August 6, 2019
Day 218 - 147 Days to go
Base Camp Coffee of the Day: Lost up the Creek (Colombia)
I have this secret that I will share today. I hope none of our boat customers gets too nervous over it. When we rent out pontoon boats (or any boats for that matter) I deal with all sorts of knowledge and experience levels of "Boat Handlers". Some are quite experienced but many are not. I don't really mind too much because I can normally do enough on-board training to make even the least experience operator adequately prepared to handle a boat. I'll ask if they have ever driven a boat and depending on how they answer, I'll have a pretty good idea how in-depth I need to be with instructions. One customer replied to my question with; "The biggest boat I've ever driven was an Aircraft Carrier." I assumed at that point that he was qualified. Another example would be my younger daughter who is not quite old enough to be exempt from operating a boat without a "Boater's Safety Certificate". Then again, she has a 100 Ton Master Captains License which means that technically she can drive a small freighter. Which also means that I'm pretty sure she would be qualified to operate our pontoons even though technically and legally, I don't think she could. I let her run them every time she's here JUST for that one opportunity to get pulled over by Water Patrol just to see what they would say.
But back to my secret. I have never yet denied a boat rental customer from renting one of our boats because I felt they would be unsafe in driving them. I have denied them for too much alcohol and I have for not having the boater safety certificate as required by law. But so far, not for a gut feeling that they might not understand it well enough. I HAVE taken a deep breath as I turned and walked away from the dock, not wanting to look back and see what they're doing because sometimes you just need to walk away and not look back. When that happens, a tune starts running through my head...….. (This is my secret indulgence) It starts with....."Just sit right back and you'll hear a tale...……."
We haven't lost anybody yet and don't intend to.
By the way, the people in the picture I've selected were not in this category. He was a proficient boat operator and I left the dock with no fear!
The Last Resort Project: More progress was made at the Last Resort today. W have begun cleaning up cabin 3 and will probably be crawling under it tomorrow to repair some pipes damaged by freezing temperatures last winter.
“It is not required that we know all of the details about every stretch of the river. Indeed, were we to know, it would not be an adventure, and I wonder if there would be much point in the journey.”
―
But back to my secret. I have never yet denied a boat rental customer from renting one of our boats because I felt they would be unsafe in driving them. I have denied them for too much alcohol and I have for not having the boater safety certificate as required by law. But so far, not for a gut feeling that they might not understand it well enough. I HAVE taken a deep breath as I turned and walked away from the dock, not wanting to look back and see what they're doing because sometimes you just need to walk away and not look back. When that happens, a tune starts running through my head...….. (This is my secret indulgence) It starts with....."Just sit right back and you'll hear a tale...……."
We haven't lost anybody yet and don't intend to.
By the way, the people in the picture I've selected were not in this category. He was a proficient boat operator and I left the dock with no fear!
The Last Resort Project: More progress was made at the Last Resort today. W have begun cleaning up cabin 3 and will probably be crawling under it tomorrow to repair some pipes damaged by freezing temperatures last winter.
“It is not required that we know all of the details about every stretch of the river. Indeed, were we to know, it would not be an adventure, and I wonder if there would be much point in the journey.”
―
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