When it comes to teenage boating, you must keep yourself aware of how they are performing, especially with the boys who tend to be well, “Antsy?” Whatever. There is a better word, but I don’t have it right now.
My grandsons grew up on the bays in Babylon, Merrick, and at times, in the deep blue. All three have their licenses and the eldest is in maritime. They are all fine, young men. But if the admiral of the house goes and takes a nap and one of them has friends over, let’s just say you’ve got to watch and nurture their skills, or things can go down quickly. In this case, no harm resulted, but you just can’t assume they are as skilled as the more-experienced you are!
So, this is what went down. I went upstairs to nap and feel the cool breeze. The last thing I saw was my grandson flipping burgers on the grill for his seven friends. Nothing was said about using the boat. It was all good laughter and fun. Now these young men have used our boats safely many times before, but now things had a “crowd” factor, and young men do not always put their nautical assessment powers to good use when they are in a group. Too much laughing and a general cavalier attitude for my comfort. Boats can be very dangerous in the wrong set of circumstances. After a few Z’s, I come down and walk out to the dock. I see the 18 Parker CC is gone. So are some fishing poles and the tow tube. No note of where they’ll be, was the first wrong wave. My head starts doing a 360-degree turn around my neck. Second wave hits me. Eight big guys on a boat rated for six and though I grant you the boat is rated for 125hp, and I have a 90hp, that still doesn’t make the cut in my mind.
They go out in the bay from the lead and cruise around, then they clam, and one chap says, “Let’s drop anchor right here and we can swim and fish. Captain grandson takes the bait. As captain, he fails to assess that they are anchoring right in the middle of the State Channel west of “Garbage Cove” and that’s a no, no! But a branch of Bay law enforcement is watching this nautical charade and comes flying out of nowhere to investigate all this forecastle folly. They arrive as the anchor with all 150 ft. of rope play out and the mate who was in charge panics and it runs out. One good anchor, chain, terminal gear, and new line gone. Cost to me $125. They are boarded. Life jackets are all there. Anyone wearing them, no. Young have the wrong idea about life jackets; you sit on them. I have been over this before.
Grandson is smart enough not to lose his cool and he has a salesman’s way about him. He lets the officials talk while he pulls out the large waterproof pack I keep in a compartment under the seat. The law looks in. Flares all in order, medical kit, search lights, protein bars, silver foil emergency heat blanket, the registration and a chart of the bays, all tucked away and ready to be used. “Ok, captain with all this,” says the officer and then states the issues. It is illegal to anchor in the channel, and the boat is overloaded, so give me your license. I’ll have to ticket you for those crimes, but it’s the first time, so it’s no big deal.
“I don’t have my license on me, but I have it at my grandfather’s house,” says the young captain. The officer wryly questions, “And I’ll bet you that’s in the waters of Levittown.”
Captain grandson politely replies, “No, I can get it for you if you follow me.” He has a house on the lead on Oak Island, and he writes nautical history articles and boating safety for “Boating World.” The officer smiled and asked my name. “He writes under two names. Nautical and environmental, he uses “Mark C. (Sea) Nuccio” and for “Skipper’s Corner” boating safety and tips, he writes under “Captain Eddie Smith (Retired). He also illustrates a lot of his articles. The officer laughed and said, “I love his work, read it all the time. He can be a little sarcastic and funny!”
The kind officer gives him a break and says to go right back to the house dock and rethink your boating skills.
Give my regards to Captain Eddy
Smith (Retired). You are free to go. I was standing on the dock and took a picture as they arrived, bow down because he’s got the weight of his overloaded craft at the bow, ugh! He docks without a problem.
I ‘’Sarge him a little at the dock” and then find out two days later that the anchor is not in the bow locker. Fortunately, I have another on the boat hidden away. When I called him, I got one of those “Oh yeah, Pop Pop, sorry, I meant to tell you the other day. I’ll pay you back.” Naturally, I had quite a bit to say in my own, well-known manner, which, since this is a family magazine, I already get away with a lot in my articles.
What are the lessons here? Part of it was my responsibility because I wasn’t as avid as I should have been monitoring all those young dudes at the house, but I did get a great nap. I also need to give all the boaters in my family constant reviews on safety. Don’t assume that everyone has it down as tightly as you may. Be polite if you are boarded, and don’t ever use the excuse “My grandfather owns a house on Oak Island’’ or invoke my writing names. They have already been cleverly overused.
He’s a great young man, and so are the other two grandsons are plus our beautiful granddaughter. (We all say these things about our grandchildren. They could be sneaking fifty-dollar bills out of your wallet, and we all still say it!) I sum it up by saying, “Bless all the children of the world, especially those who struggle here and abroad.” Stay safe. See you on the bay.