banger17
Well-Known Member
Alright, here it goes.
Today, I was launching the lake boat into Sproat with my brother, 3 boats all abreast at the ramp/in the water at the same time getting ready to head out. I am one of the outside boats, and I am standing inside the boat getting ready to fire it up and back off the trailer. There is a boat in the middle of the pack, wife is holding the boat (maybe 40-50 years old) and her (what I assume to be) husband about 50-ish walks down the ramp and in a jerk voice he mutters "bring the boat closer NOW, I dont want the dog getting wet!" I look up as the tone caught me a bit off guard, but didn't think too much of it otherwise.
but it gets much better (or worse, in this case). 30 seconds later, I am almost ready to fire up the engine and I look over to see his wife has let go of the boat and him now inside his 1952 Bayliner Capri holding a tiki torch out over the side of the boat in the hopes his wife will reach it and pull him the 2 feet he has drifted off of the dock. He goes on to yell that "she needs to hold onto the damn boat" and continued to YELL items inclusive of "you are F'ing useless, you are an F'ing idiot" and a couple of other similarly natured phrases.
This all seemed to happen in the flash of a few seconds. Wife doesn't say anything, she looks mortified. She now jumps into said boat, and I am wondering to myself "what the F just happened right here?" I look to the other far boat waiting on the outside and the elderly couple surely looked to be in disbelief, just the same as I.
The dysfunctional pair starts backing away and I start to slow clap at him. I feel the switch go off and I am now just right incensed. I start yelling at him and ask "whether he is proud of the way he acts?, that he is a piece of F'ing trash, and that he needs to use some F'ing respect talking to a woman, or anyone else like that!"
He finally looks up at me and stats asking me "what the F do I care?" and starts lipping back at me so I continue to lace a few other hot-headed phrases his way, and off they continue on their merry way.
The fellow boaters who witnessed it spoke up about how much of A'hole he was, etc. It felt good to speak up and like the right thing to do in that moment. I am also aware many people would choose not to say anything at all. Whether it was his wife, a kid of his, or anyone else standing there getting shat on, I likely would have said something just the same. The fact it was so hurtful to a vulnerable woman had me right pissed, especially as a I am a dad of two daughters now.
Icing on the cake was when they were leaving, the wife looked back at me and waved as if to say thanks for calling him out for his antics. I feel for her, and I have full belief if this jerk acts that way at a launch, it has to be much more sinister and amplified behind closed doors?
So, what do you think you would have done in the moment? Is it worth calling crap like that out at risk of making a scene or escalating a scenario? Always looking to learn and curious about some of your fishing ramp insights and stories. Maybe I over-reacted a bit, but jerks need to be called out and I can only hope this helps her and or him become aware of how ridiculous that really was.
Today, I was launching the lake boat into Sproat with my brother, 3 boats all abreast at the ramp/in the water at the same time getting ready to head out. I am one of the outside boats, and I am standing inside the boat getting ready to fire it up and back off the trailer. There is a boat in the middle of the pack, wife is holding the boat (maybe 40-50 years old) and her (what I assume to be) husband about 50-ish walks down the ramp and in a jerk voice he mutters "bring the boat closer NOW, I dont want the dog getting wet!" I look up as the tone caught me a bit off guard, but didn't think too much of it otherwise.
but it gets much better (or worse, in this case). 30 seconds later, I am almost ready to fire up the engine and I look over to see his wife has let go of the boat and him now inside his 1952 Bayliner Capri holding a tiki torch out over the side of the boat in the hopes his wife will reach it and pull him the 2 feet he has drifted off of the dock. He goes on to yell that "she needs to hold onto the damn boat" and continued to YELL items inclusive of "you are F'ing useless, you are an F'ing idiot" and a couple of other similarly natured phrases.
This all seemed to happen in the flash of a few seconds. Wife doesn't say anything, she looks mortified. She now jumps into said boat, and I am wondering to myself "what the F just happened right here?" I look to the other far boat waiting on the outside and the elderly couple surely looked to be in disbelief, just the same as I.
The dysfunctional pair starts backing away and I start to slow clap at him. I feel the switch go off and I am now just right incensed. I start yelling at him and ask "whether he is proud of the way he acts?, that he is a piece of F'ing trash, and that he needs to use some F'ing respect talking to a woman, or anyone else like that!"
He finally looks up at me and stats asking me "what the F do I care?" and starts lipping back at me so I continue to lace a few other hot-headed phrases his way, and off they continue on their merry way.
The fellow boaters who witnessed it spoke up about how much of A'hole he was, etc. It felt good to speak up and like the right thing to do in that moment. I am also aware many people would choose not to say anything at all. Whether it was his wife, a kid of his, or anyone else standing there getting shat on, I likely would have said something just the same. The fact it was so hurtful to a vulnerable woman had me right pissed, especially as a I am a dad of two daughters now.
Icing on the cake was when they were leaving, the wife looked back at me and waved as if to say thanks for calling him out for his antics. I feel for her, and I have full belief if this jerk acts that way at a launch, it has to be much more sinister and amplified behind closed doors?
So, what do you think you would have done in the moment? Is it worth calling crap like that out at risk of making a scene or escalating a scenario? Always looking to learn and curious about some of your fishing ramp insights and stories. Maybe I over-reacted a bit, but jerks need to be called out and I can only hope this helps her and or him become aware of how ridiculous that really was.
