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Last week I wrote about a 4th of July to remember, and it was. The fireworks were spectacular, the weather was perfect, and I sunk my boat. I was not quite ready to admit my blatant stupidity in last week’s column, but I guess time heals all wounds, even to the ego.
My friend Emily and I were heading over to Chippewa Inn to visit with some friends and I forgot to put the plug back in while draining my leaky boat along the way. The winds were a little violent and during the difficult process of docking the boat I overlooked the missing boat plug. In case you were wondering, it takes approximately ten minutes to sink a 16-foot Lund.
We were sitting on the deck of the lodge when I noticed my landing net floating across the bay. I thought, "How did that get out of my boat?"
I scanned the bay with a bit of confusion and quickly realized my boat was no longer at the dock. The first three feet of the bow were sticking out of the water and the rest was lying on the bottom of the lake in about eight feet of water.
Larry and Laura Marxen were quick to respond with another boat and proceeded to pick up my personal items floating around the bay. My wallet, tackle boxes, sunscreen, and many other various items were all recovered. Everything but my pride, that is.
It took about three hours to raise the old gray Lund. Amazingly the depth finder and marine radio were still on, like nothing had happened.
Larry, being the mechanic he is, was able to drain the Honda and get me back in action in about an hour.
What a nightmare. Everyone was trying to get me to look on the brighter side of the situation and the only comforting idea was that at least it did not happen the day before while 150 people were present for Irv Benson’s Memorial!
I’m also very glad that I was not guiding!
I have decided to just use my bilge pump from now on to drain my boat. In fact, I think I will put the plug in from the outside of the boat just to make sure I cannot remove it while driving anymore!
I have done some less-thansmart things in my time, but this made the top ten list for sure. I may have scared off some potential customers, but I will take my chances. After all, if you can’t laugh at yourself, you simply are not paying attention.
Cory Christianson, a 2000 graduate of the University of Iowa, has worked as a fishing guide at Seagull Creek Fishing Camp for eight years and worked for Almost There Charters in Key West for nine years. If you have any fishing reports or stories to share, send an e-mail to christiansoncory@ hotmail.com or call 218 388-0315.
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