every minute of our ride back to our dock. We waved goodbye to the Mechanic, and to our surprise, he quickly turned around and told us he was off to another emergency!
We all choose our level of risk, whereas I fret about boating – I am nonplussed about driving a jet ski at 60 mph. Risk is part of life and we are free to choose how far each of us will explore. I know the boating story is not a huge risk compared to other adventures, but for me…well…
As I write this, Mitch is waiting for his replacement boat. And I am considering not boating again!
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