The summer time is the perfect opportunity to go out on a boat, provided that you or someone you know owns a boat or has one. Recently, one of my friends from back home was studying up to get her boating license. Apparently, getting a license to go boating is much easier and shorter than getting a license to drive a car. Perhaps this will change if more people show an interest in boating and the waterways become crowded, but I can still remember all of those summers ago when my dad owned a boat and we would go out on it during the summer. I especially remember one story in particular in which I was there for it.
It was one of those hot summer days, and my dad had just gotten his boat. My younger brother and I were going to go out on the boat, and my aunt and uncle had decided to come along too. My dad put life vests on my brother and I and we were on our way. Even though we had both taken swimming lessons the summer before and had passed with flying colors, there was a rule that anyone under a certain age had to have life vests on. In any case, were cruising along in this boat, and when we got to a point where there was no one else really around, my dad decided to open the boat up and take it for a little joy ride.
We were having a ton of fun cruising along at a nice speed when suddenly the boat came to a complete stop. We all lurched forward, and my dad (who almost instantly knew what the problem was) began cursing. My uncle asked what was wrong, and I later found out that we had hit a sandbar. Today, we can laugh about it, but I can still remember how frustrated and annoyed my father was all those years ago. I mean, could you imagine going thirty to forty miles an hour (I'm not sure what that is in knots) on a boat and then suddenly coming to almost a complete stop? I am also sure that it was somewhat embarrassing for my father who then had to get a pole out from the boat and use it (with my Uncle's help) to push us out of this sandbar.
This just goes to show you that boating can be dangerous too- even when no one is around. Had my dad not already been familiar with boating (After all, he had done it for years), then we might have found ourselves in what was at the time, no more than a mere freckle, on our otherwise perfect day. Even if you decide to get your boating license, you still need to just as vigilant as you would be if you were in a car driving down the road. You should know what the possible situations for boating accidents typically are, and always pay attention to the markers that are in the water which indicate how far you are from the shore as well as how fast is acceptable to speed on the water.
You should always make sure that you pack plenty of life vests, have a working radio or cell phone and pay attention to weather forecasts.
Resource: http://www.isnare.com/?aid=406261&ca=Automotive
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