jay_merrill
Vice Admiral
- Joined
- Dec 5, 2007
- Messages
- 5,653
I have a few recreational crab traps and go out every few days to bring some supper home. Last night, as I was on my way to them, a pair of boats were being towed in by another pair of good samaritan boaters. The folks aboard each, warned me of a large log a couple of miles down the bayou, which was masked by our ever present, summertime water hyacinth infestation.
When I got to the area involved, I pushed through the lillies slowly, but never did see the log. Because of this, I just continued on to my traps, where I harvested about three dozen crabs.
On the way back, I met another boater head-on, as he threaded his way through the lillies. They can get extremely thick - so much so, that people try to cut through them in places where other boats have recently passed, creating a narrow "lane." In this case, the lane was narrow for most of its length, so I found a bit of an open area and stopped, so that the other boater could get by. Sure enough, BAM! The guy hit it. He wasn't going very fast, so it wasn't a big deal, but he did say that it was the second time he had hit it yesterday.
Apparently, this had been going on all day and no one seemed to think it prudent to tie a line to the log and remove it! The two boats that I saw being towed in must have hit the log at high speed, which is kind of dumb, because these floating islands of lillies often do have logs trapped in them. Both were late model outboards and both apprently sustained enough damage to prevent them from running properly. So, at least two motors that I know of "bit the dust" ..... or log, as it happened to be! Since it was about 5:00 pm when I saw these guys, I have to wonder how many other motors got beat up earlier in the day!
Even now, as I write this, I can only shake my head as I think of how many people could have towed the darned thing out of the way. I was going to do this the first time I went by it, but couldn't find it in the lillies. On the way in, however, I could see it because of the other boater hitting it. I let him get clear, moved up to the log, tied a line around it in a choking loop, cinched it up along side my boat and made the line fast the one of my rail cleats.
As I got it moving a little bit, the log rose up out of the water, allowing me to see all of it for the first time - it was about 20 feet long! I towed it all the way back to the boat ramp, secured it to a dock and then pulled it out of the water, by tieing the line to the back of my boat trailer, before I retreived the boat.
How amazing is it, that boater after boater, would leave a 20' log in the middle of a waterway, knowing that others will hit it, just like they did? I don't know if this is pure laziness or just stupidity, but it sure makes me think some folks need to get a clue!
???
When I got to the area involved, I pushed through the lillies slowly, but never did see the log. Because of this, I just continued on to my traps, where I harvested about three dozen crabs.
On the way back, I met another boater head-on, as he threaded his way through the lillies. They can get extremely thick - so much so, that people try to cut through them in places where other boats have recently passed, creating a narrow "lane." In this case, the lane was narrow for most of its length, so I found a bit of an open area and stopped, so that the other boater could get by. Sure enough, BAM! The guy hit it. He wasn't going very fast, so it wasn't a big deal, but he did say that it was the second time he had hit it yesterday.
Apparently, this had been going on all day and no one seemed to think it prudent to tie a line to the log and remove it! The two boats that I saw being towed in must have hit the log at high speed, which is kind of dumb, because these floating islands of lillies often do have logs trapped in them. Both were late model outboards and both apprently sustained enough damage to prevent them from running properly. So, at least two motors that I know of "bit the dust" ..... or log, as it happened to be! Since it was about 5:00 pm when I saw these guys, I have to wonder how many other motors got beat up earlier in the day!
Even now, as I write this, I can only shake my head as I think of how many people could have towed the darned thing out of the way. I was going to do this the first time I went by it, but couldn't find it in the lillies. On the way in, however, I could see it because of the other boater hitting it. I let him get clear, moved up to the log, tied a line around it in a choking loop, cinched it up along side my boat and made the line fast the one of my rail cleats.
As I got it moving a little bit, the log rose up out of the water, allowing me to see all of it for the first time - it was about 20 feet long! I towed it all the way back to the boat ramp, secured it to a dock and then pulled it out of the water, by tieing the line to the back of my boat trailer, before I retreived the boat.
How amazing is it, that boater after boater, would leave a 20' log in the middle of a waterway, knowing that others will hit it, just like they did? I don't know if this is pure laziness or just stupidity, but it sure makes me think some folks need to get a clue!
???
