Share your exploits on the water.

[Caveman Jim]

Here's one that I just remembered from way back when I was Caveyoungin, I was about 8-9 yo IIRC.
We had transferred from Mississippi to a very small rural community in Georgia for my dad's work. I had already been hunting for a couple of years with my dad's old trusted Remington 510 22lr bolt rifle so I was a custom to asking permission to use it before taking it. One day, my best friend Doug and I went down to the swamp to hunt squirrels.
It was a long walk and we did think to bring our Boy Scout canteens full of water and a snack, did I mention it was hotter than fresh laid asphalt?

When we got to the hunting area we walked a trail next to a good size creek and I told Doug I was going to cross. I surveyed the water in front of me just to make sure there were no alligators or Nile crocodiles then stepped in up to my navel and proceeded to wade to the other side. Before I got to the other side, off to the right about 10 yards or so, there was a big commotion, lots of splashing that startled me, strike that it scared the bubblegum out of me. I froze. Then I saw what appear to be a snake!!!
I leapt out of the water like a wildebeest escaping a Nile crocodile. Once I got up on the bank, scared shirtless, I looked over and saw this big water moccasin that had attacked a largemouth bass. I don't know what came over me but I wanted that bass so the snake had to die and it did.

As a grown man, 30 years later and 2,400 miles away, I can honestly say the first time I waded into a Washington River I thought about that memory and proceeded with caution.

 

[ZigZagZeke]

So that blast was from a lightning strike?
Dayummm, you did the right thing by using azzholes and elbows...

The weather service later said it was straight wind, a wind shear situation. They measured gusts to 125 mph. The lightning was just a feature of that kind of thing in the mid-west. Usually, there would have been a tornado too. The locals swore that there was but the weather service couldn't confirm it.

 

[Caveman Jim]

The weather service later said it was straight wind, a wind shear situation. They measured gusts to 125 mph. The lightning was just a feature of that kind of thing in the mid-west. Usually, there would have been a tornado too. The locals swore that there was but the weather service couldn't confirm it.

Yeah that wind shear is very bad and all of a sudden...
In 84-85 I was worked in the Dallas Fort Worth area, one day I was about 15 miles from the Dallas-Fort Worth airport working on some telephone lines when that airliner went down at the airport from wind shear.
I felt the ground rumble but didn't think it was it and earthquake and I heard the loudest explosion I think I've ever heard in my life and saw the smoke starting to rise. I didn't know what happened until a co worker came a few hours later and said that a plane full of people died that day. It made me feel sick to my stomach.

 

[ZigZagZeke]

OK, this reminds me of a similar story, but it's not really nautically related. Well, I s'pose it could be if you stretched it quite a bit. Involved ice climbing in Waterton National Park in Canada, just across the border opposite our own Glacier National Park. Same kinda asshat scurrying to meet us as we busted into the resort's über-fancy dining room on a wintery, snowy, romantic Valentine's Day evening after a long day climbing the frozen waterfalls and freezing our butts off in near-0F temps. There's snotcicles hanging off our 'staches and beards, we're tired and hungry as phuq-all, and we're ravenously looking for sump'n to eat. I'll leave it at that...

Sounds like when we took three sprint cars and crews from Stockton, CA to Carson City, NV for a weekend of racing. The Nugget Casino sponsored our cars, and we partied hard and took full advantage of all the freebies from alcohol to companionship. On the way home we stopped for dinner at Harrah's in Tahoe. There was this velvet rope thing, and a host at a podium. The line was long, but there was a vacant table for 12 or so with a "Reserved" sign in the middle. Our most audacious sprint car driver (and that's saying something) pipes up and loudly exclaims, "Oh look! They were expecting us!" He then unhooks the rope thingy and proceeds to sit down. We all followed suit. They eventually brought us menus, but the whole time two very large mafia looking dudes stood over us glaring. [Water Related Content]: We had a great view of Lake Tahoe though.

Note: A sprint car driver is a guy who would be found driving something like this:

 

[The Heretic]

Sounds like when we took three sprint cars and crews from Stockton, CA to Carson City, NV for a weekend of racing. The Nugget Casino sponsored our cars, and we partied hard and took full advantage of all the freebies from alcohol to companionship. On the way home we stopped for dinner at Harrah's in Tahoe. There was this velvet rope thing, and a host at a podium. The line was long, but there was a vacant table for 12 or so with a "Reserved" sign in the middle. Our most audacious sprint car driver (and that's saying something) pipes up and loudly exclaims, "Oh look! They were expecting us!" He then unhooks the rope thingy and proceeds to sit down. We all followed suit. They eventually brought us menus, but the whole time two very large mafia looking dudes stood over us glaring. We had a great view of Lake Tahoe though.

 

[Caveman Jim]

Sounds like when we took three sprint cars and crews from Stockton, CA to Carson City, NV for a weekend of racing. The Nugget Casino sponsored our cars, and we partied hard and took full advantage of all the freebies from alcohol to companionship. On the way home we stopped for dinner at Harrah's in Tahoe. There was this velvet rope thing, and a host at a podium. The line was long, but there was a vacant table for 12 or so with a "Reserved" sign in the middle. Our most audacious sprint car driver (and that's saying something) pipes up and loudly exclaims, "Oh look! They were expecting us!" He then unhooks the rope thingy and proceeds to sit down. We all followed suit. They eventually brought us menus, but the whole time two very large mafia looking dudes stood over us glaring. [Water Related Content]: We had a great view of Lake Tahoe though.

Note: A sprint car driver is a guy who would be found driving something like this:
View attachment 887356

Years ago up here in our small little town of Elma Washington, the World of Outlaws were a regular every year and I took my son to many of those races. Was always an exciting times to see the pros doing 100mph... SIDEWAYS!!!

 

[P7M13]

@ZigZagZeke 's wind story, and @Caveman Jim 's remembrance as a kid brought one to light.
My parents met while sailing, their boats crashing into each other. Dad was seriously into sailing races. He crewed many times on the Bayview / Macinac race, and was invited to crew on America's Cup 12 meter boats.
So he stayed with it, tried to get us all into racing.
We were heading out on a race, Grosse Isle to St Clair, the last in a line of 8 boats being towed down river to the start. Heavy winds, nasty, choppy surf - dad with three of his sons, me the youngest at 7. Dad decides it's too dangerous for us, and unties the boat just past Cobo Hall. We turn, raise sail, and start heading east, back to Belle Isle. We have a good heel going when a gust hits the hull, and capsizes us with so much force, it pushes the boat turtle.
I remember watching my brothers slide off the deck, just like going down a slide, but I'm tossed into the trapeze rigging, and there I am, caught up in it like a snare.
The Detroit River then, as is now, was a nasty, murky water, a deep brown green. Under water, I could hold out my hand and barely see it.
As told to me, my brother, 11, shouts, "Where's Jim?", dives in and finds me. I'm just in the same spot, still caught up, holding my breath. Funny, I don't remember being panicked. I remember being disoriented, but looking at the rigging, trying to figure out to get out. Then my bro swims up to me.

This is in 1970. None of us have life preservers, and Dad had seen to it that we all knew how to swim and tread water.
It might have been only a minute, but it seemed like an eternity, watching these Cris Craft pleasure boats circle us, until one small skiff came up and pulled us out of the water.
I don't remember being cold at all. I remember the beautiful woodwork on the boat's deck, teak with holly strips, and watching my favorite sweater float away down the river. Those old boats were works of art.

 

[Caveman Jim]

@ZigZagZeke 's wind story, and @Caveman Jim 's remembrance as a kid brought one to light.
My parents met while sailing, their boats crashing into each other. Dad was seriously into sailing races. He crewed many times on the Bayview / Macinac race, and was invited to crew on America's Cup 12 meter boats.
So he stayed with it, tried to get us all into racing.
We were heading out on a race, Grosse Isle to St Clair, the last in a line of 8 boats being towed down river to the start. Heavy winds, nasty, choppy surf - dad with three of his sons, me the youngest at 7. Dad decides it's too dangerous for us, and unties the boat just past Cobo Hall. We turn, raise sail, and start heading east, back to Belle Isle. We have a good heel going when a gust hits the hull, and capsizes us with so much force, it pushes the boat turtle.
I remember watching my brothers slide off the deck, just like going down a slide, but I'm tossed into the trapeze rigging, and there I am, caught up in it like a snare.
The Detroit River then, as is now, was a nasty, murky water, a deep brown green. Under water, I could hold out my hand and barely see it.
As told to me, my brother, 11, shouts, "Where's Jim?", dives in and finds me. I'm just in the same spot, still caught up, holding my breath. Funny, I don't remember being panicked. I remember being disoriented, but looking at the rigging, trying to figure out to get out. Then my bro swims up to me.

This is in 1970. None of us have life preservers, and Dad had seen to it that we all knew how to swim and tread water.
It might have been only a minute, but it seemed like an eternity, watching these Cris Craft pleasure boats circle us, until one small skiff came up and pulled us out of the water.
I don't remember being cold at all. I remember the beautiful woodwork on the boat's deck, teak with holly strips, and watching my favorite sweater float away down the river. Those old boats were works of art.

Damn glad your dad knew what he was doing by teaching you guys how to be safe the water.

My childhood friend Leroy and I played in Little League, we used to swim in the neighborhood lake for years, catching snakes, fishing and all kinds of dangerous stuff that kids are accustomed to do.
My dad retired from the Army so we moved from Fort Bragg to Mississippi to be closer to family. Leroy and I were pen pals so we would write each other. Three years later I wrote that we were going to be coming back through NC to visit some family and Dad said we could stop by for a quick visit.
now this was the norm back then there was no emailing or texting or phones that weren't on the wall so things happened a lot slower than they do now. We showed up at his house one afternoon and was greeted with sad faces and his mom and sister crying profusely. His dad, the only one that was coherent enough to explain to us that Leroy died three weeks ago swimming in the same lake that we used to swim in.
Damn the sprinkler just came on.

 

[P7M13]

His dad, the only one that was coherent enough to explain to us that Leroy died three weeks ago swimming in the same lake that we used to swim in.

I'm sorry.
I prefer the slow ways. Life was more present.

 

[Caveman Jim]

I'm sorry.
I prefer the slow ways. Life was more present.

Thanks brother. Same here, come on Massive EMP!!!

 

[Caveman Jim]

So everyone else is all clamed up eh? Too embarrassed to come clean?

 

[Caveman Jim]

If anyone has been following my Open Seats thread you probably picked up on an adventure I took after upgrading the FF/GPS and transducer…
Yeah that was unfortunate and embarrassing all at the same time…

 

[sobo]

So everyone else is all clamed up eh? Too embarrassed to come clean?

Hey, I said my piece already!

Granted, it wasn't any fool-brained thing that *I* was personally responsible for screwing up on the water, which I think is what you're after...
For me, most of the stuff that I've screwed up involves flames, explosions, and pyrotechnics, but that's for another thread...

 

[Caveman Jim]

Just trolling for more exploitation, works on fish…

 

[Flopsweat]

So everyone else is all clamed up eh? Too embarrassed to come clean?

Sorry but I'm not telling that story. I was embarrassed, she was ashamed, the goat jumped overboard... We just chalked it up to too much tequila and poor judgement. Besides I signed an NDA with the cruise company.

 

[Caveman Jim]

Sorry but I'm not telling that story. I was embarrassed, she was ashamed, the goat jumped overboard... We just chalked it up to too much tequila and poor judgement. Besides I signed an NDA with the cruise company.

Exactly, what happens on the cruise ship stays on the cruise ship. Lol

 

[Flopsweat]

Exactly, what happens on the cruise ship stays on the cruise ship. Lol

Yeah, my GP thinks that's really funny...

 

[Howard1955]

It was a long fight, but that 10-pound test line did the trick.

 

[Longwalkhome]

In my younger years we spent a lot of time on the water as a family. Lots of fun and good fishing. I miss those days but am damn happy to have lived in time I have. Life for the most part has been good.

 

[Caveman Jim]

I too miss my youthful exploits back in a time when we were allowed and even encouraged to have them.