Voyage of the Sea Bear

Jesus is with us when we beach our dingy.

The dingy is how we get to shore. It’s like your minivan or car. If we want to go visiting, or shopping, or go out to dinner, we get dressed up, and put our shoes and stuff into our water resistant backpack. Then I climb down the stern ladder into the dingy. JC lowers the outboard engine to me, using the davit, a little crane-like device. I bolt the engine to the dingy, JC climbs down into the boat, and we’re off.

We are currently using the Port-a-bote, a cool folding boat that’s 12 ft long, and will carry four adults easily. With just JC and I in it, it gets up on a plane quickly, and is much faster than the inflatable Zodiac we have. It’s a bit weird in the ocean, because if flexes when it hits waves and such. So there is a bit of excitement whenever we’re zipping about.

Landing the dingy can be trecherous. Some ports have a dingy dock, and you just pull up, tie off, and climb out. Other places, like Zihuatenajo, have a designated part of the beach you are expected to land at. Timing is important, in the approach, in exiting the dingy, and in departing. If you ride a wave into the beach, and lean back in the boat, the ocean can do most of the work for you. Just before we  hit sand, I have to take the motor out of gear, kill it, and tilt it up so the prop doesn’t hit the sand. JC bounces out as the wave retreats, and should be in little or no water when she does. Then I climb out, and we drag the dingy up over the high water mark.

That’s how it’s supposed to work. Many things can go wrong. I’m facing backwards while I kill/lift the outboard. That means I’m NOT looking at the beach. If the bow digs into the sand on an outgoing wave, the next incomming wave will hit the flat stern, and probably gift us with several gallons of seawater into the boat. If we slam into the sand quickly, both JC and I can fall forward, throwing off our well-timed ballet. Even after one or both of us are out of the boat, if it is allowed to turn sideways, we can get swamped. So it’s not a trivial process.

This is where Jesus comes in. He is often standing on the beach, in his red tee shirt, waving us to a clear parking spot. He wades out into the water, to steady the boat and guide us in. After we’re both out of the boat, he helps us carry the boat up the beach. He watches the dingy while we are in town, and helps carry the boat back to the water when we are ready to leave. We tip him 10 Pesos both on arrival and departure. That’s about $0.80.

Having someone with solid footing help us out when our foundation is moving is a great help. Just knowing he is there makes me more confident, and more likely to move in rhythm with the surf. And if I do screw up, he usually reduces the severity of the price JC and I both have to pay. It’s good knowing he’s there, to help us, day or night.

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