Week 6 -- Prompt

A picture postcard view & you hate it, because postcards belong to anyone with the money to buy one. If the tourists ever got past the obvious, they'd see what you see.............................

The postcard with the boats sitting in the harbor........................ The waves, the ocean and the boats do make for a really nice postcard. I love the ocean, the smell of the fresh air and salt water. The seagulls swooping and soaring here and there. Landing in the water and riding the waves, up and down. Watching the tourist taking pictures, oohing and awing.......Yes, it is a beautiful drive along the coast line of Maine and see the harbors with the all the different boats sitting in them rocking back and forth with the waves. Big boats, little boats, sail boats, fishing boats, old boats and new boats but what do they all really mean?  I am not sure that the tourist really know what some of these boats stand for.

Tied up along the docks and piers are pleasure boats, such as the sail boats, motorboats, and speed boats. There are many of these boats that belong to the summer people (tourist). I bet that they buy, the postcard with the picture of the harbor and the boats, send to family members or friends and put a star on one and says this is my boat that sits in the harbor here at Seal Cove, Maine.  Oh my, guess what, then the summer people (tourist) go home. Leaving their boats for someone else to take care of.  I wonder if they even realize what it takes to get their boats ready for the summer or the time and effort it takes to winterize and store the boats for the winter, until they come back again next summer. Sure they pay the bill, but do they really know what it entails? But, they do look nice sitting in the harbor. Picture perfect. As for the tourist that are just passing through, they probably think how lucky these Maine people are. Yeah, lucky to have work caring for the summer peoples boats, so as to be able to provide for and support their families. Little do they realize that these boats look much different in the winter lined up on shore somewhere close by all shrink wrapped, to protect them from the winter weather.

In amongst the fancy pleasure boats are little skiffs, some that need to be rowed and some that have a small outboard motor on them. These little skiffs are use to go out further in the bay to the working (fishing) boats. There are big ones , little ones new ones and old ones. The fishing boats are a sign of many hours of hard work. These fishing boats stand for how local men provide for their families. It doesn't matter if it is raining or cold these men still are out on the ocean to earn a living. Yellow rain gear, thermal underwear, rubber muck boats and wetsuits wouldn't paint such a pretty picture on the postcard.  In fowl weather the ocean gets very rough, but a lot of the time these men and their fishing boats are out there working. Not really a very clean job, as the bait used for lobster fishing stinks.I bet that most tourist have no idea what it takes to work out on the water. No room for anyone who gets seasick.

There is a lot more to these fishing boats than what meets the eye. Traps to make and repair, nets to straighten out and repair, motors to be fixed, fuel to buy, and cable to keep things working. Remember that for as much fun as some have with their fancy sail boats, others have that much work. Another reality that goes with the boats on the picture perfect postcard is pain, sorrow and heart ache because there has been a life lost at sea for one reason or another. I am sure this probably doesn't get thought about because it isn't something that can be seen on a postcard.