Rescue on the High Seas!!

[Laurie, Fudge, and Vern]

On Saturday, my husband, daughter, Fudge and Vern, and I set out for a day of adventure on our Pontoon boat.  We had no idea what was in store for us.  I never embellish on my blogs, so I want to be perfectly clear that in this story the high seas was really just a lake near our home, but Rescue on the Lake just doesn’t have the same pizzazz as Rescue on the High Seas. 

It was pretty cold on Saturday, but the dogs love to swim so we docked the boat for a bit and let them get in the water.  My husband and daughter actually got in the water, too, but I pretended told them that I was needed to help the dogs on the ramp and hold Fudge’s lead and all that was too complicated from the water.  At one point, my husband offered to switch places with me, but I assured him that I did not want to ruin his fun or brisk swim in the water.  We didn’t stay long and pretty soon we were back on the open water.

We hadn’t traveled far and I spotted something in the water.  Sure enough, there were two women in the middle of the lake next to their capsized canoe.  

Luckily, they had their life vests on because in some places the water can be 90 feet deep. Along side of them were three kayakers and a sailboat.  The women couldn’t get their canoe righted and the kayakers were trying to help.  We got as close to them as we felt safe.  Finally, the canoe was right side up, but the women could not get back in with or without the help of all the others.  One of the women was older, about F Parker’s age, and one woman was much, much younger, about my age. (I am checking to see if F reads every line of my blog)  I am not trying to pass judgment, but from a distance, I could tell that if I challenged either one of these women to a foot race, I would be the clear winner and to put that into perspective, if I walk a 12 minute mile, my all out run, on a good day, for one mile would be maybe 11 minutes, 45 seconds.  In other words, there was not a chance in hell that these women were going to ever get back in that canoe.

I finally yelled, “Would you like to use our ladder and get on our boat?” and everyone yelled back, “YES!”  It was a windy day and the water was very choppy, so navigating close enough to these women and avoiding plowing over top of them, because no one likes a rescuer that makes mincemeat out of the rescuee, took some doing on my husband’s part.  Every time we thought we were close enough, the older woman would drift further away and say, “why does this keep happening?” which led me to further believe she needed a refresher course in wind conditions and water movement before attempting to canoe again. By this time, one of the kayakers had taken control of the canoe, and the sailboat guy was dragging the extra kayak behind his boat. Meanwhile, Fudge and Vern were trying to figure out if these were giant geese or worse in the water and Vern was prepared to protect us from any attempt to take over our vessel. 

After many attempts, we finally got the women on board and both dogs did great with the ladies. I also would like to add that many times you never hear what the rescuers were saying amongst themselves as they were planning the best way to save somebody, but I can tell you that I said to my family, prior to the women boarding, “do you think we should take the robes off of the dogs before they see them?”

 

We offered to take them to shore, but they wanted to get back in the canoe.  For some reason, my husband listened to the older woman (must have reminded him of his sister) and kept driving to a spot that she pointed out where we could drop them off.  The only problem was the kayakers with the canoe had already stopped at a spot much farther back and were waiting for us.  This minor point did not seem to bother my husband or the woman and I felt like saying, “in order for these women to get back in the canoe, don’t you think they should be near the canoe?” or mention the fact that he was listening to a woman who we picked up in the middle of the lake, but finally he had a light bulb moment or else he heard me say, “where exactly are you going?” and turned the boat back around.  In short order, the women were reunited with their canoe, but I did say to my husband, “I am betting in 30 minutes, they are back in the water.”

 

Here is what we learned on Saturday.  There is a reason Newfoundland dogs do not wear robes and life jackets while on duty. 

If we had to send Fudge or Vern into those choppy waters to rescue those women, we would have first had to remove their robes and then put on their life jackets, thus losing valuable time.  In addition, I have been in the water with Fudge and Vern and found that they like to try and climb onto me, which I do not think is standard rescue technique and can, in fact, make the person in the water feel as if they will not be surviving their ordeal.  Furthermore, my husband learned if there is a choice between taking direction from his wife or a total stranger who keeps directing him away from her source of transportation, he should probably listen to the woman who he has lived with enough years to know can beat a dead horse to death when she feels he made a poor choice.

My daughter learned that even though no one was in any real danger, by the time her mother gets done telling this story, it will rival the story told round the table by Captain “Sully” Sullenberger about his “Miracle on the Hudson” landing. 

My husband summed it up best when he said, “we haven’t even had this boat for one month and we already have one rescue under our belt.” Not bad for a day’s work!

[Laurie, Fudge, and Vern]

Lisa, I thought that story might be a hoax....what are you implying? LOL  I never fib :)

[Lisa, Daisy & Dexter]

Oh and if I were F. I would straighten out that age difference pronto!

[Lisa, Daisy & Dexter]

Laurie this story rivals the story of Bethany Frankel's rescue on the high sea! (Do you watch?)

Never a dull moment on the Arnold Pontoon!

[Laurie, Fudge, and Vern]

Jennifer, Welcome back!! I hope our rescue operation is put on hold for awhile :) LOL That will teach me to look around while we are cruising :)

[Jennifer,Chloe & Myla]

Heroes! How exciting! Sorry, but if we rescued an old woman from the lake (without her canoe) and she refused the offer to go back to shore I would have threw her back in! What was she thinking? What was your DH thinking? This is great! Now you need some flags or lights for your boat so she can find you next time you pass by!! Do you think you will see them again?

[Laurie, Fudge, and Vern]

Andrea, Thank you for all of the awesome tips :) I laughed all the way through your comment. I am safe with the lipstick tip because I hardly ever wear any....I hate tea....of course, I knew you only removed buckshot with a spoon...and a lady would never talk about bathrobes in public......LOL!! I got it all covered!

[Laurie, Fudge, and Vern]

Donna, I have told you before I am either Ginger or Marianne....not Lovey :) I would have jumped in after them for my robes....LOL!!

Sue, Congratulations on 40 years. We just celebrated our 34th anniversary. What we are willing to do for love....swim through alligators...LOL!

[Donna K & Quincy]

Lovey Laurie, It looks like you and the Skipper did a very good deed and are putting that boat to good use. I'm glad to hear that the doods were well behaved and that those ladies didn't have to jump back in the water to save themselves.  You're very brave, after all those women could have been pirates trying to make off with all of your robes booty.

 

[Sue, Murphy and Bella ()*o*()]

I'm betting these ladies had husbands waiting at the dock for them with the send off earlier of " you girls will never make it back here with that canoe"!!! And they were damned if they were going to let them be right. Now having been officially married over 40 yrs last month, I can tell you I would carry that canoe on my head while swimming with alligators all around me before I'd give my DH the satisfaction of being able to say " I told you so" . Just a guess.

[Laurie, Fudge, and Vern]

Pat, We tried to drop them back by their car, but they wanted back in that canoe :) Thank you!