Fun on the Lake

Category: Getting my garden started | Posted: Tue Mar 27, 2007 3:54 pm

Each year for as long as I can remember, two of our friends here on the lake have a friendly competition. The point is to be the first person, to be in a boat afloat on the lake. The two of them will spend weeks after the fact, debating who actually won. Each year a new "rule" gets added to make it fair for each. Then each new year one of them finds a new way to be first, and the debate begins again.
One year John was out in a small fishing boat with a motor, playing among the melting ice sheets. He looked like a mini ice breaker, as he charged a sheet of ice and smashed through. There was a wind that day, and as I watched, I could see the ice sheets moving about some. John wound up out near the middle of the lake, and some of the ice had closed in behind him. Now our lake is not exceptionally large, just 600 acres or so, but to John at that moment it must have seemed like Lake Michigan. All that ice between him and his shore. We teased him for months after that.
Another year John put a small row boat in when there was a few feet of open water along the shore, and rowed along breaking ice as he went, over to Walt's house where he claimed victory for that year. Walt claimed foul, he said that there needs to be enough open water so that you don't need to break the ice to get through. After a couple weeks of debate, they made a "rule" that to be the winner the boat must not break through any ice.
Another year Walt rowed his small row boat over to John's house, but to keep clear of the ice, he needed to stay very close to shore, and spent more time dislodging the boat from the rocks on the bottom than he spent sitting there rowing. John cried foul, he claimed that the boat has to float, and not come into contact with the bottom. A couple weeks later they agreed on another "rule", the boat must float and not come into contact with the bottom.
Yet another year, John put his kids Kayak into the lake and paddled over to Walt's house, with out hitting the ice, and without contacting the bottom. Walt cried foul, to be fair John needed to use a boat that he would likely use normally during the summer. The Kayak was not fair competition. You guessed it, they "discussed the kayak issue every time they saw each other for the next several weeks. Their wives finally made a "rule", They needed to declare a winner sooner.
So, in the spirit of their competition, this year Mimi and I decided to add to their fun, and made our own entry, and in the process broke as many of their rules as we could. See the picture below. Using a kayak, on the ice, weeks before any open water appeared, and a woman in the boat. I Emailed the picture to both of them, claiming victory, the resulting Emails were both keepers.
Tom (calomaar)

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Comments

toni wrote on Tue Mar 27, 2007 4:01 pm:

Thanks for the laugh Tom.
Isn't it wonderful to have nice, fun loving friends like that?

Very clever and fun way to join the competition.

eileen wrote on Tue Mar 27, 2007 5:54 pm:

Wish I could have read those reply e.mails or seen the looks on their faces when they read yours and saw the piccie!!!!! You were definately breaking more than a few rules but I'll bet it was great fun and you all had a good laugh about it later.

Gardenstew wrote on Tue Mar 27, 2007 6:56 pm:

Tell me Tom have you christened the competition yet? Is there a prize? Have you thought about spreading it to other countries. Sorry so many questions, I'm just interested that's all ;)