THE BRIGHT SPOT
The year 2020 really sucked…but at least we had boating!
Idon’t know that I can add much. The dek—that’s publishing-speak for “subheadline”—pretty much says it all. Let’s take a tally: COVID-19, civil unrest, the “new normal,” societal changes, layoffs, furloughs, pay cuts, struggling businesses, an election year, and as I keyboard this, Cat 4 Hurricane Laura is steamrolling Louisiana and east Texas. Then, just before press time, the record-setting 18th named storm in the Atlantic Basin, Hurricane Sally, devastated parts of Alabama and Florida. Forests in the western United States are ablaze, the smoke from the fires now coloring sunsets in Nova Scotia and beyond, while residents in California and Oregon have lost everything—some, their lives.
A few of those things were necessary, some were avoidable, and still others were acts of God. All of them pushed us to the brink and put us to the test. But by any measure, 2020 possesses all the charm of old bait, or a cabin in which the berth cushions were put away wet for winter. I am glad to put it astern.
Fortunately, we who own boats could find respite from it all by loading up and taking the gang out on the water. There, propelled across the shimmering wet veneer, worries always seem to diminish and fade. Housebound families could hit the bay or lake, and enjoy themselves in the fresh air, skiing, tubing, fishing, cruising or just messing around. A moonlight cruise comprised date night for many a couple. Little kids wore out and napped. Big kids either escaped their folks or spent quality time with them. Fish got caught and fried. Sights were seen, and oohs and aahs emitted. New skills were learned while old ones were honed. Nobody left their phone home (on purpose), but people talked to each other and bonded.
All of this points to the core reason we own boats and put up with the realities of expense and time that such ownership requires. We all have specific individual reasons, but broadly we all own boats for the same reasons. Owning a boat gives us something to do and ensures we have plans to make. Thus, boat ownership provides us with a spark of hope and keeps part of us looking to a brighter future, even in these dire times.
Long used as a conveyance to an island, in 2020, the boat became an island unto itself. Of course, it was that way all along.
Enjoy the issue.
But by any measure, 2020 possesses all the charm of old bait, or a cabin in which the berth cushions were put away wet for winter.