No Pressure

We were getting ready to go out for our regular Monday rescue boat training when the Battalion Chief called. His daughters and grand-kids were visiting and he wanted to know if we would show them the boat and maybe take them for a ride around the Marina. We said, no problem, and arranged to meet at the marina.

We arrived at the marina first and got set to launch the boat. I would be training on piloting the boat, launching, and docking today. We decided to get going so we could launch, dock, and tie off the boat before the chief arrived. I've only tried docking the boat a couple of times, so it would be good practice.
Of course, the chief and his family arrived just as we were putting the boat in the water. This meant that I was going to have to dock the boat with the chief watching. Not only that, but I had to do it well enough for him to then turn around and put his grand-kids on the boat with me as the pilot. Luck was with me and the water was calm, there was no wind, and (as slowly as I could) I put it up to the dock easily. We then outfitted his family with life-jackets and I putted them around the marina for a few minutes while answering the grand-kids questions about the boat. I smoothly docked the boat again (thankfully) and safely returned the chief's family to him.

We then went out into the bay for our planned training exercises. Visibility was terrible (spare the air day with a lot of haze) but, so far, every day out on the water has been a good one.