Adventures on Lake Whatcom

So I decided not to let my fears of failing or not meeting a high standard keep me from taking the kids out on the boat this year. You see, the first, only and last time I took the boat out by myself, I hit a submerged log out in the deepest and most remote section of Lake Whatcom, and darn it, it will not be me to ruin Bruce's boat! I think I also had to go under the boat and unhook the line as well, but my memory is foggy other than a big, fat log in my way as I raced across the lake.
This summer is going to be different....

Two weeks ago-
Jenny and I decided to take the kids out for afternoon tubing. We had Thomas, two Allen girls, Isaac, Matthew and Sophia with us, with Cooper sitting happy in Jenny's lap. What a fabulous crew! We had several runs, took turns with all the kids, and were switching out the kids for one last run. Starting up, I heard one of the Allen girls yell, "the rope!" I immediately cut the engine, but the damage was done. With keeping an eye on the numerous boats, supervising the kids in and out switching positions from the boat to the tube and making sure Cooper was okay with Jenny, I didn't think to check to see if the rope was clear. I jumped in to see the damage, but couldn't see the damage. It was too far under the boat for me, but tugging, jerking and silently swearing at the underside of the boat was not doing the trick. I hauled myself up and looked at Jenny, wishing to be anywhere but where we were. With a boat full of kids and just the two of us, I tried to figure out what I was supposed to do now. I knew my skills didn't include diving under the boat without a mask, and we quickly realized that neither of us thought to bring our cell phones to call for help. Across the lake, Jenny's friend was out with a beach full of friends, but turns out they watched us thinking we were just waving at them. The waves were crashing against the boat, and I now was more than worried that we'd end up bashing into the docks if we didn't figure something out soon. Looking up at Jenny, I said, "we've got to get help. I can't do this." With that, we hustled the kids in out of the tube, put them at the front of the boat, and started waving. However, with it being mid afternoon and windy, there was a limited number of boats out. Finally, after waving and yelling, and feeling more than humiliated, a boat across the lake took notice of our yelling and came out to investigate. As they neared our boat, and seeing me in the water at the back, one dude executed a perfect Baywatch dive and swam over to investigate. Without much hesitation, he dove under, surfacing pretty quickly and sputtering very un-Baywatch like. Meanwhile, Jenny was turning this little ordeal into our own little episode of Rescue Heroes, and the kids seemed thrilled. Sputtering hero dude went under again, only to come up under the platform and hit his head. I pulled him out, realizing that I didn't need a second rescue operation one one afternoon. He said to me, "Man, I wish I hadn't just pounded that beer!"
Great, I thought. Just what we needed. Drunk Rescue Hero. I smiled at him, willing him to keep it together enough to go back under, all the while trying to keep us from being pounded into the boat by the increasing waves. He went under, again and again. Finally, he pulled the last of our tow rope out, and we all cheered. What could I do for him? How could I possibly make it up to him? I thanked him again and again, telling him how much we appreciated him helping us out with all the kids in the boat. He was so cool about it, and with the beer comment ringing in my ears, I said to him, "We're the beach next to the Firs. You come look me up and we'll buy you all the beer you can drink." He laughed, we hauled ourselves back into our boats, and he was off. Once up in the boat, I wanted to head back in and never get on the boat again. Jenny and I talked, agreed it was in our best interests to buck up and make it work, then gathered ourselves and put the kids back out. Despite feeling slightly sick to my stomach, we rode back to the dock instead of limping. Jenny and I could only laugh and shake our heads as we hauled kids and gear out of the boat and back to the safety of the beach.