Posted on by loia

The Human Tugboat

What’s the bravest thing you’ve ever done when no one was watching?

I’m not sure this is the bravest thing. I have some better ones I could write about but this just came to mind, a memory I had almost forgotten.

When I was young, growing up in Georgia, there was a beautiful 10 acre lake way back up in the woods behind my house. My birthday is in September, so I believe I was 13 at the time, about to turn 14.

Anyways, the lake was full of big bass and huge bluegill. Me and my friends spent many a day fishing it and sometimes swimming, but we had to be careful because it had its share of venomous water moccasin snakes, aka the Cottonmouth. I mentioned these in my earlier post on snakes, but if you got bit, there was no one around to help you and no way to call 911.

So one hot and humid summer day I borrowed my neighbor’s 12 foot aluminum jon boat. It was just what you call a blank hull. It had no motor or extras or seats except for bench type seating made into the body. It was as plain Jane as they come. It was also fairly lightweight as boats go and it had a long rope tied to the bow of it.

My friends and I would get 2 or sometimes 3 of us to a side and tote it with our fishing gear laid inside it, then walk the 45 minutes through the woods on the trails to get to the lake, stopping occasionally to rest.

So yeah, that particular day we made it to the lake, we put the boat in the water, paddled out and started fishing.

We didn’t care about life jackets in them days. They were for lil kids. We were grown ass men. Might as well have arm floaties on 😎😁

I remember the fish not biting that day, probably because it was so hot. After a while my friends got tired of fishing and began to joke around, goof off, act like dummies and started rocking the boat. Long story short, the boat filled with water then flipped and went under, so we all grabbed what we could and swam to shore. And we weren’t like panicked or anything, we were cool. It was no big deal. I had my rod and reel and my tacklebox in hand and still managed to make it, at times swimming on my back.

I remember I was pissed though because I had borrowed the boat and I was responsible for it. They didn’t really give a shit. They all ended up going home, but I stayed because another friend from a neighborhood on the other side of the woods was supposed to meet me there later that afternoon. Of course, we didn’t have cell phones back then, so I had no way of contacting him. I decided to hang out and wait.

I started back fishing from shore. As I looked out across the water, I noticed something. It looked like the very top tip of the boat was sticking out of the water. Then I realized it hadn’t sunk all the way.

I was so happy to see this and that it wasn’t at the bottom. I knew that long rope was still attached to it, so I thought if I could get to that, then maybe there was a chance to save it and pull the boat in.

I figured maybe it was somewhat buoyant being just a lightweight empty hull. Also, possibly it had some air or something trapped in it. I don’t know.

So I took my shoes and shirt off and got in the water and swam to the boat. It was a good ways out, probably 40 or 50 yards.

Did I mention I’m a great swimmer? Not to brag or anything but it is what it is for this story. 😁

Oh and also, there was absolutely no one around to save me if I got in trouble.

But I had to try. I didn’t want to have to look my neighbor in the eye later and tell him what happened.

So I made it to the exposed part of the bow and grabbed on and kind of rested for a spell. I was also able to tell that the boat was at a good angle and just sitting there about 4 feet under the water at the stern.

After I chilled for a few and regained some strength, I found the rope and pulled on the boat some and it began to move.

Ok I got this… here we go. Get ready, let’s give it a go and see what happens.

So I started swimming like a human tugboat. It was tough and it remained partially submerged, but I made it back to shore… with the boat, mind you. I was exhausted but never for a moment did I feel like I was in danger of going under. But if that boat went under, then my ass would really be in danger.

It was a great way to end a day of fishing.

Hey deddy… guess what? I caught a 12 footer today! You should have seen it!

And what can I say? Not too bad for a 13 year old Gen X kid, alone by himself in the middle of nowhere, in the middle of a lake with a half sunken neighbor’s boat. 🤷‍♂️

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Brad Paisley Cover… I’m Gonna Miss Her.

ᵗʰⁱˢ ⁱˢ ᶠⁱʳˢᵗ ᵗⁱᵐᵉ ⁱ’ᵛᵉ ᵉᵛᵉʳ ᵗʳⁱᵉᵈ ᵗʰⁱˢ ˢᵒⁿᵍ. ⁱ ʲᵘˢᵗ ʳᵉᶜᵒʳᵈᵉᵈ ⁱᵗ ᵃⁿ ʰᵒᵘʳ ᵃᵍᵒ. ᵖʳᵃᶜᵗⁱᶜᵉ ˡᵒˡ.

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© 2026 Bryan Loia Hudson. All rights reserved.

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30 Replies to “The Human Tugboat”

  3. That classic Gen X determination is unmatched, Bryan! 🏊‍♂️ Swimming 50 yards through Cottonmouth waters to haul a half-sunken 12-foot aluminum boat back to shore just to avoid the embarrassment of telling your neighbor is pure legend status. ‘Hey deddy, I caught a 12-footer today!’ is such a brilliant punchline. Great story and awesome acoustic cover to top it off!

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  5. A 45-minute carry through the woods with a jon boat over your heads, and then swimming 40 yards out to a half-sunk hull in a lake with cottonmouths in it and nobody around — I think you undersold this one when you said it wasn’t your bravest. What gets me is that what drove you back into the water was that you’d borrowed the boat and it wasn’t yours to lose. That’s a 13-year-old with more spine than most adults.

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    1. Thank you very much… I appreciate the kind words. We didn’t carry the boat over our heads tho. It was beside us. It had lil handles you could grab and we carried it between us. Thank you again 🙂

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    1. Ain’t that the truth! Now that I’m older and I see like how the kids in my family are being raised and their friends also… it’s just a different world for them now. We were truly blessed to have grown up when we did and thank God we survived 😂

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      2. Hahahaha yessssss! I remember now! After I read it from you. I started saying it with the accent but I couldn’t for the life of me remember which movie it was and I decided not to Google it and just wait for you to tell me 😁

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  12. Swimming fifty yards out alone, with cottonmouths in that lake and nobody within earshot, to save a boat you had borrowed — the bravery there is really about not wanting to face the neighbour, which is very thirteen. Also the detail of carrying a jon boat 45 minutes through the woods says everything about how much that lake was worth to you.

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