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Skinny-Dipping
Although many of my stories did not take place at Sandy
Pond, many do take place to or from there. This happened on the way to there. We
were on the ”Wet Dream”, a cruiser we berthed at Barnhart Marina near
Massena, NY. It was good sized and had a fly bridge. It also drafted less than
three feet, which allow travel in relatively shallow areas, but was sometimes
like a small sail in the wind.
We had stopped on our way in Ogdensburg, but had been
underway most of the day and were nearing Cape Vincent. It was a beautiful day.
It was almost hot with a slight breeze. Just before Cape Vincent is Carlton
Island. The main channel swings north of Carlton. We considered a southerly
route to save time. Charts indicated the depth was adequate, and we chose to go
that way.
The southeast end of Carlton had pasture, trees and cows.
As we approached we noticed a bottom with flat whitish sand. It looked shallower
than it was, as the depth sounder read ten plus feet. We decided to take a dip.
The cows would not mind, so after I dropped the anchor, we dropped our clothes
and went skinny-dipping. There was a farmhouse, but it was all of the way at the
other end of the island.
When in the water I dove to the bottom. The bottom was not
sand, but a large smooth rock. It had cracks, straight like in a concrete road,
but tight with no space. It was awesome. My wife dove to check it out. No dirt,
no sand, no plant life, just smooth rock. While enjoying our newfound place and
each other, my wife noticed we had moved further from the boat. We leisurely
swam for the boat. It was then that we realized that we were not gaining. The
anchor was sliding on the smooth bottom, driven by the slight but constant
breeze.
My wife could swim for hours, but not fast. I, on the other
hand, was fast, but could tire easily. When my wife tells this story she tells
of my skinny white butt, cutting the water while she is thinking of what she will do
naked amongst the cows. She could also see herself walking to the farmhouse,
barefoot through the cow pasture, and then knocking on a farmhouse door being
naked as a jaybird.
Luckily, I caught the boat and returned before she visited
the cows. She sure looked cute floating in the clear clean water.
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