Mail Boat Greetings
 

My grandson loves spending time at the lake with us. One of his favorite activities, besides peeing in the woods, is waving to the mail boats as they pass by. He is always disappointed when his waves are not acknowledged with a horn blow. He's only 4 and kind of small....maybe they don't see him... or is there some protocol that prohibits unauthorized horn blowing?? Just curious...

honk your horn!
 

Hi S-o-M

If my geography is correct, your beach area is facing Bear Island. The boat appears to be the Doris E, which goes through that channel several times a day, sometimes in both directions. Also, Doris is not a mail boat. The mail boat is the Sophie C, which normally goes through that channel only once at around 2:15 - 2:30 PM in the direction in the picture. I'm often the skipper of the Sophie C and I will be happy to keep an eye out and honk a hello to your grandson. Years ago the Sophie C had a mail stop on Mark Island, and honked every time to announce the approach.

We live next door to the former mail dock and remember the mail boat coming in when the former owner lived there full time. I know my grandson would be thrilled by those greetings...thanks!

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I am forever amazed at who is actually a part of & monitoring this Forum !!

Love this PLACE !

Again, gratitude to Don's concept, goal and efforts....


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My Daughter, who is now 11, loves the Sophie C, although never being on it, for some reason she latched on to it at a very young age and looks for it any time we are out in the lake, we are in Paugus Bay so we do not get to see her come by. She always makes sure to see the stern before claiming which boat it is, and also to point it out to us and hopefully our courses pass so she can wave to it

I went on the Mt Washington dinner cruise for the first time Friday night and as we were passing Governors Island a house flashed it's lights and the captain blew the horn. I think these guys respond when they see someone looking out for them. I just think in this case they aren't seeing this little boy.
Hopefully they get the message and are looking out for him now.

Another "trick" I taught my grand daughters years ago (so that they could appear smart in front of friends) is -- with a sharp eye - look at the bow ....... doesn't matter if you can read it or not ... the Sophie has two (2) lines of print -- bow numbers and U.S. Mailboat -- on her bow whereas Doris only has one -- bow numbers!!

There are other distinguishing aspects, like sloped back window versus not... but those are harder to discern.

In that way you do not have to wait till she passes and read her stern :)


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Throughout the years it has been common practice to "Flash" the porch lights or similar and all the vessels will respond (be it horn or spot light back)--- if they see it & it is safe to do so ....... of course common sense has to play in too otherwise it would be just one long horn blast for 4 hours !! :D :D :D



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Maybe for Christmas this year Santa will bring him a flare gun!😉

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More in this thread:

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W e used to rent property on Belknap Pt. Rd. from the Richardson Family
and the Mount used to come through there and blow the horn as Priscilla would clang the ship's bell on her porch. It was wonderful for my boys and
what was even better was the fact Priscilla knew 1 of the captains, and
the Mount came through at night for us, too. The Doris E also came through
pointing out the Marine Patrol Headquarters and the site of the sinking of the Lady of the Lake. What's not to love about Winnipesaukee!!:)

A 4 year old with a flare gun? :eek: I think in this case an air horn would be more appropriate.

Uncle Jason will put that on the list! Or I could just move next door and supply the fireworks. Been known to do that before....

(Inside joke, I have never shot fireworks at the mailboats!)

I'm not thinking an air horn an inch away from my head in the hands of a hungry 4 year old at 5 am is gonna help me ease into my morning...

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How about that flare gun an inch away from your head in the morning. Would that make for a better day?:laugh: Maybe just putting one of those bright orange life vests on him might be the safest bet.

Or maybe a white flag!

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flash safety
 

Flashing light exchanges between the Mount and shore has been a long-time tradition on the lake, and most if not all of us in the wheelhouse will happily reply if it's safe to do so. Every so often someone on shore will use a powerful spotlight and try to get our attention by shining it directly at the wheelhouse. That affects our night vision, and that is something that we will absolutely NOT reply to.

This is the first weekend this summer the grandson hasn't been with us at the lake, but my wife tells me she got a toot when she waved at Sophie this afternoon. Just a few minutes ago, Doris came by...slower and closer to shore than I can remember...maybe she was looking for him. I can't wait to see the smile on his face when he gets his "first"! Thanks guys!!!

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It finally happened...Sophie came by, spotted my waving grandson, and blasted her horn! Unfortunately, I was at work and didn't get to see his excitement, but I could hear it in his voice when he made his grandmother call so he could tell me all about his encounter...he was so excited he was screaming!! Thanks to whomever was skippering , thanks so much...you made that little boy's day, and after hearing the excitement in his voice, mine too!!

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sophie toots
 

S-O-M:

You're welcome! Always glad to make someone's day.

...and no flares were needed!😉

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For several generations we stood on our wharf and yelled "blow your horn!". Center harbor Bay X from 1/2 mile. "The Mount" usually responded right in front. If we weren't on the dock, the announcement horn was usually blown before it reached our dock. Moral of the story: Ask, and ye will receive.:laugh:

...which is why I posted this thread in the first place...anything for the kids!😉

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Speaking of the Mount and horns, when our kids were little and the Mount had proper direct reversing Enterprise engines...

We'd be in Wolfeboro and the Mount would be ready to leave, the kids would be concerned about the loud ship's horn and would walk around with their hands over their ears. I taught them to watch the flappers up on the engine exhausts from the stack; as long as at least one of them was up, no horn. When the flapper dropped, time to cover up before 1 long and 3 short blasts "my engines are operating astern" on the horn. Yes, I'm a reformed marine engineer / propulsion nerd.

Speaking of which, recently appointed Captain Weirs Beach Boater was going to share some secret tapes of Enterprise engines sounds while underway with us nostalgia buffs a couple years ago. Please Captain, please? :D. (I know the new Cats are better / safer in probably 200 different ways but air start / direct reverse is just miles cooler in a steam punk way). The exhaust sound was like nothing modern and I still miss it.

The Empire Strikes Back -- or Be Careful What You Wish For :-)
 

Thanks to both Skprbob for tooting on demand and Steve-on-the-mark for sharing.

This video has been viewed 10 million times -- I don't remember where I first saw it, it may already have been posted somewhere on the Forum. But for those who haven't seen it, and especially for Steve-on-the-mark's grandson, thar she blows:

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=ETrWMvicKps

Ha...i think I'd have to clean poop off the beach!😉

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