Even after my second visit to Niagara Falls, I still thought of the place as a sort of mini-Vegas, filled with on-the-spot wedding chapels and heart-shaped beds. Perhaps I had a different impression on my most recent visit since we stayed at a campground, but the power of the falls was absolutely mesmerizing.
The 180-foot tall wall of water that is Horseshoe Falls (the one on the Canadian side) is about 12,000 years old. With the Niagara River flowing over this wall at approximately 35 miles per hour, allowing six million cubic feet of water (about a million bathtubs-worth) over the crestline every minute, the Horseshoe erodes approximately one foot each year. The heart-thumping sound of this phenomenon is where the site got its name: “Niagara” comes from the word “onguiaahra” which means, “a thundering noise.” From the crestline of the falls, water from the Niagara River ultimately ends up in Lake Ontario. From there it drains by way of the St. Lawrence River into the Atlantic Ocean.
The power of Niagara Falls can’t help but to elicit attempts to conquer them. A number of these tales exist; my favorites include:
The Brave: Annie Taylor, “Queen of the Mist,” a school teacher from Bay City Michigan, was the first person to travel over the Falls in a barrel, on October 24, 1901.
The Miraculous: In 1960, 7-year-old Roger Woodward survived a descent over the Falls after a boating accident above them sent him careening over.
The Stupid: On October 1, 1995, Robert Overcracker rode a jetski over Horseshoe Falls. Apparently the plan was to have his parachute lift him out of harm’s way once he went over the edge. The parachute didn’t work; he plunged to his death and his body was never recovered.
Hopefully for the rest of us, enjoying the stunning view will be enough of a thrill without the need to experience the descent directly. The sight and sound of Niagara Falls alone should be enough to remind us of the power of water, especially when we’re in it and on it.
And if that doesn’t do it for you, I can also gleefully report that the city of Niagara Falls has other types of liquid entertainment. Check out what’s on tap this season at the Niagara Brewing Company, then walk right up the street to the Rainforest Café to get your kid a non-alcoholic cocktail of sugary goodness – fun for the whole family!
Having grown up on the water, I’d like to think I can handle myself (with at least remedial success) around all sorts of vessels and water bodies. On the first stop of my family’s summer journey, we visited my mother and stepfather in eastern Tennessee. We were looking for water adventures, so my mom researched ahead of time to find a few family activities appropriate for a 5-year-old. We found our adventure in whitewater river rafting on the Hiwassee River.
Our trusty facilitators for this whitewater adventure were Webb Brothers Float Service, Inc., a company that has been in business in the same location since 1936. We were assured that the term “whitewater” was used vaguely and that our experience would be a fairly calm, 4-hour float down the river; I was as nervous about having a 5-year-old in a raft for that long as I was about the potential for rapids. True to their word, there was little whitewater, but I quickly learned that the water doesn’t have to look turbulent for there to be rocks just beneath the surface, threatening to your raft.
So let’s backtrack for a moment and review the human contents and experience on this river rafting adventure:
Myself: My entire youth was spent on and in the water in the Bahamas, plus boating on the Intracoastal Waterway from Florida to Maine. I’ve seen my fair share of boating challenges and near disasters, and I have some degree of physical strength and flexibility, so I figure I’m of some use in paddling an inflatable raft.
Randy: My husband was an avid sailor from the time he could walk, including competitive sailing. As he has been in the marine industry since realizing he would never make it through college, Randy is indispensable in operating a craft.
Bill: My stepfather is a former Navy SEAL. Need I say more?
Millie: My mother was with me in our family’s early years on the water, so she has an impressive resume as first mate.
Penn: My daughter excelled as a boat ornament and cruise entertainment.
Despite the impressive Curriculum Vitae of this group, we were hopeless (and hapless) at reading the water ahead, determining where there would be sufficient depth to get through, and navigating our way through the obstacles. Ever-hopeful for a summer’s day nap on this river rafting adventure, I quickly realized that my dream would be thwarted. At just about every opportunity of water ripple, we got stuck on another lurking rock – it was a humbling and elucidating experience. Despite the periodic frustration, the lesson I received had me newly present to the range of learning there is to explore on different bodies of water.
For those of us who grew up around boats in New England, our world revolved around the region’s rocky harbors and coves, where boats lived on moorings. Yes, some berthed in slips, but access to your boat was mostly by dinghy or maybe yacht club launch. A boat at your own dock was not even a dream, unlike many are used to in the Florida boating commmunity.
A first-time visit to Chesapeake Bay revealed that a more intimate berthing relationship existed. Driving across the Severn River Bridge (RT 50/301) to Annapolis provided a glimpse into a narrow creek, whose shore was lined with quaint homes and tidy bulkheads and docks, with boats right outside the back door at the foot of the lawn. This was the Cove of Cork, and its entrance channel required that you run toward shore parallel to, and nearly under, the bridge, make a hard right, and run parallel and close to the shore, and then finally a hard left into the cove’s entrance channel – all of which was unmarked at that time. Desire for a closer connection to the waterways must have kicked in without my knowing then. Just four years later, I moved from Newport to Annapolis to become a yacht broker, where I lived for the next 25 years, with its creeks and coves abound, small community marinas and private docks lining the shore with all those boats right outside back doors.
This kind of backyard access to your boat is perfect for tinkerers, whose boat projects seem to never end. If a tinkerer’s project was ever completed, they were often led to purchase a new boat with a whole new list of projects to tackle. I’m more the type that sees a boat as a perfect refuge for, say, a nap. I still have a list of boat projects, but most of them will never be completed and there is no particular pressure to get a new boat since this one is “finished”. There is a level of contentment that settles in that I find helpful in boat ownership. And in being married, for that matter (more about that in a moment).
Then came my first visit to Florida. I was at a friend’s house (he was a fellow yacht broker) in Dania Beach, just south of Fort Lauderdale, and right outside of his back door was a patio and canal with a long bulkhead, beside which was an amazing assortment of sailboats and powerboats — and it was winter, and warm, and you could go sailing or fishing in February! That hidden desire must have kicked in again, right then and there. Without any intention of living in Florida, I received a job offer from a marine electronics manufacturer that required a move from Annapolis to Fort Lauderdale. That was 13 years ago.
This is the move that led to my marriage. I had discovered kayaking in my last couple of years on the Chesapeake and gained a closer, more intimate knowledge of those same waters I had once cruised in larger sailboats. Now in Florida, I was doing the same but with turquoise water, palm trees, and sandy white beaches to run up on and have a swim or just watch birds and boats go by — and it was warm, and you could do this in February!
I worked occasionally as a kayak tour guide in Fort Lauderdale, my favorite trip being the nighttime Full Moon Cruise. Imagine paddling gently under a full moon, then drifting and seeing palm trees in silhouette with the rising moon behind, dragging a hand in the warm water. On one particular trip, we had overbooked by one seat. Since my Old Town kayak could be paddled as a single or in tandem, it was simple to rearrange the seats to accommodate the extra guest. It turned out that it was her birthday, and her friends had arranged the Full Moon Kayak Cruise as a surprise. This turned out to be a great way to meet the person who you will marry, and as I write this, we’re just four days from celebrating our 10th wedding anniversary.
My wife and her brother are the owners of Hi-Tide, the company founded by their father in 1979. I was aware of Hi-Tide Boatlifts, as so many of my customers in Maryland and Florida personally owned their lifts. Now, as I drive around, doing my marine electronics consultant job, I have Hi-Tide signs on the car door. It is both interesting and gratifying to see how many people approach me at the boatyard or West Marine parking lots because of these signs. Many of these people are, themselves, Hi-Tide boatlift owners, and just say, “Thanks for a great lift.” Others have questions well suited for our dealers. “Who can I call for service on an existing lift?” “Who can guide me on increasing their lift capacity for a new boat they want to buy?” “Who can advise me about getting a new boatlift or inspecting or upgrading an existing boatlift at a house I am considering buying?”
What we all have in common is a passion for boats and being around the water. My journey to get closer to the water contributed to getting me from New England, to the Chesapeake, then to Florida boating and a surprising new life and family. Doors opened unexpectedly and took me in directions I never anticipated. I’m excited to see what stories we uncover about people and places as we travel along the East Coast and lake regions and we pass these stories on to you. There are so many ways to enjoy life on the water, and in my case, you may even meet the person you’ll marry. It just goes to show; you never know what a life spent boating may bring.
So, why would there be a blog topic about choosing the “right” boat on a boat lift website? Well, it turns out that the factors that influence which boat you purchase are often directly connected to whether or not you purchase a boat lift, and which type of lift you buy. Without getting into specifics of any one type of vessel, let me put your mind at ease: whatever boat you choose will be the perfect boat for you. The choice you make is all about who you are and what you desire, not the opinions of salesmen, friends and “experts.” And if you find that you don’t like your decision down the road, you can always change your mind.
Let’s start with some important questions to ask yourself when considering buying a boat:
What do I like about boats?
Do I want to connect with other people while boating or enjoy the solitude of the sea?
Do I enjoy the action of water sport or the relaxation of cocktails?
Am I a minimalist or do I need luxuries?
What is more important in the vessel: function or form?
What is the environment that I will be operating in look like?
Will I be doing my own maintenance or will I hire someone else to keep up the boat?
When you begin to uncover the answers to these questions, your internal compass will point you towards a particular style of boat with certain generalized features. Most of this applies to first time boat owners. If you are a seasoned captain, then you probably already know exactly what you want when buying a boat, with a very specific list of amenities. If you are a longtime boat owner and find your boating activities becoming boring or burdensome, then this exercise might just open up a new perspective for you. Don’t rush the process; come up with your own questions as well and always think outside the box. Just remember, the only perfect boat for you is the one that you choose.
Once you decide on which boat is for you, much of the decision-making process that you went through to choose your boat will directly apply to choosing the right boat lift system to protect your new investment. For example, if you decided on a beautiful Chris Craft inboard wooden restored original masterpiece, you will want to design some type of covered structure to maintain the finish. In this case, a boathouse type lift would be a good consideration. If you were into wakeboarding and making multiple trips onto the water, a high-speed lift might be in order, enabling you to spend more time having fun and less time waiting on the dock. In tight quarters with limited dock access, a lift without a top beam may be your best choice. Whatever your final decision, always choose a service provider (boat dealer, marine contractor, and lift manufacturer) who has a focus on what is best for you as the customer and not what they want to sell you.
