I Started Boating...

When a 10-year-old northeast Ohio boy was enjoying summer, boating at Apple Valley Lake, little did he know that one day as an adult he would be driving a boat as part of his job. State Watercraft Officer Randy Feesler joined the Division of Watercraft in January 2008 and is assigned to the Division’s Akron office. Here is how he recounts his early experience becoming introduced to recreational boating.

A cool breeze blows against my face. My eyes open wide as I try to make out what time it is on the battery-powered alarm clock. It’s only 4:50 a.m. I try to fall back asleep for another hour, but it's no use. My young mind is filled, at the tender age of 10, with all the possibilities that a summer day can bring while boating and camping with my family at Apple Valley Lake.

As 6:00 a.m. arrives, I hear my Dad rolling around in bed on the other side of the camper. I can tell he's putting on his shoes. When the camper door opens, I spring up from bed like a largemouth bass jumping out of the water. I do not tell him I have been lying awake in my bed for more than an hour. I do not tell him -- although I am sure it will happen -- that I am going to catch the biggest fish in the lake today.

I try to hurry the rest of the family along by making as much appreciable noise as possible. As I am coaxing my sister out of the top bunk, I hear my Grandma singing the “here fishy-fishy” song! I can barely contain myself when she asks if I am ready to go fishing on the pontoon boat.

Boating! Being out on the water! A 10-year-old kid could not have so much fun on a summer day on an Ohio lake. We get to go boating and fishing ... all at the same time!

Once everything is loaded onto the pontoon boat, I quietly pray that the motor would start. One attempt... then a second. Finally the motor cranks over and I feel a sense of relief and excitement. I notice how green the trees are, and the morning fog begins to lift off the water as the sun rises. I grab my favorite lure and attach it to my fishing rod. We are trolling for the "big ones," my Grandma’s favorite type of fishing.

Grandma passed away some years ago and there was a period of about 7 or 8 years when we no longer took family trips to enjoy camping, boating or fishing at Apple Valley Lake. About two years ago, when I joined the Division of Watercraft, we started going back to enjoy new family experiences. Grandma is no longer here, but the memory I have of her each time I get on a boat rings loud and clear. Her love of boating and being on Ohio’s water is something that she passed on to me. Whenever I attempt to start the engine on any boat, I still quietly say a little prayer. And when the engine turns over, I still get that same feeling of relief and excitement that I did 20 years ago.