MOB News

MOB Jim Hickman River Cruise

Saturday October 20, 2007

Saturday, October 20, 2007 was the date set for the MOB RWYB meet, held along the White River in Broad Ripple Park. It was formally called “The Last River Cruise” but with the passing of one of this events premier participant, it was changed to the Jim Hickman River Cruise in honor of Jim’s love for antique outboards and running of the old iron. Jim must have made arraignments for the weather because it could not have been any better. It was a picture perfect day with not a cloud in the sky and the trees were in their fall colors. The temperatures were cool in the morning but in the afternoon, the sweatshirts came off and tee shirts were in order.

I believe this event could also be called “A Family Affair” because of so many family showed up. First on the list were the Roskowski family, Steve Roskowski and his sons, Brian and Kyle. Alone with Steve was a friend from work, Steve Ritenour. Second to show up at Broad Ripple Park were the Brothers Alford, Mick and Roger. We arrived next and in the Eichrodt family were Fred Eichrodt, almost 80 years old, yours truly, then my grandkids, Tyler and Morgan (Moe) Rutledge. The fourth family to arrive was the Walls family, father Jay, son JJ and a friend, TR. Last on the list were Kirk Butler and his daughter, Jessi. Austin Duggan, from Michigan, came down to attend the cruise.

The event started at the park in Broad Ripple, a quiet residential area in the north side of Indianapolis. Everyone met at the public ramp, located just inside of the park. The ramp had been upgraded and last year, we could not have the River Cruise because due to the work being done to the ramp and the surrounding area. This year we noticed that it is a lot easier to launch the boats and even park the boats along the shore, south of the ramp. After everyone launched their boats and milled around, the MOB’sters took off for an afternoon of family fun. The largest motor, a 10 horse Johnson, kept pace with the slowest, a 1920’s Caille Pennant 5 Speed. The motors that were run were as follows, Martin 40, Martin 66, Evinrude Fisherman 3, 1928 Johnson A-35, Mercury KE7, 1954 Johnson 5.5, 1956 Johnson 10 and Caille Pennant 5 Speed. There were 8 boats on the water and 17 people having such a great time. It is to be noted that all boats made it up and back, about a total of 8 or so miles, without any problem. The only problem was some fuel that had to be shared between friends.

The river was pretty quiet that day, as we headed up the river. Only a few brave souls ventured out to enjoy this “one last cruise” but we noticed many people working in their yards. Everyone in our group got plenty of waves along the way up and back from all the folks along the river. You could see the folks envying us having the greatest time running the old iron. Waves, smiles and “thumbs up” were both shared by us in the boats, the other boats on the water and on land. We made our way up the river, some 4 or 5 miles until the river gets pretty shallow and you have to either have a jet powered outboard or somehow traverse the shallows to get back to deeper water and continue up the White River. Our trip stops at a place called “Sandy Point”. It is named both for the condo’s located nearby and the sandy beach. Well, as you can see by the picture, the sand had been replaced by some weeds and brush. I guess next time we will have to call ahead and have it removed! We arrived at Sandy Point, beached the boats and ate our lunches. We sat around for about an hour or so, talking to each other while some of the kids went off and explored the area. The kids were coming back with shells and other objects, tossing rocks in the river while just having a great time. Some of us older folks took advantage of the much needed potty break as there are no rest areas along the river. After stretching our legs and getting our fill of lunch, we pushed off from the point and headed back down the river, back to the launch ramp. The weather was such that what began with sweatshirts turned much warmer and tee shirts were seen until the return back to the boats. The winds started to blow up some and it was a return to sweatshirts and jackets. On the return trip, another boat had to be refueled and gas was shared so everyone could make the safe trip back. On the return back, a short side trip up one of the tributaries of the river called a few boats looking for a fellow outboarder who was reported to live on the river. Heading up the small stream, an angry swan didn’t like the attention he was getting and decided he was going to take matters in his hands. He huffed and puffed, but could not deter the MOB’sters from their trip up and back out of the stream.

Arriving back at the launching ramp, each family slowly loaded up their boats and said their goodbyes. Everyone helped load up the boats and motors, talking about how much fun they had. This event now has been firmly set on the schedule of events on the MOB calendar. The Jim Hickman River Cruise will be on the third Saturday in October from now on, just like the rest of the MOB events besides the Super Meet at Constantine Michigan. This “Last River Cruise” was truly “A Family Affair”!

See Ya on the Water,

Rick Eichrodt

MOB Correspondent