This is a close up of the GPS that is in the boat.  You can see that it gives you a lot of information including the depth of the water below the boat, the water temperature and how fast you are going.  Additionally it gives you depth readings some distance in all directions from your location.  Keep this in mind as you continue to read.

After the kids put away their Jet Ski and we took a little break we decided to go back out to Pelican Island and see if we could pick up a couple more Walleye to go with the one Angie caught in the morning.

So about 6:30 pm we headed out.  The lake was just beautiful and calm.  I wasn’t optimistic about our chances of catching anything but wanted as much time on the lake as possible since this was our last opportunity.

This is the stony point where we had caught the Walleye on Thursday and we made several passes at it with not so much as a nibble.  Everyone was growing tired of the inactivity so we decided to head in, have a late dinner and start packing for our departure.

The sky was just wonderful and the lake was so calm and beautiful.  We were trolling South on the West side of Pelican and I wanted to go to the Southern most part of the island where Gull Island is and take some pictures of the hundreds of Pelicans that reside there.

We were running at about half throttle with 8.9 feet of water under the boat and a quick glance at the lake and GPS assured me things were fine.  I looked down to retrieve my camera from it water proof container and was inspecting the setting when there was a loud noise and a jolt to the boat.  The motor stopped immediately and I had a sick feeling in my stomach.

I looked first at the GPS and it said 3.2 feet of water under the boat.  I looked over the side and saw the huge boulder rocks that surround Pelican.  I had drifted slightly off course and hit a rock with the motor.

I won’t go into all the details of having to have the dock boy come out and put a new prop on the motor so we could limp in.  It was totally my fault and yes I can say that the area was not well marked but the fact is I was driving the boat and I diverted my attention elsewhere in a dangerous place and as a result of that we hit a rock.

Although it didn’t ruin the vacation it did make me feel really bad.  Later we had a wonderful dinner.  I went up to the lodge and apologized to the owner and gave him my insurance information.  He was very gracious said it wasn’t the first time.

Anyway, it was a wonderful vacation and I would go back in a heartbeat.  Many wonderful memories created this time and many past memories revisited.

One of my favorite images of the entire trip.  Thanks for stopping by.  Be careful.