I was doing some boat operation training with my youngest son and his wife yesterday and their plan was to go from Everett to Kingston for ice cream. It was a rare very warm day on Puget Sound and I was "encouraged" to go with them in case they needed some sage wisdom. I was okay with the idea as I had put nearly 40 hours on the engines since last fueling on the way to opening day in Seattle and fuel in Kingston was 34 cents a gallon cheaper than Everett.
We were able to moor in the Kingston Cove Yacht Club reciprocal next to the dinghy and small boat/short stay dock. The first act was the guy who shut off his motor fully two boat lengths from any slip then went to the bow with a line. After lots of fending here and there and pinching his hand at least once, he tied up. When he returned half an hour of so later, he warmed up his engine a full five minutes before leaving the dock.
Then there was the fellow that came in with a new looking Grady-White style cutty cabin in the 22 foot range. I noticed a rather disinterested lady aboard, and as he handled the line, yes, line she was busy looking around. After a few minutes, while he is trying to figure out how to make this single line that appears to be attached to the bow eye, also tie the stern in, she steps off the boat and strikes a classic "I'm so cool" pose and starts texting. Next, he's still trying to stretch his single line, she goes to the bow and takes a few selfies. Finally, he manages to get just enough length of line to control the stern and they head on up the ramp.
The best was the twenty something guy and an eighty something gent in what looked to be a new or nearly new runabout. One clue to me was that they had new, super huge, ocean going PFD's on. The kind where you can't put your hands together front or rear. Good on them for wearing them. As they approached the dock the older gent announced he was on fender duty and pulled up a single fender, no whip worthy of a 75' motoryacht and began placing it between the dock and the boat moving it as necessary because, obviously, there was only one fender. Then, his cell phone rang, so he put the fender down and answered the phone. The debrief between them was a bit louder than normal conversation because both wore hearing aids. The phone was answered because he didn't know who it was.....and it was aperant the younger was trying to balance frustration with being nice to the older fella, and getting a D- at it.
Ah, the entertainment to be had at the dock.
It should be noted that I was not in a position to render assistance but would have if I was.
We were able to moor in the Kingston Cove Yacht Club reciprocal next to the dinghy and small boat/short stay dock. The first act was the guy who shut off his motor fully two boat lengths from any slip then went to the bow with a line. After lots of fending here and there and pinching his hand at least once, he tied up. When he returned half an hour of so later, he warmed up his engine a full five minutes before leaving the dock.
Then there was the fellow that came in with a new looking Grady-White style cutty cabin in the 22 foot range. I noticed a rather disinterested lady aboard, and as he handled the line, yes, line she was busy looking around. After a few minutes, while he is trying to figure out how to make this single line that appears to be attached to the bow eye, also tie the stern in, she steps off the boat and strikes a classic "I'm so cool" pose and starts texting. Next, he's still trying to stretch his single line, she goes to the bow and takes a few selfies. Finally, he manages to get just enough length of line to control the stern and they head on up the ramp.
The best was the twenty something guy and an eighty something gent in what looked to be a new or nearly new runabout. One clue to me was that they had new, super huge, ocean going PFD's on. The kind where you can't put your hands together front or rear. Good on them for wearing them. As they approached the dock the older gent announced he was on fender duty and pulled up a single fender, no whip worthy of a 75' motoryacht and began placing it between the dock and the boat moving it as necessary because, obviously, there was only one fender. Then, his cell phone rang, so he put the fender down and answered the phone. The debrief between them was a bit louder than normal conversation because both wore hearing aids. The phone was answered because he didn't know who it was.....and it was aperant the younger was trying to balance frustration with being nice to the older fella, and getting a D- at it.
Ah, the entertainment to be had at the dock.
It should be noted that I was not in a position to render assistance but would have if I was.
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