The Captain is a Lady --Women on Water

I have been around boats since I was a little girl and my dad built a little red rowboat that we put on Lake Nodaway in Greenfield, Iowa. That lake was too small for any kind of motors, and I have fond memories of my dad rowing the boat, catching bluegills and being on the water.  When I got a little older, my parents bought a little outboard and then a bigger, but still a little outboard. We had so much fun with that. I was never sure whether my husband fell in love with me or with my dad's boat. Several yars after we were married, we bought our first boat----it was an 18' 1963 Duratech outboard--not too impressive, but again, so much fun. Then finally we were able to get a 24' foot and keep it at Lake of the Ozarks. That's certainly not an impressive boat by Lake of the Ozarks standards, but again, so much fun. I've often said that if it floats, I like it.  I enjoy canoeing with Living Waters Canoe Ministry where I also serve on the Board of Directors.  Canoes, power boats, sailboats, jet skis, parasailing, and even a floating lawn chair with a good book are all good times as far as I'm concerned. 

After many years of being a great first mate, the time had come to be the captain.  I read up on all the Missouri watercraft regulations and made sure my boat was properly registered and equipped. paid the insurance with Boat U.S. and had it checked out by the mechanic.  I am comfortable driving on the open water.  I love the feeling of the wind as I drive down the lake. I'm not so crazy about the feeling I get in my stomach when it's time to dock the boat. I learned that Marine Max at Lake of the Ozarks offers a free class they call Women on Water. They offer it all over the country and their mission is to teach women to feel comfortable with their boats and docking. I signed up and Saturday was the class.

J.D. Schmid was our instructor.  He is from St. Louis and teaches there, as well as at The Lake.  The class was two parts--a classroom session where we learned the names of the parts of a boat, some boating safety and maintenance, and how a boat operates differently from a car.  Then we went to the boat.  SeaRay builds a beautiful boat, and Marine Max let us use one to learn to dock. J.D. was amazingly patient and helpful. In addition to teaching us the basic mechanics, he knew each of our personal boats well enough to be able to point out some nuances and things that we might encounter in our own watercraft. I know we all felt more confident in our knowledge and abilities at the end of the class. We all got certificates. Normally, I'm not a big fan of certificates,  but this one has already been framed! Thanks,  J. D., I am looking forward to  practicing and perfecting the skills you taught us.  Sometime soon I'll think about the connection between docking and real estate but that  will be another blog!