[bolger] Baling and boat camera
Each spring the guys in my office plan an early "yegotta" canoe outing
on the Susquehanna. Always planned for St. Pats day it usually goes off
within a month of that date. "First great day of the spring." Last
spring it was early April and my first participation. It was also the
maiden voyage of my first homebuilt boat, a Payson Pirogue built to
plan from BWAOM.
As this was the tenth annual etc. an enterprising and proud daughter of
a colleague thought the press needed to be notified. Photographer from
" The Press"
was with the canoe trailer at our put in sight in Susquehanna, PA.
After everyone had oohed and aahed over my homebuilt I picked her off
the trailer. Hefting her overhead like a true voyager I stepped to the
rivers edge. Leaving two parallel grooves in the slick wet riverbank as
canoe and I toppled, we caught the eye of the photog. I scrambled up
being careful to not dislodge my now overall earth tone camaflage. I
carefully set my craft alonside the shore and loaded. The photographer
was now alongside of me. Grasping firmly the near gunnel I stepped with
my nonworking knee leg, amidships. Leaning carefully on the gunnel I
pressed down on the bad knee, down on the gunnel and instantly filled
the canoe to allow the load to gently float up and out of her. As I
managed to right myself by staggering toward midstream the photog was
capturing this for posterity. I did get some of the camaflage off me. I
learned a lot about reserve boyancy. Ever see a movie of an eskimo
disembarking. They put one end of their double paddle ashore and the
other amidships and lean on the paddle as they get up and out. Reverse
it when going aboard.
My picture didn't make into the paper, just the story.
Side issue is cameras. Lots of camera geeks in my group but the best
flicks were from one of those 1 time panoramic cameras. Kodak. It would
take regular frame flicks also.
Tom Ratliff
on the Susquehanna. Always planned for St. Pats day it usually goes off
within a month of that date. "First great day of the spring." Last
spring it was early April and my first participation. It was also the
maiden voyage of my first homebuilt boat, a Payson Pirogue built to
plan from BWAOM.
As this was the tenth annual etc. an enterprising and proud daughter of
a colleague thought the press needed to be notified. Photographer from
" The Press"
was with the canoe trailer at our put in sight in Susquehanna, PA.
After everyone had oohed and aahed over my homebuilt I picked her off
the trailer. Hefting her overhead like a true voyager I stepped to the
rivers edge. Leaving two parallel grooves in the slick wet riverbank as
canoe and I toppled, we caught the eye of the photog. I scrambled up
being careful to not dislodge my now overall earth tone camaflage. I
carefully set my craft alonside the shore and loaded. The photographer
was now alongside of me. Grasping firmly the near gunnel I stepped with
my nonworking knee leg, amidships. Leaning carefully on the gunnel I
pressed down on the bad knee, down on the gunnel and instantly filled
the canoe to allow the load to gently float up and out of her. As I
managed to right myself by staggering toward midstream the photog was
capturing this for posterity. I did get some of the camaflage off me. I
learned a lot about reserve boyancy. Ever see a movie of an eskimo
disembarking. They put one end of their double paddle ashore and the
other amidships and lean on the paddle as they get up and out. Reverse
it when going aboard.
My picture didn't make into the paper, just the story.
Side issue is cameras. Lots of camera geeks in my group but the best
flicks were from one of those 1 time panoramic cameras. Kodak. It would
take regular frame flicks also.
Tom Ratliff