Here is a photo a coworker shot of me giving a class to some of the new guys at work.  He thought it was funny (as should anyone who knows me) because teaching others is not one of my stronger points.  However, I think it went well.

Kristin and I have been enjoying our boat quite a bit this summer. I have posted a few photos for your viewing pleasure. Every time we have gone out we have taken friends with us and made a long day out of it. Well this past Saturday I decided it would be nice if we took a quick little ride on the boat just Kristin, me, and Cameron.

We have not gone out like this before so we just threw some stuff in and dropped the boat in around 1 PM and took off. Well instead of our usual route south on the river (through downtown), I decided to go North and lock up through Chickamauga Dam. I have not done this before (while captaining) and wanted to show Kristin how it worked. We passed through the lock without problems. It is astounding how much energy is wasted just to let a tiny pontoon through.

We proceeded up the river to Chester Frost Park and met my cousin, who suggested we go beach at a nearby, ugh, beach. Along the way we ran into some distressed boaters who had ran out of fuel. Luckily I keep a spare jug of gas on my boat for such occasions. So, my cousin and I swam out and pulled their boat into shore. It would have been nice if a few of the people (about 6) that were on the boat had swam to shore by themselves w/o creating more work for us (I thought I was going to drown), but not everyone is as thoughtful as us. I decided along with the 2.5 gallons of gas I gave them, that I would give them my jug to fill up and bring back. After much ado it became apparent that none of them knew what they were doing and they had a lot of problems getting out of the cove we were parked in. They were drifting way back into the weeds and looking over at us like we were going to come swim out and save them. Finally (30 mins later), they got the thing started and pointed in the right direction. Needless to say I didn’t expect to ever see my gas can again and I was fine with that.

So we start to head back around 6:45 PM b/c we can see that a storm is rolling in. About halfway back to the lock it begins to rain on us. I think I can push through the storm and attempt a run at the dam. About the time we get to the dam it begins to go crazy. We could not see anything, it is lightning everywhere, and we are in a state of general panic. I wish I had radar b/c I am pretty sure we were in the magenta there sitting in the middle of the Tennessee River.

We head for shelter at a local marina. I scream in there and slam my boat into the dock and Kristin and Cameron make a mad dash for some cover. It is lightning everywhere and I am pretty sure I was going to die sometime soon trying to tie my pontoon off to the metal dock. A fellow boater, seeing that I am in dire straits, asked me if I needed any help. I said “yea!”. I don’t think that was what he was expecting when he asked. Nevertheless, he came down and helped me tie it off in the pouring down rain, and lightning.

So we sit there for about 45 mins, until the storm passes. At around 8 PM we start heading back downriver to the dam. When we get there the lockmaster tells us it will be 3 hours before we can come through b/c of commercial traffic (aka barge). Since, I am not about to wait until 11 PM to attempt to go through the lock and I had no other options, I called my mom to come get me so I can get my truck and pull the boat out.

The only boat ramp at this particular marina was a tiny one they use for jet skis, but I had to make do. We finally made it home at around 9:30. Funny thing is, we were supposed to be at a birthday party at a restaurant located at this marina at 7:30. We were on time but in no state to participate. Being that we had Reese with us, we were soaking wet, and looked like a couple of musk rats.

The worst thing about the whole ordeal is that we donated Cameron’s customized beach towel to the Tennessee River. Kristin was using it to cover him up when it was raining.

That was a popular shirt when I was in school there, because we did not have a football team. Well, I recently decided to help the guy out at MG Helmets with his Simpson’s football team helmets and in return he created a few North Georgia ones, they look pretty flippin’ sweet and get me pumped up about the day we are able to watch the mighty Saints pummeling their opponents to submission on the gridiron!

Getting a lot of requests for pictures of the pontoon boat I happened upon. Got a really good deal and have been wanting to get one for a while, so I got it. It is a 20′ 1995 model Suntanner w/ 70 HP Engine. Carpet and decking looks pretty new and the canvas top is only 3 months old. See you on the lake…