Doug's Camping Poem  & Trivia Page     Back to Doug's Canoe Page

"The Unnamed Lake" has always appealed to me, I think because the images it describes are familiar from countless canoe trips, and because it underlines the stoic solitude of the wilderness. Call me crazy, but declining to impose a name on an isolated lake makes sense to me.

" I's " was an accidental side-effect of creating the canoe page. It started with the trailing message "Here's to flat lakes and portages", which prompted me to list a few of the other pleasant aspects of a canoe trip. By coincidence, most of the first half dozen rhymed with "eyes". One thing lead to another, and soon I had a rhyme scheme and the "eyes" theme. The title pun reflects the portrayal of feelings from the first person singular perspective.

Trivia

Where did the crazy idea of calling the sides of a boat "port" and "starboard" come from?

Funny you should ask. A friend of mine who is justly proud of his Nova Scotia fisherman heritage explains it like this: In the days of the Roman Empire, large boats were propelled by crews pulling on oars. These boats were steered by a large pivoted board that acted like a rudder. However, unlike modern rudders, it was mounted to the side of the boat, near the back. Because of this, they had to be careful when approaching a dock to avoid damaging this rudder. Thus one side of the boat had the "steer-board", and the other side always faced the "port".
   I'm a little dubious about the Roman connection (which would make me expect Latin or Italian words), but then again, the gondolas of Venice use a vaguely similar idea.

Fantasy Section

If you want to see what Larry sees when he looks down in the bathtub, click here.

Back to Doug's Canoe Page  /   Back to Leclair home page , Please  notify  me if you have suggestions or corrections for this page.

 - Here's to flat lakes and portages.