by Rick Bennett
The pursuit of fish often brings us in contact with some of the most memorable experiences and is one reason it is such a great thing to share with your entire family. When I was a child, my parents used to take my sister Denise and I fishing quite often, and on several occasions the fish that we caught were not the highlight of the trip. The four of us once spent all night on a sand bar in an open 18ft boat in the Keys after we misunderstood the location of the channel while we were traveling at a high rate of speed at dusk. While we were wading around the boat, watching the tide go out, a stingray swam nearby. Denise and I expressed our fear and my Dad told us to calm down. “That thing is more afraid of you than you are of it!” he said as he stomped aggressively towards the ray. The stingray immediately charged straight for my father who jumped just in time to avoid being hit and tumbled backwards into the boat. We all had a good laugh, and even to this day, we all smile and laugh when we remember the event. That night was not the most comfortable of my life, but it was enjoyable.
The stars were intensely beautiful and we passed the time by telling stories and talking. My family took that same boat from Miami to Bimini one summer. It was not a very calm day, and in my mind, it was high adventure. As a young kid, I was proud of how I helped when we were all on the boat together. I was glad to be responsible for pulling in the anchor, being careful to clean it off without hitting the side of the boat before I brought it on board. Dad began letting me operate the boat very early on and by the time I was in the fifth grade, I could do it myself with confidence. Besides the natural beauty of creation and the excitement of catching fish, there are many opportunities for problem solving when fishing. I remember helping my dad make temporary repairs to the boat while we were on the water so that we could get home and can recall making good and bad decisions regarding thunderstorms that developed while we were out. Mine is a boating family, using the boat to fish, dive, water ski, go to the beach, or to a waterfront restaurant for dinner. The hours we spent on the boat together during my childhood will always be a treasure to me, and I hope that I am making the same kind of memories with my children. Baseball and soccer have many benefits, but the team sport that I have always enjoyed the most is fishing and boating with my family, the team that I learn to work with, is the team that matters the most to me.