Sometimes when you’re boating, you also have opportunities to see wildlife whether on shore or on the water. Your entry onto the scene by water may be a little unexpected, giving you a chance to get closer.

Take advantage of your perspective. Snap some pics and share them with the class. Let us see the heron rookeries, the loons with their babies on their backs, the ospreys hunting. We want to see what you see. Share the love!

Photo by ilco

As it happens, boating is a learning experience. Sometimes when we go out, we realize that we should have something else on hand, just in case. Take the time my husband dove off the boat only to rip open his toe.

We don’t normally have a first-aid kit on board. Now, we do. My husband was at the bow. He dove off, catching his foot on the bow light. It was a nasty cut. We set him up on a floating chair with a cold beer and he was fine. It would have been better though had we had some antiseptic and a bandage.

My tip to you then is to put together your boating list. Keep a bag for those items so you know they are ready when you decide to head out. If you think of something new, pop it in the bag. As you use stuff up, make sure and replenish your stock when needed. If not, keep plenty of cold beer on board. It usually takes care of most ills.

Photo by engindeniz

I use WeatherBug on my Blackberry Curve. With it, I can view present conditions, receive information regarding weather alerts, and even view the current radar. Best of all, it is free. Weather.com has a similar application, but it does cost. You can sign up for free weather alerts delivered as text messages on your phone. You can choose the type of alert you want to receive.

If you don’t have a smartphone or you are out of coverage, you probably want to become familiar with how to read the sky so you know when trouble is on the horizon.

I make it a point to always review the weather before we head out on the water. I’ll note the details such as barometer, cloud type, and wind direction in order to have the information I need to make a proper weather assessment.

Make it a safe boating season this year. Know how to read the weather patterns or receive alerts so you can avoid storms and inclement weather.

Photo by Zhonk

"To the question, "When were your spirits at the lowest ebb?" the obvious answer seemed to be, "When the gin gave out."
- Sir Francis Chichester

Photo by freshleaf

These are also the type of people who will take the boat out despite the impending storm. We’re careful about going out, especially after our harrowing experiences with storms on the water.

In one case, we stayed at the dock after racing across the lake to get out of a storm. Rather than walk through the monsoon, we pulled the cover over the boat and decided to wait it out. A clap of thunder roared as we saw the flash of lightning. Just at that time, I saw a flash by my left elbow that had been braced up against the metal frame of the boat. My first and hopefully only, lightning strike.

Anyway, if we want to know if it’s going to rain, we check if our goofy neighbors are out on the boat. Sure enough, last night with rain in the forecast and temps in the 50s, they’re out on the water. It’s gotten to a point where we look to see if their boat is on the lift in order to decide if we should go out.

It’s really easy to enjoy boating. All you have to do is wait until it’s warm and sunny.

"Out of sight of land the sailor feels safe. It is the beach that worries him."
- Charles G. Davis

Photo by FriaLOve

“Only the guy who isn’t rowing has time to rock the boat.”
- Jean-Paul Sartre

Photo by neilthorne

“At sea, I learned how little a person needs, not how much.”
- Robin Lee Graham

Photo by yellowssub

You know you’re in Minnesota when you see the boat either uncovered in blind defiance to there being any more snow or more cautious yet optimist with the boat still shrink-wrapped in the driveway. People are getting anxious. They have the blowers running to hurry the melt. The snowmobiles are gone, replaced by the jet skis.

We’re getting excited too, making our bets on the actual date of ice-out. The boat is still in indoor storage. Have to save up the money to get that new custom canvas cover and repair work. Break Out Another Thousand.

Photo by arinas74

This week the Canada geese returned, which is always a positive sign of spring ahead. We’re seeing lots of mallards and a few hooded mergansers where the water is flowing on the ice.

Average ice out for us in April 9th, but I’m predicting a late one this year. I’ll put my bet at April 24th this year.

There a few things to remember about ice out. First, the water is going to be filled with all kinds of floating debris. Ice out only means that you can get from one part of the lake to the other. That doesn’t mean that there are not still ice floating around, sometimes in large areas.

There is a water skier in our cove who is usually out skiing just after ice out. We call him Tommy Bartlett, after the famous Wisconsin water skiing act. There he will be, decked out in his wet suit skiing away. He’s very talented too, so he’s fun to watch.

Several rivers around here have been flooding. I think there’s no mistake that the lake levels will be up this year, much to my husband’s relief.

We have a lot of maintenance planned this year. Have to do the spring tune up. The boat ran so well when we did it last year. We also have to replace our canvas. Ours bit the dust last year.

So, as say every year, boat? Break out another thousand.