Jacob at Eight

Jacob Gilchrist, 8, fishing.

Long ago I forgot what it is like to be eight.   Eight is a busy time, a curious time… and eight is full of energy.  I was reminded of this when eight-year-old Jacob Gilchrist and his grandmother, Michele Burke, made a recent trek from Penns Grove, NJ to Galena, Maryland to visit Imagine.

It didn’t matter that the skies were grey and the temperatures only in the 50’s.  Jacob was on an adventure from the moment he exited the car.   Immediately he was in the land of Lilliput.  Towering sailboats, dry-docked and blocked, with masts reaching even higher made an obvious impression.  Jacob said that the boats made us all look like mice, so small.  

Ed quickly explained that sometimes there is as much sailboat under the water as above because of the living spaces.  With that, Jake was eager to see what Imagine had to offer.   I was eager too, but I wanted to get out of the damp cold air.  “Come on Jacob, let’s go,” I said as he stopped to look at each boat docked along the pier.

Jacob, Ed, Michele

As we carefully made the transition from the dock stepping up to the deck of Imagine, Jacob said it was going to be easy and scrambled aboard hopping into the cockpit.   We explained that a cockpit was kind of like a back porch and to enter the boat one had to go through a door called a companionway.   We continued that one should always make their way down the steep steps facing towards the steps while holding on to the handrail because a wave might knock one off balance.   On cue a wake from a powerboat rocked Imagine.   The look on Jacob’s face…priceless.

His disappointment was obvious when we told him we would be sitting at the dock because of the weather. We promised to invite him another time for a ride.

For a while Ed and Jacob explored the marina.  Lines hanging off the docks into the water captured the young boy’s curiosity.   Ed explained that some people hang crab pots off the docks.  They pulled up a pot to check and were rewarded with not only four large Blue crabs, but also a foot long catfish.  Of course the pot went back into the water to wait for its owner.

With Jacob around, nothing went unnoticed.  Why so many lines?  What do dock lines, spring lines and other lines do? What is a spinnaker pole?  How do you pull the sails up and down? 

What is a rudder?  Finally, how do you get the rudder to turn back and forth leads to removing the cover from the helm?  “Wow, that’s the steering wheel?  It’s big,” Jacob exclaimed as he moved next to Ed and put both hands on the four foot teak and stainless wheel.  Of course, the next question was, “How do you turn on the engine?” 

When Jacob said wistfully, “I always wanted to drive a boat and fish from a boat,” our resolve to stay docked weakened.                What the heck… how hard is it to take off the lines?

Next thing we know, Jacob is helping to secure the lifelines. He helps to pull up the fenders festooned in a bright orange lifejacket.   He watches everything.   Imagine, for the first time since early June backs out of a slip.  Jake stands next to Ed at the helm and grins.  “I always wanted to do this.”  We all grin.

Ed maneuvers Imagine into the middle of the river and tells Jake that it is his turn.  He explains to Jake about the depth finder.   “When the number gets lower than six-feet then you have to come back towards the middle.   If it gets to three-feet, we’re parked and you will have to get out and shovel,” Ed said with a wink.

Jake’s head bobbed and moved side to side as tried to look around the life-raft, mast and other boat blind spots.  “How do you see?” he asked.   “We usually sit on one side or the other so the mast isn’t really in the way,” Ed replied.

When Jacob said excitedly that he always wanted to fish from a boat, an old spinning rod appears.   With youthful optimism and faith, Jacob casts over and over knowing each time he was going to get a record-breaking fish.     Fish jumped around us, but there were no biters on this cold and grey day.

Jacob, with serious concentration etched on his face, steered us back towards the dock.   Ed took over as we entered the slip.  Jacob watched me and grabbed the spare boat hook. 

As I grabbed the starboard lines, he snagged the lines off the port side pilings as if he had been doing it for years.   The kid is a natural.  He remembered the spring lines and on his own, deployed not only the fenders, but also the fender-boards.

It was time for the day to end, but not quite.   Jacob just had to show his grandmother the neatest thing.   We hiked to the other side of the marina where he proceeded to pull up the four-foot crab pot to show us the treasure inside.    As he moved to turn on a faucet to wash his hands at the end of the dock, water sprayed wildly.  Jacob jumped quickly, only getting a “little wet.”

Needless to say, the day was one of smiles and warmth that was not weather related.   It was full of eight-year-old energy and inquisitiveness.  I think we might have helped open the door for a future sailor.  Jacob will be invited back to visit us on Imagine one day… and next time we will catch that fish.  

We were both surprised and delighted to receive the note below a week later.  “Sharron and Ed, Thank you so much for taking me out on your boat!  I learned so much and had an awesome time.  And I really liked driving the boat!  Your friend, Jacob.”   You are welcome, Jacob!