The following post is by guest author Rolland Love. His website, OzarkStories.com includes many more of his writings and an ebook of fishing stories from the Ozarks. You can find all of Rolland’s books at his Amazon store.
Before there was boat ramps at Historic Lewis and Clark Kaw Point Park and Berkley Riverfront Park the closest access to downtown Kansas City, Missouri by water was the 7th street ramp in Kansas City, Kansas. That’s where a friend and I launched my 17-foot Boston Whaler, out destination being a cruise up the Missouri River to Atchison, Kansas. When we reached Kaw Point Park, which is at the confluence of the Kansas and Missouri Rivers, we decided to go downstream and take a short cruise along the Kansas City, Missouri skyline before heading North to our destination about two hours away. Our pleasure trip came to a halt when we reached the ASB Bridge because the plug in the lower unit had vibrated loose; causing the grease to leak out and the gears were frozen.
A fisherman on the bank called the fire department. We hoped they would use their boat to tow us back to the 7th street ramp since it was only about a mile away. Within 5 minutes two fire trucks with sirens screaming brought a dozen firemen to our rescue. A cameraman from one of the TV stations followed them no doubt looking for a breaking news story.
The fireman said because there were no access ramps in downtown Kansas City, Missouri. They could not launch their boat into the Missouri river to help us unless we were drowning or on fire so our situation did not constitute an emergency. However they were a friendly bunch of fellas and sat around for 30 minutes telling jokes and stories about some of people they had rescued in the past.
Their advice was that one of us must drift down river in the boat for 12 miles to the 291 bridge, which was the first take out ramp. Since it was my boat my friend volunteered quickly to catch a ride back to the 7th street boat ramp. Then he drove my truck and trailer to La Benite Park while I drifted along in the 100-degree heat under a baking sun in a cloudless sky.
My entertainment along the way was limited to a few people waving and honking their horns as I floated under the 435 bridge close to Harrah’s Casino. A tug boat captain who waved as he passed by me headed up river pushing a dozen barges, which created a six foot high wake that rocked the Whaler back and forth violently, filled the boat half full of water and slowed my drift down considerably.
A dozen buzzards stalked me all the way no doubt hoping that a heat stroke or heart attack would do me in, a half-dozen brown water snakes and a snapping turtle the size of a car tire floated past on pieces of driftwood and a helicopter zoomed past every fifteen or twenty minutes and the pilot would wave.
When I arrived at the 291 bridge and my friend threw a rope to pull me over to the boat ramp he was laughing and apparently having a lot more fun than me. “Did you know you’ve been tracked by a radio station? Some people who called in thought you might be dead. Wow, I’ve never seen anyone so red. Are you okay?”
It ended up being a memorable occasion but something I would never want to do again. The old saying about the chocolate colored water of the Missouri River being too thin to plow, and too think to drink is true, unless you’ve been adrift for five hours baking in the sun.
Now there’s a boat ramp in downtown Kansas City, Missouri and one at Historic Lewis and Clark Kaw Point Park, which has become a popular launch site for canoes, kayaks, motorboats and the start of the popular Missouri River 340 race from Kansas City to St. Louis.
Video Restoring My Boston Whaler http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h87MHk2PayI&feature=related
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