Using One's Head

Yesterday I planned to go to St. Augustine on skidoo. It was a good day, weather was fine with bright sun and a warm -7C temperature. The next few days “spoke” for bad weather as two lows would be coming down our way and which might have prevented Randy, our postulant, from beginning his ministry up the coast. So the decision was made and we hastily got all our stuff together for this 110km trip in complete isolation.

Now the night before had been quite amazing with a surprise blizzard dumping enough snow to cover the skidoo. A few days earlier a temperature change froze the skidoo in place. After digging and pushing the machine out of the ice it became apparent that there were some problems. The skidoo simply didn’t sound right. It was as if it was skipping. But we in our haste went about our preparations to leave.

Sherry took our departing picture, as we usually do for guests to the coast, and I started the machine. Problem was it wouldn’t idle. It is here where I get to my point …

Any time on the coast when you have a feeling to stop and think, do so! There is never a time to be brave and stoic, taking major risks. Not many years ago a teacher went for a walk in Old Fort and got caught in a storm where he died. Many stories of people going through the ice and getting stuck for hours, and in rare occasions days. Even though spring-break is on and many people are on the trail you simply don’t go out on a chance that you’ll get there. My rule of thumb is 10% chance of problems is way too high of a risk. It’s simply not smart to ruin your day, someone else’s day (who’ll feel responsible for the fools), and maybe even spoil your life.

Well back to the story…. I called a great friend, godfather to Pippa, and he took a few spins and agreed it was skipping. We examined the belt and it was ripped up with chunks out of it... probably a combination of the ice and pushing it out while throttling full force. I had a spare and he inserted it. There was still a problem with the idle and I asked if I should take the risk: "no!" I always take the advise of locals whom I trust. Randy ended up on a plane 2 hours later and arrived in St. Augustine none the worse.

It’s a pity he didn’t have the wonderful experience of traveling on the “Route Blanche Neige” in the wild of northern Quebec. But when in such a hostile environment safety comes first.