From my office window, I have a view of the Burrard Inlet and its tanker traffic. I watch huge a dock where some of these ships are visible. As I sit at my computer, I sometimes see the tug boats in action.
The dexterity these boats is amazing. They gently place gigantic ocean-going vessels against the docks, prodding the ships into place, then disappear from view. The boats stay for a day or two, as their holds get emptied then filled, then they disappear. Sometimes I catch them being prodded and maneuvered away from the dock and off to sail the ocean again. It reminded me of when my kids were little and we watched Theodore the Tugboat on TV. Yesterday, the fog on the inlet was thick. Fog horns blared on a 1-minute schedule (although I didn’t actually time them). It was surreal.
I grew up around boats, from canoes to power-boats. My folks loved the water, my dad especially. They taught all their kids to have a healthy respect for the power of the water while enjoying everything about it.
My earliest memories around boats are on one of the many bays of the Lake of the Woods. That’s when the family acquired a small powerboat that we later brought to Ontario from Winnipeg. It’s new home was at the family cottage.
After we moved to Toronto, Dad acquired a new boat and the moniker “The Boat” was now applied to the 30-foot sailboat named Nimbus.
I helped crew on Nimbus as we sailed in the waters of Lake Ontario. We even raced in the club races, generally coming in last. Even so, it was exhilarating being in the fray of wind, waves and vessels. (In all honesty, it was also terrifying at times – at least once on every outing!) I crewed, along with my high-school friend Nancy, and later with my then-boyfriend-now-husband.
My folks cruised to different ports on Lake Ontario, places like Youngstown NY, Fifty Point in the west and to Kingston and its Thousand Islands. They’d drop anchor near one of the islands, take a dingy to the shore and explore. I joined them on one journey to the Thousand Islands. We dropped anchor and took a dingy to a tiny island where we found a ripe blueberry patch (with no bears!).
There were times on the sailboat when I was terrified – sure I’d get knocked off the boat and drown. However, Dad always returned us safely to shore. And my mom was an expert, pulling together in what seemed to be a few minutes ingredients for all the meals for a week or just snacks for an afternoon.
As time went by, it became harder for my folks to maintain the sailboat. I think it broke my dad’s heart when he decided to sell it. None of us ‘kids’ could keep it, since we didn’t live near the lake, nor did we have his passion for sailing. Now, when I watch out my office window, I think of how lucky I’ve been to know the water, to live close to it, and to be able to remember my sailing days.
At our family cottage, boats were always there. My uncle had a very cool motorboat we called the Tin Can. And later my family towed the motorboat we’d bought from our cottage on Lake of the Woods to our place in the Kawarthas. That boat got used by generations for waterskiing and tootling around the lake. One of my last outings with it was when we ran out of gas. It was a PAIN to paddle to the unwieldy boat to the local marina.
A few years later, my dad reluctantly sold the powerboat to a man with a young family and an ambition to repair and clean up the boat. My dad was so happy to know it was going to someone who would use it rather than sending it to the junk-yard. And so am I.
My husband and I bought a power boat and kept it for a few years, but our move west took us away from spending so much time at the cottage and with the boat.
Now, the cottage has more human-powered boats than motorized ones. My new favourite is a pedal-board, which is like a surf board married to a stair-master. It’s stable and fun to toot around the bay! Whenever I get on it, one or both of my dogs want to climb on with me. I happily tour with the two, one on the bow, the other behind me. It’s nice to float quietly along the shore and chat with people sitting on docks.
I am looking forward to journeying back to the cottage each summer. There’s nothing more peaceful in my mind than sitting on the dock with a coffee or a beer and soaking in the whole atmosphere of being at the lake.
Hope you’re having a memory or two about bodies of water and your connection to them. Let me know in the comments!
It did indeed bring back fond memories. Especially those clever tug boats. Thanks for that.