15 Minute Boat Dream

Earlier this summer, Jeremy told me how he would love to have a little boat.  Something small, to take over to the beach every now and then, and for a little fishing as well.  We figured out the numbers and logistics and it seemed to be mostly a summer dream of sorts.  Until last week, that is.  We happened to be hanging out at Connie’s house for our annual church picnic, when Jeremy happened to ask her about a boat that he had seen in her yard.  She had also happened to have an older motor and when one thing led to another, our boat dreams started to become more of a possibility.

This past week also included a few trips out to West Marine, a boat store in Riverhead where we picked up a few needed parts for this and that and also enjoyed looking at all the boating luxuries available.  Thankfully, we have friends who know about boating things that were able to help Jeremy figure everything out, and everything sort of built up to today, where we were finally able to get the boat in the water and take it for it’s first voyage.

Jeremy and the kids had gone over to the Tuttles to do some boat things, and after awhile, I got an excited call to come down South Bay to check everything out.  So, I put on my trusty running shoes and ran the mile down the road to get to the bay.  I was delighted to see Jeremy pull up to the dock, in the boat.  And even more so when I climbed in for my first ride.

It was glorious.

And it lasted about 15 minutes.  We took the boat over to pick up the kids who were happily swimming by a little grass island in the bay.  And it was smooth sailing all the way there.  Unfortunately, when we went to ride back to the dock, the motor gave out and refused to start.  Thankfully, we had a paddle, and I was inspired to get a little arm work out while I paddled us back to the dock.

And that was about it.  Because we live in a small town, we happened to find another friend, Mark Northrup, who stepped in to help.  He’s pretty much a genius, and it was so reassuring to have his help.  I figured that between him and Nathan Tuttle, we definitely had a dream team and if anything could be fixed, they would be the ones to do it.

While we waited, the kids hung out on the dock.  They had such a blast on our little boat ride and it was fun to see them enjoy themselves.

And as the men worked, I sat in the boat and pondered our state of being.  I realized that while it was nice to have a summer boat dream, the reality is that boats are tricky.  And a lot of work.  And while it would be nice to have a little boat, sometimes it just doesn’t work out, and that’s okay.  Because it was fun and a little bit of an adventure and there’s nothing lost in that.

The men concluded that there wasn’t much that could be done, but to bring the boat back to Connie’s.

So we said our goodbyes

And loaded it up on to the greatest yellow pickup truck in town.  I’m not sure what will come of our boat.  And while we’re a bit disappointed, it’s definitely all okay.  Because even if it was only for 15 minutes, it was totally worth dreaming and definitely made for a memorable summer afternoon.