Flowers floating on water

FLOWERS FLOATING

on water

By Tammee Greer

SSpying a fish popping out of the water spontaneously as the sun peeks over the horizon and the surrounding sounds of the birds singing are the sights and sounds that greet the disturbance of the canoe.

Enjoying the dawn of the morning in a canoe before the demands of the day is something Karen Stevens, executive director of Meals on Wheels, and a weekly columnist for the Orange Leader newspaper in Orange, made a habit of every morning. She still tries to make time for this favorite morning ritual.

Karen also enjoys time on the family fishing boat, the Fish Master. The Fish Master is not just for fishing. It pulls water tubes and is used to water ski. In fact, Karen spoke of a funny adventure with their fishing boat soon after they moved to southeast Texas.

Karen said she and her family were on Cow Bayou knee boarding. It was her turn on the water and her boys were recording her skills on a video camera.

Karen said, “They were waving at me and smiling and laughing. So, I smiled back and kept waving to them.”

They watched the video when they arrived home. She remarked, “It turns out there was a big alligator beside me while I was knee boarding. I’m not sure if that is really funny or not.”

Lisa Fournet, a resident of Bridge City, Texas and avid boater said, “I’ve been around boats my whole life.”

Lisa splits her time between being home for her children and delivering meals for Meals on Wheels in Orange. Fishing is a big part of her family adventures.

Lisa said, “Put me on a boat and it’s my happy place. All the white noise, everything blocks out. You don’t think of anything else. It’s tranquility to me. You’re not thinking about folding the clothes. You’re not thinking about what I didn’t get to. You’re just out there in the water in the breeze.”

Lisa mentioned she has been boating since she was old enough to hold a pole. Her earliest memory of boating was when she was five years old. Her and her mother would go fishing right before daybreak. She also remembers her uncle fishing in the mornings and in the evenings sometimes in a flatbottomed aluminum boat.

Lisa recommends a flare gun be stored on every craft. She recalls going taking a trip on her boyfriend’s twenty-one-foot fishing boat to Houma, Louisiana. She said there are so many waterways, if a wrong turn is taken, disaster can occur. They took one of those wrong turns and ended up in a mud flat. A rescue boat was called but it had a hard time finding them because they had no way to signal their location.

Many selections of watercrafts are available. However, Lisa stated, “All you really need around here is a fifteen-foot fishing boat.”

Imagine a different scene.

The stillness and the peacefulness of the sunset has a calming effect. The slight rocking of the boat is not helping to maintain wakefulness. As the sun slowly sets eyes are closed the head

Della Fourtney, 17, with her 8 pound 6 oz Bass.

Photos by Tammee Greer

Chari Clifton sharing a peaceful moment with her friend, Carrie Snook, after a long day at the helm.

Photo by Tammee Greer

is tilted back resting on the seat. A glass of wine rests on the table. The soft murmuring of passersby and the soft splashing of the gentle current are the surrounding sounds easing the cares of the day into oblivion.

This is just one of the magical moments shared by friends, Chari Clifton, a retiree and a Bridge City High School Alumni, and Beverly L. Paris, MA., LPC. Beverly is a Licensed Professional Counselor for Communities in Schools and is also an Alumni of Bridge City High School. Beverly and Chari enjoy sailboats.

Beverly said, “I love being in the wind and sun. There are no worries. You feel free. It’s an escape.”

Beverly had two sailboats for a time. When Beverly was given the opportunity to buy her first sailboat, she said, “Why not? I have the money. Let’s do it.”

She ended up obtaining two 32-foot sailboats. One was a Morgan and the other an Endeavor. She flipped the Morgan a year and a half after she bought it, because she already liked flipping houses, and she kept the Endeavor for three years. Beverly lived on land but had her means of escape docked a half hour away.

She said, “It’s a great place to take some me time.”

Chari said, “It just soothes your soul,” and “I love to be rocked to sleep.”

Chari lives on a 1983, 40-foot Endeavor sailboat named Sola Gratia, which in Latin means “only by grace”. She and her husband have lived on the Sola Gratia since 2013.

There are advantages to living on a sailboat. Among those are no property taxes. Living expenses consist of one bill a month when docked in a marina. The bill typically includes, the dock fee, living aboard fee and electricity. Depending on the marina, other charges may be included in the monthly bill, such as, icehouse and bar tabs.

“The most important advantage of living on a sailboat is if you don’t like where you’re living, you just leave and dock somewhere else,” Chari said. “After all, it’s free. It doesn’t cost you anything to move.”

Chari used to have a nice house with a big closet full of clothes and shoes. However, when she decided to live full-time on the sailboat, she said, “You figure out what you need and what is necessary.”

Among many considerations before buying a boat is the expense of owning one.

Karen explained boating is an expensive hobby. She said seafarers should put their boat in for maintenance at least once a year. Expect to pay around a thousand dollars each time a boat is put in for maintenance. Karen warned not to be in a hurry to get the boat back either.

She said, “If you put the boat in a shop, they keep it for at least a month, because they are not in a hurry. It doesn’t matter to the repairmen if you have something coming up.”

Then there are always the unexpected things which break down, much like on a car or a house.

Imagine climbing into a canoe and slowly moving through the water as the oar slices through it.

“So many things can go wrong…electrical, battery, trolling motor, etc.,” Karen mentioned.

Beverly concurs with Karen. She advises of several precautions who are considering buying a boat on their own. One thing Beverly mentioned is to talk to people who own a boat. Upkeep and repairs are expensive.

Beverly said, “Whatever the costs you expect, I’d probably double it.”

Beverly warns, “Whatever happens you want to take care of it right away. You want to keep the boat in good shape.”

For a woman considering purchasing a boat on her own, she suggests before buying talk to people who own a boat. Consider the maintenance and repair costs, know someone who is willing to work on the boat, or be inclined to perform upkeep and repair themselves.

Lisa added suggestions for a woman thinking about buying a used boat. She said to take along a brother, dad, or mechanically inclined friend. Like a car, a boat must be driven before buying to recognize any problems and if a lack of boat knowledge is present, take courses at a boat training school.

Lisa said, “John Boats are the easiest to maintain. They’re lightweight. You charge the battery and keep oars with you in case the battery runs out. When you get to land, just flip them over.”

Backing up a trailer is a necessary skill when owning a boat.

Karen stated matter-of-factly, “Most women do not know how to back up a trailer. If you do not know how to back up a trailer, you shouldn’t own a boat.”

If cruising Cow Bayou, famished and craving crawfish, fish or shrimp, a pit stop is accessible at High Tides restaurant located on Cow Bayou where it intersects Highway 87 in Bridge City, Texas. High Tides has docks for boats with the option of eating inside the open restaurant or on the picnic tables on the pier. Canine guests are welcome as well. The street address of High Tides is 3109 Texas Ave., Bridge City, Texas.

The simple duties of boating cannot be forgotten. Boat Title Registration and boat trailer tags renew every year. Title Registration can be done at Texas Parks and Wildlife located at 5550 Eastex Freeway, Beaumont, TX 77708. The phone number is (409) 892-8666. Their website is www. beaumontcvb.com. Trailer tag registration renews yearly as well and can be done at the tax office in Orange located at 123 6th Street Orange, TX 77631. Their phone number is (409) 882-7971 and the website is TxDMV. gov. Once these simple responsibilities are taken care of and one is anxious to get their boat in the water, locals in watercrafts of all sizes utilize the City of Orange Boat Launch located at 408 Pier Road.

Boating provides opportunities to bring family and friends together, such as, Karen Stevens’ Champagne Cruises at sunset or Chari Clifton’s friends sitting randomly on any available space on her sailboat enjoying a country dinner.

Lisa Fourtney summed the boating experience up best when she said, “I think boating is a true family adventure!” 

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