Canadian Yachting October 2016 - 68

Boats that I have known: Beyond the Dock! THE PORT HOLE R. John Garside, AP Prince Edward Power and Sail Squadron Having bailed my first boat at the age of three and a half I found out there was more to boats than just sitting in them. In fact there seemed to be another world out there. One that included a boat and much more. This was something that my grandfather was to introduce me to after our lunch. You may recall that I was at a rented cottage on the Trent River just north of the town of Campbellford with my parents and my grandparents and during the first few days there, an old simple wooden fishing boat had captured my attention. My first bailing experience resulted in several new skills that would play a big part in my future life, and especially in my life involving boats. That morning as I sat in the newly bailed boat I watched as a boat out on the water with two people in it seemed to drift down the river. Asking about it, Grandfather said that we would find ourselves in the same position, out on the river in the very boat I was sitting in, but this would have to wait until after lunch. So my wait began. It was nearly eleven o'clock so lunch was not too far away but when you are only three and a half years old it can be quite a stretch of time. Needless to say I remained seated in the boat and eagerly looked up and down the river for more boats. There was only one and it too had two people in it, and they were doing the very same thing, floating slowly down the river looking intently at the surface of the water. Once they had gone by I turned my attention to the water beside me to see if any more sunfish were close at hand, they are still my favourite freshwater fish! Looking carefully down into the water I saw at least three of them, slowly swimming along and then disappearing under the dock and there were also lots of plants in the water 68 Canadian Yachting too. Plants that had long green stems and unlike the plants on the land they had no flowers. I asked Grandfather about them and he said, "They didn't need to have flowers as they have lots of roots and just keep on growing like the grass." So I looked carefully at the various water plants and then spotted a floating leaf. It was large and green and almost round. Looking carefully at it I saw that it was attached to the bottom of the river by a long thin stem. "What are these?" I asked. "Those are water lilies." replied Grandfather "And there are two different types. One has a yellow flower and the other has a white flower." "Oh" I said and began to look around for a floating flower. I spotted several of the promised flowers on the sides of the river where it was not well groomed and rather on the wild side. Sure enough there were white ones and just beyond them a collection of yellow ones. They sat there on the water not unlike a boat I thought, and seemed to not be bothered by the sun, or the wind, or the water for that matter, in fact they really seemed to be part of the river. So I spent the next few moments carefully looking at the new plants and flowers and then Grandmother called out, "Lunch time!" Grandfather then helped me out of the boat. As I walked up to the cottage I knew that soon we would be back in the boat and then we would be setting off on another adventure. An adventure beyond the dock! Lunch was very simple. Cheese sandwiches and a glass of water. I sat very still and kept a careful eye on the river just in case another boat might drift by, but nothing happened. After lunch was cleared up and a few small chores done by the adults, Grandfather announced that he and I were going out in the boat for the afternoon and would be back before dinner. I was very excited. October 2016

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Canadian Yachting October 2016