Everybody's bellyachin' over the price of gasoline.  Makes me mad, too.  Especially when I hear that's it's 7 cents a gallon in Iran.  If I had my druthers, I'd quit buying gasoline.  Can't we find another source of fuel?

How 'bout...

Kudzu...dadgum stuff 'll grow anywhere.  You cut it in the morning, it's back 3 times bigger in the evening.  No tellin' how powerful it is...at least use it as a fertilizer or something.  Git them kids at Auburn working on that...

Sweet Tea...one glass and I can plant a whole field of corn.  Gotta be a way to make our boats like caffeine...course, sweet tea fuel 'll probably make 'em sound funny.

Sundrop...you ever had a Sundrop?  have mercy, one in the morning and you're wound up for hours.  I had a friend that was addicted to the stuff.  She weaned herself off with ...

I woke up on Friday morning to an e-mail from Capt. Jay Martin of Florence, AL...he was making LOTW aware of a boating accident the night before.  Around 8:30 p.m. on Thursday night, he heard the call on the VHF radio from the boat captain of the POTOMAC...he had hit a recreational boater.

The TV news was incorrect.  They said it was a 65 foot boat...it was a 32 foot Marinette.  They said it was from Turtle Point Yacht Club.  It was from Marina Mar.  They said there were 2 people onboard.  There were 4. 

We know from a boater who wants to remain anonymous that the owner bought the boat last fall.  He had terminal cancer...and had a list of things he wanted to experience.  Boating was one of them.  He had never owned a boat but wanted to enjoy the Tennessee River...in fact, he wanted to take his boat to the Gulf Coast.

I was not on the boat.&am ...

First, welcome to Spring on the river...it's glorious!  You don't have to have a boat or waterfront home to enjoy the most beautiful place on earth...just sit and enjoy...

Now...there's a new bill before the Senate that affects you if you have a boat...any kind of boat...even a dinghy.  It all started with a lawsuit against the EPA in 1999 for large commercial ships dumping ballast water into the ocean.  In 2006, the courts issued a ruling requiring the EPA permit ALL vessels...that's all boats, commercial and recreational, by 9/30/2008.  There's been other bills to exempt recreational boaters...but finally, on March 13, The Clean Boating Act of 2008, which is Senate bill # 2766, has been introduced...and it's our best chance to squelch the permit being required by boaters effective September 30, 2008. 

How did recreational boaters get lumped int ...

When I finally got the call that the Spring 08 issue was ready, it was like a 34 foot trawler had been lifted from my shoulders.  Ever had this dream that's in slow motion...you're running...you're pushing...but you're not moving.  Totally standing still in one place.  That's been the feeling I've had for 2 1/2 months.

I'm putting my heart on the table but isn't that what a blog is all about? 

I need you to support the advertisers who support this magazine.  Our sales pitch at LIFE ON THE WATER Magazine has been simple.  A company either sees our vision...or they don't.  We really can't sell people on the positive aspects of putting water in their lives.  The companies you see in the magazine share our passion and desire to make our world less stressful.  All of us at LIFE ON THE WATER Magazine are indebted to them for making this possible.

Our writers ...

Several of you visited us at the Huntsville Boat Show and the Birmingham Boat Show...and a few asked about the MSD (marine sanitary discharge) fees that will go into effect very soon.  It's $75 now...used to be no charge...and performed by the Alabama Marine Police...which seems strange to me that they have to check bathrooms on boats and patrol miles of shoreline, too.

Over dinner, Larry Long brings up a good point.  What about the boats that do not have a head?  Please understand...we're not picking on fishermen...we're fishermen, too.  But if the state is going to charge, let's just call a spade a spade.  It's not completely for the sake of keeping our waterways clean...or else there would be 'fines' for the guy relieving himself or the lady floating happily with a lifevest on and a smile on her face.  I don't mind a bit being charged $75...and if it's completely to fund the Alabama Marine Police, I'm great ...

Okay...by now, many of our readers know that I sell boats.  There.  I said it.  I sell boats.  And I adore it.  Don't start that 'the best day in a boat owners' life is when he buys the boat and sells the boat' stuff.  You haven't had the love affair that I have with the water. 

This weekend was the Huntsville Boat Show.  I have the blisters on my feet to prove it.  Birmingham is 2 weeks away.  Billy and I even went to Nashville with friends Rick and Pam Knauf just cuz...we love boats.

But the transformation of faces from getting off the elevator at the Von Braun Center, going through the show, and then leaving the show was unsettling at best.  Dazed and confused.  And the Huntsville Boat Show is tiny, miniscule in the scheme of 'REAL' boat shows.   What are we doing to people?  Has quotas and 'the hard sell' taken the place of ...

I had the great pleasure of attending a meeting on Tuesday, January 8th that was quite impressive.  The Tennessee Tombigbee Waterway Development Authority is a collection of the marinas along the Tenn Tom Waterway.  They meet to discuss issues they're facing, get ideas for improvement...and they contribute dollars to an advertising fund just to get folks travelling on their waterway.  President of the group, Fred Hansard of Demopolis Yacht Basin, explained, "We see travellers from around the world on our waterway.  We formed this association to make sure we are accommodating our customers in the best way possible."

Tennessee River marinas in North Alabama have just formed the North Alabama Marina Association.  Much like the TTWDA, marinas are starting to realize that waterway tourism have even more viable growth potential.  Ditto Landing in Huntsville, AL has just applied for Tier I and Tier II grants through the Boat ...

There is still a place...that's even their slogan.  It's Clifton, Tennessee at Mile Marker 158 on the Tennessee River.  A Mayberry episode on the Tennessee River.

I grew up in Wayne County, Tennessee...the county where Clifton is located.  The jealousy among the 3 main towns is still prevalent.  Clifton, overlooking the Tennessee River, is less than 1000 people.  Cobblestone streets, antebellum lighting on the sidewalks...and the 'downtown' literally right on the river.  The ferry has long gone and been replaced by a brand new bridge...so it has become connected to the rest of the state.  Clifton always seemed to be the town with the most potential...but just couldn't seem to get there.  Talk of restaurants and more shopping still fill the streets.  Some want it to change.  Others want it to stay the same.  I am glad the persona of the people has not changed.  Warm, friendly ...