Last boat trip

Tuesday my lovely wife and I took our last boat trip of the season. It was one of the few sunny days in the forecast, with snow predicted later in the week. At some point I had to admit that boating season was over in Northern New Hampshire. We were the last boat to come off the lake.

Temperatures were in the high 40s, so we bundled up and took one last spin around the lake. It felt good to be back on the water, even for a short while.

Loading the boat on the trailer did not go as well as it could have. There was a strong cross wind with powerful gusts. I had to wade in to my waist to muscle the boat into position. Even though I changed into dry clothes as soon as I got out, my legs really didn't feel warm for hours.

If all goes well, my lovely wife and I will be back on the water in January down to Florida. I suppose going the month of December boatless won't kill us. There are some local kayakers who take pride in paddling every month of the year -even if it means paddling in the rapids between ice flows. They've got very good dry suits, but if you ask me it's still too darn cold.

Before we took to sailing we'd haul our canoe south. One year I dragged it up from the lake across the snow. I had to tamp down a trail with snowshoes. The bow and stern ropes were half frozen making it difficult to tie it on the car. People would ask me what the heck I was doing with a canoe on my car in the middle of winter.

“I'm going to drive south until it doesn't look silly anymore. Then I'll stop.”

That's what we did.

This winter I'm going to trailer a boat south until it doesn't look silly. Hope I don't have to go all the way to Florida Keys before finding warm weather.

-Sixbears