TIGHT LINES
ONE GOOD TURN DESERVES ANOTHER
with Andrew Spencer
I'm not a big fan of NASCAR, but there are certainly plenty of people out there who are keenly interested in the goings-on of guys driving in circles. Despite my lack of interest in it, a lot of the people who watch NASCAR races have got a sense of humor. Case in point, consider the following joke:

What's the first rule of racing in NASCAR? Don't turn right. *cue the rim shot*

But seriously, if you think about it for a second, it makes perfect sense. You turn right, you crash into a big concrete wall. Great way to make your day go south in a hurry.

And in the unlikely event you don't believe me, consider the case of a 53-year old German driver who was recently driving near Rudolstadt, Germany. He was using a GPS system that talks to you-it actually audibly tells you where to go and when to turn. In a lot of ways, it's like driving with my mother perched on the dashboard, just more technologically cool, and without telling you that you need to shave, get a haircut and start thinking about what you want to do when you "decide to grow up and get a real job." But I digress. This gentleman was, as I said, driving along, following the directions of his uber-cool talking GPS. So, the GPS voice tells him to turn right. Rather than actually thinking before turning right (because that would be...what's the word...oh, I don't know...sensible?), our fearless hero went ahead and turned. That's right. He didn't look first. He did exactly what the little box told him to do. Long story short, I'm sure the guy in the portable toilet at the building site the driver crashed into was just as surprised as the driver to be meeting there. It turns out that the box should have told the driver to turn about thirty yards further down the street. Stupid box.

And in other news, it's been recently reported that German authorities have not only decided to go ahead with their planned "living brain donor" program, but they're also giving the donors free cars, complete with talking GPS systems. The first operation involved the removal of a 53-year old man's brain near Rudolstadt...

Now I don't want to just laugh at this guy's lack of common sense. No, that's too easy. In addition to laughing, I need to make this somehow educational, too. I mean, I'm sure there's a lesson to be learned here, short of not trusting this guy to drive your kid's school bus. And, in fact, there is a very valuable lesson to be learned here, and it's got everything to do with fishing on Nantucket.

You didn't even need a GPS to figure out that the segue is right there.

Yes, friends and neighbors, I think we can all agree this guy was lacking in the "Gesunder Menschenverstand"department (and, in case you're auditioning for Jeopardy, that's German for "common sense"). However, the actions of the foolish are frequently copied by others in less obvious ways.

Wow, that was deep. Almost like one of those quote-a-day-calendars deep.

Anyway, this example really is an overly-obvious case of somebody living with, among other things, a false sense of security. He let a computer do the thinking for him and he simultaneously allowed his brain to turn off. It reminds me, in a strange way, of August on Nantucket for some reason, but I can't quite put my finger on it. But the message here for fishermen is that you can easily be lulled into that same false sense of security. Just because you've got a GPS on your boat, you're not immune to doing something foolish and getting yourself in trouble. And just because you've got a tire gauge and a map doesn't mean that you, too, can't get your car stuck out at Great Point.

There is nothing-not a computer, not a map, not even my mother-that can substitute for experience when you're in unfamiliar territory. So if you're planning on taking the plunge and buying your first boat this winter, don't be ashamed to admit that you're a rookie at it. Get together with someone who you trust to show you the finer points of boating around Nantucket Sound. Anybody can hold the wheel and steer out on the water, but it's the getting in and out of the harbor, docking, avoiding shoals and that sort of thing that people who have been around Nantucket waters for a long time know and can teach you. And things that your GPS can't help you with, when you get right down to it. And if you're thinking about taking your truck out on the beach for the first time, take somebody with you that's been there before. It's just one of those things that'll make life easier for you.

Tight lines.

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