Pontoon Boating Season Begins!

We launched our pontoon yesterday for the first boating day of the 2022 summer season. Well, Tim actually launched our boat, after we unhooked it at Fairport Marina and he attached the trailer to his big John Deere tractor. Tim is the owner at the marina and Lighthouse Restaurant, one of the nicest people you'll ever meet, and I can't believe we spent three seasons at the Coralville Reservoir before returning to Fairport. We originally moved our boat at the beginning of the 2019 season, when the Mississippi River was still at high flood stage in late May and it looked like we might lose half or more of the boating season to river flooding. When the river is high, it's also full of hazards like trees and other debris, often submerged just below the water's surface. Large commercial barges can still navigate the river, but smaller vessels like pleasure craft cannot. Hitting a stump, even at slow speed, would likely result in a sheared propeller, leaving the vessel dead in the water. We enjoyed our first three boating seasons on the Mississippi River before moving to Coralville. Although we got to do more boating since the water conditions at the reservoir were always favorable, we missed our friends from Fairport Marina and Bikini Beach, the nearby island on the Mississippi River where we would spend pleasant days with our dogs and more friends.

Tim was thrilled when Andy called him earlier this year to ask about a slip at Fairport. Tim not only had a slip available, it's one of the awesome slips from a houseboat that was sold and moved. Fairport has only around 50 boats, compared to nearly a thousand at Coralville. Everyone knows everyone else, everyone looks out for each other, and shitty people don't pass Tim's "everyone needs to get along" test for acquiring a slip. The Lighthouse Restaurant, also operated by Tim and his wife, has great food and even better drinks.

We got a late start and arrived at the marina around 3 pm. We didn't bring any dogs, since we pulled the boat with Andy's 4Runner, which doesn't have crates. Additionally, our first launch of the year has historically been riddled with unforeseen problems. That's just the reality of keeping a boat in winter storage from October until June. Something usually won't start or there will be drama with remembering basic maneuvers that were second nature eight months ago. This year, the big issue was that the boat wasn't properly stored (not our fault, we paid for covered winter storage and the marina left our boat uncovered in the rain for almost a month before we could pick it up). Last week, I decided to see what difference I could made in cleaning the boat. I ordered a garden sprayer and a gallon of Starbrite, a marine mildew remover that promised "spray on and watch the mildew melt off." Well son of a gun, the product actually delivered what it had promised! It was so caustic that it bleached my long pants and shirt that I wore while cleaning the boat. I kind of expected that, and wore nitrile gloves during the application. There was a small amount of second spraying and minor scrubbing with paper towels, but the end result after two hours of cleaning was a boat with vinyl that looked newer than when we bought the boat six years ago. I left the cover off and a day of thunderstorms on Thursday washed off the remainder of the product. I ordered new beach towels yesterday so when they arrive we'll really be boating in style and comfort! All of our previous beach towels slowly migrated from the human closet to the closet for pet supplies.

We launched the boat, and Andy motored to the new slip, where Tim showed us the best way to tie off the boat. I had ordered new boat lines and fender ropes, since our old ones were mildewed and no longer flexible, indicating that they could easily break. They were 5+ years old, so I didn't feel bad replacing them. I attached the new lines, putting three large fenders (bumpers) starboard on the dock side, and one portside where another houseboat sat in its slip. Summer thunderstorms on the Mississippi River can be wicked and Tim recommended that I order another two fenders. Everyone errs on the side of overprotection.

After the new lines were in place, Andy and I motored to Bikini Beach around 4 pm. There were still a number of boats beached, including our friends Jay and Kenny in their two boats, whom we have not seen since 2019. We beached our boat and as I was tying the pontoon to the sand screw I drilled into the shore, Jay came over with a hearty, "Where the hell have you guys been? We were just talking about you!" Jay's dog, Brewsky, a large GSD mix, was joyously showing us a large stick and wanted to play. Brewsky was eight weeks old the last time I saw him, and not much larger than a Vallhund puppy of the same age. Kenny came over with his dog, Buddy, a pug and lab mix that looks exactly like you would imagine such a mix. Buddy has a lot more gray in his face and didn't want to jump on the seats of our pontoon like he used to enjoy back in the day, rubbing off sand and sending it flying everywhere. Buddy and Baby Bridget used to have great times racing up and down Bikini Beach. Bridget has a leg injury and will be out for most if not all of the boating season this year. Kenny asked us where the dogs were, and I told him we didn't bring any since we didn't know what first launch would be like. I told them about Skadi's stroke and blindness. She also enjoyed running on the beach as a younger dog. Lenka is older but the same in terms of vigor. Celine, Prins and Dove will all be newcomers to Bikini Beach. Those three all experienced pontoon boating only on the Coralville Reservoir.

We enjoyed about three hours on Bikini Beach before motoring back to Fairport Marina. There was a pair of siblings, a boy and his sister, both preteens, who came over to befriend us. Their parents were hanging out with friends further down the beach. The siblings had on their life vests. The ran out into the water past the boats, then floated down to their parents. I cautioned them to clear the back of our pontoon by a few feet so they wouldn't cut themselves on the propeller on our motor. The game began with them swimming to the back of our pontoon, grabbing the swim ladder, then pushing off past the propeller. The younger brother was particularly social, and started telling me each time he came back about a hole he stepped into and stumbled in. I gave all kinds of nonsensical advice and he showed off in that funny way that children like to do when interacting with a friendly adult. When Andy and I left, those families were still enjoying the beach. I cautioned both siblings that we would be pulling out and to stay on shore until we were in the channel. The remaining beach families waved and I waved back, everyone hollering "Bye, see you again soon!" The sister yelled, "We'll miss you!" I yelled back that I would miss them too. The feelings of unity and friendship on Bikini Beach are hard to describe. No one talks about politics or religion. Jay told us about his broken leg and I told them about Skadi's stroke but no one mentioned the war in Ukraine or who is President of the United States or how much inflation is hurting the economy. We talk about each other, our dogs, our boats, food, drinks, the weather, and how much we all enjoy the island. The younger brother asked me if I have ever been to Bass Island (I have, it's in the pool south of Bikini Beach, south of Muscatine). He didn't know that you can find crawdads in the middle of the island. I couldn't remember the new of the little piles of sand surrounding crawfish burrows. Andy reminded me that they're called chimneys. Both siblings were excited by the new knowledge and determined to find crawdads on their next Bass Island excursion.

I only know something about crawdad chimneys because Skadi wandered off once when we were beached on Bass Island, in summer 2016. Andy went shore fishing, and the dogs followed him. We had Bridget and Skadi that day out with us. I took a nap on the pontoon. The rear bench folds into a queen sized bed, and the oversized bimini kept the sun off of me. Andy returned from fishing and asked, "Where are the dogs?" I looked at him and said, "I thought you were watching them." We immediately started calling and searching. Bridget returned immediately but Skadi did not. She hates water with a passion so I wasn't worried that she had swam off, but the island is a few acres in size and overgrown with vegetation. After five minutes, I made it to the middle of Bass Island, and there was Skadi, walking up to me and finishing off consuming a crawfish. She must have had quite a Cajun jamboree, judging from the sand on her paws and face, evidence of substantial digging. That might have been one of the happiest days in Skadi's life. I screamed to Andy, "Found her!" and we returned to the boat. Skadi was never allowed to wander off leash in unfamiliar territory after that day!

The weather this week is going to be blistering hot from today through Thursday, with highs near 100 degrees Fahrenheit. There will be a little break on Friday, with the high around 86 degrees, so we plan on boating that day and bringing along two or three dogs. We definitely need to bring Lenka and Prins. I am debating whether to bring Celine or Dove for the third dog. I don't want to bring all three youngsters for the first island trip, as that might be too much excitement for old Buddy and middle aged Brewsky. I think that Brewsky and Prins will become good friends. I wonder if Buddy will remember Lenka! We'll bring along plenty of fresh water for dogs and people to drink, as well as snacks. I'm crossing my fingers that at least two of our new beach towels arrive and I'm going to search the internet for new steps for the front of our pontoon boat.

Summer has arrived and it's going to be a great one!

Arrival on Bikini Beach!

Boats beached downriver

Jay's houseboat

An unflattering picture of me

View from the Lighthouse steps