4 = Sunday, ‘May 45-1986 ~ North’ Shore News

Bob Hunter

¢ strictly personal ©

THE ‘OCEAN — what is
there about it that is so ad-
dicting?

‘I’ve gone through ifive boats,
one houseboat, three wet suits and
_ half a dozen rubber dinghies since

moving ‘out, to the. coast ‘in .the

- ems,
’ minesweepers, surfboards,
- tugboats, fishboats, ~ Zodiacs,
- kayaks, hovercraft, you name it.
Yet. after, allthis time, getting
out on. a boat: ‘still has” a magical
‘soothing ‘effect-on.my psyche. It’s
like sex. Even if it’s not: very good,
it’s still terrific. “
:Maybe’.it was the trauma’ “of.

a - spending. my childhood on a‘dead°

sea. bottom. There: is“ a’ statistic
‘floating ‘around somewhere show- '

atellite Star Service before May 10/86 and pay ‘only 86¢ sig

“ ing,
deadheads. One moment you’re on -

1

or the radio won’t work as you’re
trying to get off a Mayday.

I don’t know which is the more.

stimulating: going up on a rock at

low tide or. feeling. the muffled

thump of your keel touching sandy
bottom. I’ve done both. My, the
juices do get flowing!

The mystery of the lure of being

; “out on the ocean has something to
do, I know in my bones, with the _

fact that circumstances can change
so utterly, so quickly, so pitilessly.
You can never really let down your

; guard.

For one thing, thanks. to logg-
the coast is littered with

the bridge, whistling The Wayward
Wind, and the next -you’re

scrambling for the lifeboat, a tele- ‘
hone. pole-sized sunken tree hav- ‘
ing punched. a hole through your

I inderstand that boating is ace

tually, the: most hazardous recre-
\.. ational activity, worse. even — can
believe it? — than’ skiing. 1

guess, statistically, most ‘people

only cripple and maim themselves,
on skis, whereas, if your boat goes
down, well, they don’t call it a
watery grave for nothing.

It remains that unlike most out-
door activities, boating doesn't

’ fold up and go away just because

of bad weather. It’s when the
weather gets bad that boating gets
great. Right, team? Team? Hello?
Where'd everybody go?

‘I don’t wanna lay a macho
number on ya, or anything, but it’s
true, the sea is beautiful when its
angry.

I’ve been lucky enough to be out

in a couple of great storms in my -
time, and there is simply nothing
'more exciting. These things are -
‘relative, of course. Being out in the:
: Strait of Georgia in a 40 knot wind «|

and five or six-foot waves is.a ma-
jor adventure if you happen:to be

‘in a 20-foot- boat, although such

conditions .wouldn’t even be notic-
ed from the seventh floor of a
vessel like the Royal Princess.

up. fee plus:

he monthly service fee for the channels you choose — T.S.N: $6.95 p/m Superchannel $13.95

i/mo.; ; “Much Musi

$5.95 pimo.

. Still, I have been on a freighter
inthe North Atlantic during an
early Winter gale that lasted four

days and once I was out in the.

middle of the Gulf of Alaska in a
serious storm. In both situations, 1
was, of course, totally terrified —

the more so, I might:add, on the
fishboat than the freighter.

Yet these two experiences stand
out vividly as the most thrilling
hours of my life. Isn’ t that a bit of
a paradox?

“Oil change (up to'4 litres);- lube,

“filter.an

0 pt. safety. check.

Includes’ arts & labor. :

oie
1606 Clark Drive , 13433 Kagoeoeiy

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*L gnats Blk wes! of keo Fumini