We went out to dinner a few weeks ago with a couple we have been friends with for many years. Making plans for that night, my wife had suggested taking a walk on the boardwalk at Jones Beach. It has been many years since we were there, and it would be nice to see how it may have changed over the years. We both grew up in Nassau County, and Jones Beach was a spot we often visited, year-round.
Our friend Rich drove, and we headed to Point Lookout first for a nice dinner. As we waited for our food to arrive, I felt my phone vibrate in my pocket and removed it to see what it was. I have a habit of putting the phone on silent when I head to bed and often forget to turn the ringer back on, and this was the case again. It could have been a call, a text, or a camera notification. It turns out it was a message from about three hours previous.
As I read the message, all I could do was blurt out a few expletives while others at the table kept asking what was wrong. Now this was not about a car crash or a life-changing event, but it was serious in my opinion. The good folks at my marina had tried to contact me to let me know a sailboat had crashed into my boat at the dock. By chance, they had been walking by the boat and heard a thud. When they looked over, there was a small wooden sailboat, maybe twelve to fifteen feet long, wedged between my boat and the piling. They said they could not see any damage because it had gotten caught up in my port side bow line. It was after hours, so there was no point in calling them back, and since we were out with friends and far from the boat, we finished our meal and went on the boardwalk.
The next morning the boss and I headed out to see what we were dealing with. I stopped in to talk with the lady who had called me and wanted to get the story. Pretty much as described above, but the added information was that the stainless rub rail insert was chewed up some. There is quite a bit of flair in the bow, so trying to peek under there was not possible, and as of now I have not been out there to spin the boat in the slip to take a look. I may be able to smooth out the insert, and fingers crossed that nothing else got damaged.
I understand accidents happen, but here is what gets me mad. I asked if they got any information about the operator of the sailboat, and they did not. Because after they managed to free him from his predicament, he took off. No checking to see if he damaged anything; he just left. They may have it on camera, and they gave me a description of him and his boat. If it were a young kid, maybe I could get over it, but he was an adult estimated to be close to my age. I’m seventy and hope I would try and make it right.
Anyway, before that, we were out enjoying the boat more, although staying closer to home. We’ve been doing short day trips, squeezing them in between other commitments and a string of bad weather that I don’t believe I’ve experienced before. Rain, rain, rain! However, some of the best boating season is still ahead, as September and October are actually my favorite months to be out on the water.
