Shots fired! Boater down!

T

tparrent

New member
Down on the sole, cowering in fear for his own quite mortal soul ... but I am getting ahead of myself

After a month of snotty cold weather, I had finally had enough and headed for the lake. Yeah it was only 40F and the wind was blowing the windchill down considerably lower but it's been a long time since I was afloat so off I went.

I stopped at the lake gas station to fill up the spare tank. As I am trying not to spill any gas (someday that wish will come true), a guy comes running up to me all out of breath and says "Have you read River Horse????"

"Actually, yes I have." I reply.

"That boat is in it!" he exclaims pointing at my C Dory 16.

River Horse is a story of a trip through the central rivers of the U.S. on board, I believe, a C Dory 25. I didn't want to completely disillusion the guy so I just said "Yes, it was a C Dory."

"This is SO COOL! I am reading the book right now but I have never seen a C Dory. Look at that! You could sleep in there! Have you had it out to the ocean? Through the canals? Along the rivers?"

"Well, mostly I come here to ... I mean, yes, I have traveled quite extensively in it." (Hey, I crossed the border to Virginia once - who's to say what "extensive" means?)

"I know you are off on some big adventure so I will let you go but this is SO COOL!"

Yeah, towing a C Dory definitely has a cool factor In fact, I have never taken it out without someone coming up to admire it.

As I pulled into the launch ramp lot, I noticed one other truck with trailer. What nut goes out in weather like this?

I had an uneventful launch and motored off to explore the upper reaches of Jordan Lake. The wind was blowing pretty good but the pilothouse kept me snug as a bug. After about 20 minutes scaring more waterfowl than I have ever seen on Jordan, I found that the upper reaches are quite boring so I headed back down lake to anchor in a favorite cove.

With all of the leaves down, the cove was even prettier than usual. The forest around Jordan is mixed hardwood and pines so when the undergrowth dies back you can see into the pines and that gives a whole different view of the area.

I saw a young kid joyfully leaping around the shoreline. He reminded me a lot of a grown up Spike. Spike just loves to leap around all day and I could definitely see him out there ...

CRAAAAACK!

Whoa.

That sounded close.

BANG! BANG!

What the heck?

I looked into the forest again. The kid was gone but now I noticed a campfire site along with a few benches. That's strange - this is a wild area. I didn't know there were any paths through this section and yet ... hanging from a tree was a big American flag. Off tot he side was some strange symbol. A big white circle with a large black dot in the middle - almost like a target but supersized. And another flag...

RATATATATATATATATATATATAT!

I hit the throttle and made a serious wake getting out of there

I don't know what was going on back there but the gunfire was voluminous, loud and NEAR! North Carolina does not allow rifle hunting on Sundays and I don't think (but don't know) target practice is allowed on the game lands. Whatever was going on, it was clearly dangerous and there were just enough signs to make me wonder if I might have stumbled onto a camp of good ole boys with whom I might not share political, social and hygiene norms.

I headed back up the lake to another secluded cove and had lunch and a good read ("Ice Bird" by David Lewis) before gunfire once again erupted nearby. I checked my five layers of clothing and found that none of them were kevlar so I decided to call it a day and headed back to the ramp.

As I tied up, a guy came ambling down the dock saying "What a COOL BOAT!" We talked for a bit before his wife joined us. She told me that he loves to look at boats but this was the first time he actually ever went out of his way to check one out so closely. He told me has a center console boat but it would just be too frigid to take it out now. They were at the lake taking a break from studying for some professional exams. He kept admiring the boat and talking about all the things he could do in such a versatile little craft.

As they got ready to leave, I walked over and told them they might want to check out "River Horse" after the exams were done
 
I thought that River Horse was one of the coolest books ever. The guy took his 22 (not 25) from one side of the Mississippi water shed to the other, down the Ohio and up the Missouri.

I really want to do that, but the 25 is too big for me to think of retrieving and launching as many time as River Horse did. And he had a lot of outside help as crew and chase drivers with his truck/trailer. But boy was it a good trip. He would go right up until his engines grounded, pull it out and go upstream around some dam. Anyway, I'm going to try to do some of that trip this summer.

You know, out in the Mohave, you get nuts with guns. They seem to come out at night. I guess they have a few drinks and then start firing their male appendage. I was out there one night with my son and a friend of his when I heard the firing. I made everyone get down low until it stopped. It was certainly a rough time.

Boris
 
Tom,

You didn't order the armor option on your boat?

I may have to send you a sticker occasionally seen on "outlaw" motorcycles: "Drive it like you stole it!" One more bit of advice: never let 'em take you alive. Does anyone else hear the music from "Deliverance"? :wink:

Best wishes,
Jim

PS Down in the Tropical Tip, we hear "random" gunfire on holidays like: the 4th of July, New Years, Christmas (you've heard the song: "I Heard The Guns On Christmas Day"), Cinco de Mayo, any President's or Saint's birthday, Mother's Day, Arbor Day, etc, etc. Sometimes the crazy bastards fire the gun straight up in the air... yes, this sounds like a Roadrunner cartoon, and the result IS what you think. :mrgreen:

PSS River Horse boat was a 22. Yes, all that adventure and he didn't even have an enclosed head with a shower! When we picked our boat up from the factory, Rachel and BadBob (yes, THAT Rachel and BadBob) had sent a copy of River Horse to the factory to have them put it in our boat. We have some pretty amazing sailor friends, don't we?
 
Now THAT gives me an idea!

Maybe I will carry around a few extra copies of River Horse and hand them out to people who show particular appreciation for the C Dory line. I could then ask them to pass it on when they are done.

Can't be a bad thing to spread the word and expand the family :) not to mention the general improvements in society that I believe come from reading.

BTW, I am very close to adding a 22 to the fleet. It has been a cold winter and, while I have not let that stop me from going out, a 22 would be the cat's meow on a cold, misty morning. I also hope to hit the road next year and do the canals and lakes from NY to Quebec.

I know, I know "Tom, you will eventually get a 25, so just do it!" Perhaps, but for now the truck is paid for and too small (almost intentionally) to tow a 25. As I nearly always travel solo, the minor additonal creature comforts on a 25 relative to a 22 mean less to me than the ease of towing and launching.
 
Anna Leigh":2sboa9aa said:
Better that giving them a copy of Riverhorse, give them the website address of Bill and El.
Click to expand...

I agree that the website address of Bill and El would be better than River Horse. The somewhat dark attitude of the River Horse crew often projected a "glass half empty" picture while Bill and El's glass is always overflowing.

Same can be said of Jim and Joan (Wild Blue).
 
If you're looking for trips in a C-Dory, they're all good. River Horse, Halcyon and Wild Blue all provide great, grand & graphic descriptions of wonderful trips with, around and on C-Dories, each from a different perspective.

Read them all, enjoy them and decide if they'll influence your cruising.

Boris
 
jhwilson":keqqn755 said:
I agree that the website address of Bill and El would be better than River Horse. The somewhat dark attitude of the River Horse crew often projected a "glass half empty" picture while Bill and El's glass is always overflowing.

Same can be said of Jim and Joan (Wild Blue).
Click to expand...

I was going to say the same thing but you beat me to it! :thup :thup

Warren
 
journey on":1fu8kfey said:
If you're looking for trips in a C-Dory, they're all good. River Horse, Halcyon and Wild Blue all provide great, grand & graphic descriptions of wonderful trips with, around and on C-Dories, each from a different perspective.

Read them all, enjoy them and decide if they'll influence your cruising.

Boris
Click to expand...

...half full, half empty, for a full glass I'm with Boris.
 
tparrent":11hildwx said:
...

I know, I know "Tom, you will eventually get a 25, so just do it!" Perhaps, but for now the truck is paid for and too small (almost intentionally) to tow a 25. As I nearly always travel solo, the minor additonal creature comforts on a 25 relative to a 22 mean less to me than the ease of towing and launching.
Click to expand...

Tom, my friend, I gave up trying to influence your boat buying decisions about 3 boats ago. :wink: I'm just happy to see you enjoying your C-Dory. One small suggestion: make sure you have some source of heat on the 22 (or whatever you choose), so you can enjoy it when "the winter wind blows" (as long as the water is liquid). I'm a big fan of the Wallas stove/heater; others here feel the same about a Webasto. Just get a boat with it or add it right away to add even more pleasurable days/nights onboard.

If you think that 16 is big fun, wait 'till you feel the joy of shirt-sleeve cruising even when Mother Nature tosses you some cold. That boat WILL be more to maneuver at the ramp than your 16, but after the initial shock of "OMG this thing is HUGE", you will find that one person can still push it around as necessary... and it will feel even more stable on the water.

You go, boy... and have fun... and a very Merry Christmas!

Best wishes,
Jim & Joan
 
AH, YES!

RIVER HORSE ...... :love

The nail in the bank account that completed the discussion.. :thup :thup

We went out and bought the CD-25 and NEVER regretted it. :D :D

Time aboard.... Priceless, whether on the hard :tea and ejoying a hot drink, complements of the Wallas, or in the water.

Art
 
I could not stand the writing style of River Horse, which I would describe as pompous and self-indulgent. Only got about 1/4 through it when I decided I had better things to do with my time...give me Halcyon Days or Wild Blue's Adventures any day.
 
Pat Anderson":2y9gymqj said:
I could not stand the writing style of River Horse, which I would describe as pompous and self-indulgent. Only got about 1/4 through it when I decided I had better things to do with my time...give me Halcyon Days or Wild Blue's Adventures any day.
Click to expand...

+1, although I punished myself and got over half-way through it.

Even worse reading than Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance: An Inquiry into Values
 
and then there was "Magic, Science, and Religion", by Branislaw Malinowski . I never did get to the part about C-Dorydom. ...but I digress...
 
No, no, no - I will stick with River Horse thank you very much.

I found River Horse to be a bit pompous and overly dramatic as well.

However, once I finished it I simply picked up the next book on the shelf and started in on a new story.

On the other hand, an ill-advised night spent reading the Halcyon and Wild Blue blogs resulted in the purchase of my C Dory! That's some expensive reading!
 
"Christine" by stephen king is a book that I could never get thru. started it 3 times and just could not get to the first killing. sorry off topic but it the only book I have never finished.
 
I think we need to nominate Tom for an award for HIS writing style--great start to a long story! Maybe those were some of those folks who had dissapeared into the NC mountains nearby and wanted to keep any "flatlanders" away.....

Although perhaps William Least Heat moon lacks some in writing style, the voyage is both innovative and epic, despite some exagurations. He also wrote "Blue Highways", which I still have (gave "River Horse" away with one of the C Dorys I sold). All three books of his triolgy ("PrairyErth" is the third) were on the New York Times best seller list for some time. I did find some excerpts on the internet, and in the description of the boat--he comments on "two fifty-eight gallon" fuel tanks--I wonder if he fitted much larger tanks, or it was a typo for two 18 gallon tanks?

No question that any of the C Dories bring attention where ever you go!
 
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Hardbound, excellent condition.
Only the first 171 pages have ever been turned...

$13.00, including shipping via Media Mail (slow).
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If you suffer from insomnia, this book is cheaper than the $15 copay
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First "I'll take it" owns it...remember, PayPal only.

-Karl
 
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