Bobthebuilder
Charter Member
Another offshore adventure story by Bobthebuilder - Story #3 "How I grabbed the pole position"
Since I am on a bit of a roll with this story thing, I thought I would post this one before I head off to Florida for our Ft Myers Offshore club run this weekend. I kept this one relatively short but it's not short of crazy funny stuff that should bring a few laughs at my expense if nothing else. Enjoy if you have time for it.
Bob
I am sure I will regret telling this story but I happen to think that it's OK to have a little laugh at ourselves sometimes. The year was 1998 I think and my friend Steve had just bought a slightly used rather sinister looking all black 46ft Cigarette Rough Rider from Mark Adams. We arrived at the Goodland Bay Marina near Marco Island where both our boats were kept. The plan was to take several family members and friends out for a ride.
While Steve was showing the group his new boat, I said I would get my 419 Formula ready to go. He was at the fuel dock and my slip was a short distance away. I climbed aboard and started to remove a line that was tied to a pole off the starboard side. It was a tricky operation as the pole was almost 3 ft away, so with two feet on the deck and one arm against the pole I proceeded to untie the line with my one free hand. So far, so good. Soon the line was loose and the boat started to move away from the pole and I was unable to push myself back onto the boat. Before I know it, I am almost horizontal and it looked like I would soon be in the water. In the mili seconds I had to think about it, I thought maybe I can avoid getting wet by making a jump for the pole! With a leap worthy of the Olympics I managed to wrap both arms and legs around the pole much like a monkey would, I suppose.
Unfortunately for me, I slid down the pole until stopped by an encrustation of barnacles exposed by the low tide. The group soon heard my cries for help and came running. Picture this. (see pic below) I'm hanging on for dear life and this group of about 10 people are laughing hysterically at me and standing there taking pictures. I think there was some video as well that I have since lost track of. I must check You Tube when I get a chance! After they had their laugh at my expense, one of them pushed the Formula back to where I could reach it (see pic below) and somehow I manage to climb from the pole and back onto the deck without getting wet!
I knew I had hurt myself, so the next thing was to do a damage assessment. I had torn the seat out of my pants and blood was running down both legs. I had both slivers and barnacles imbedded in both cheeks. I think you know which cheeks I am referring to ! LOL. Can you imagine the embarrassment of having that removed? I remember my sister doing some of the removal with a pair of needle nose pliers. We felt a visit to the doctor was necessary to cleanse my wounds and I was given a shot as well to prevent infection. I could not sit down for several days and had to sleep on my stomach at night. Thank goodness for stand up bolsters on the Formula that allowed me to get back on the water just a day or so later.
So what are the lessons here? Dunno. All I know is, it is much too hot to wear leather pants in Florida for protection. You tell me? I can't wait to hear. LOL
The end,
Bobthepolesitter
Since I am on a bit of a roll with this story thing, I thought I would post this one before I head off to Florida for our Ft Myers Offshore club run this weekend. I kept this one relatively short but it's not short of crazy funny stuff that should bring a few laughs at my expense if nothing else. Enjoy if you have time for it.
Bob
I am sure I will regret telling this story but I happen to think that it's OK to have a little laugh at ourselves sometimes. The year was 1998 I think and my friend Steve had just bought a slightly used rather sinister looking all black 46ft Cigarette Rough Rider from Mark Adams. We arrived at the Goodland Bay Marina near Marco Island where both our boats were kept. The plan was to take several family members and friends out for a ride.
While Steve was showing the group his new boat, I said I would get my 419 Formula ready to go. He was at the fuel dock and my slip was a short distance away. I climbed aboard and started to remove a line that was tied to a pole off the starboard side. It was a tricky operation as the pole was almost 3 ft away, so with two feet on the deck and one arm against the pole I proceeded to untie the line with my one free hand. So far, so good. Soon the line was loose and the boat started to move away from the pole and I was unable to push myself back onto the boat. Before I know it, I am almost horizontal and it looked like I would soon be in the water. In the mili seconds I had to think about it, I thought maybe I can avoid getting wet by making a jump for the pole! With a leap worthy of the Olympics I managed to wrap both arms and legs around the pole much like a monkey would, I suppose.
Unfortunately for me, I slid down the pole until stopped by an encrustation of barnacles exposed by the low tide. The group soon heard my cries for help and came running. Picture this. (see pic below) I'm hanging on for dear life and this group of about 10 people are laughing hysterically at me and standing there taking pictures. I think there was some video as well that I have since lost track of. I must check You Tube when I get a chance! After they had their laugh at my expense, one of them pushed the Formula back to where I could reach it (see pic below) and somehow I manage to climb from the pole and back onto the deck without getting wet!
I knew I had hurt myself, so the next thing was to do a damage assessment. I had torn the seat out of my pants and blood was running down both legs. I had both slivers and barnacles imbedded in both cheeks. I think you know which cheeks I am referring to ! LOL. Can you imagine the embarrassment of having that removed? I remember my sister doing some of the removal with a pair of needle nose pliers. We felt a visit to the doctor was necessary to cleanse my wounds and I was given a shot as well to prevent infection. I could not sit down for several days and had to sleep on my stomach at night. Thank goodness for stand up bolsters on the Formula that allowed me to get back on the water just a day or so later.
So what are the lessons here? Dunno. All I know is, it is much too hot to wear leather pants in Florida for protection. You tell me? I can't wait to hear. LOL
The end,
Bobthepolesitter
lol
