03-03-2015, 10:00 AM
Up this morning at the crack of 6:20 (a.m.); long underwear, jeans, and boots on; t-shirt, shirt, hoodie, and jacket with gloves and knit cap round out the ensemble. Ready for the yellow perch!<br /><br />Load the boat and hit &#39;er for Parksville. Should be a GOOOOOOD day with the light mist, cold temps, and overcast skies. The snow and ice has all melted so the roads are great.<br /><br />Ha, first one to the ramp. Fill out the ramp fee envelope and deposit it with my $3. No wind, so I&#39;m looking forward to the day. Back down the verrrry long ramp to launch the boat and get started. The trailer starts into the water.<br /><br />I come to a rather abrupt and unexpected stop. Huh?<br /><br />Seems the dead calm water in the bay is actually a skim of ice. Well, not really a skim, more of a 1/2 inch thick glassy layer. So why&#39;s that a problem? It turns out that breaking ice is not a problem when you push on the face of it, but it gets really strong if you try to push edgewise against a bay full of the stuff. Really strong. And it pushes against the weakest part of the boat/trailer assembly.<br /><br />The lights. <br /><br />I now have a much greater appreciation for the distance that shattered plastic taillights can - and do - skid across slick icy surfaces. <br /><br /><br /><br />Oh, and I have also learned to deposit the ramp fee AFTER attempting to launch the boat................<br /><br /><br /><br />