Boating Safety

In the '70s and '80s, we had a small, 16 foot ski boat.  A major part of our recreation time was spent on the rivers and lakes near by.  Late in the summer one year, we took our four children and a friend out for a weekend of camping and skiing. We camped on a spit of land across the river where it splits into the San Joaquin and the Sacramento.  Overnight a big windstorm came up and blew hard.  In the morning, we discovered that the boat battery was floating in the boat's transom.  We were not overly distressed, there were many boats on the water all  around us and we expected someone to come to our assistance.  After lunch we began to worry that we would be overcome by darkness and would be stranded another night on the island  So--Ray and I decided that we'd row the boat around to Sandy Beach where our car was parked, run into town, buy a new battery, return to pick up the kids.  We had no oars, so we used skis.  Since Ray was so much stronger than I, we went in circles--frustrating!!  The wind was still strong, so we got out a tablecloth and held it up between us and the wind filled it, and away we went!!  Scudding across the slough, right into Sandy Beach!!