A St. Lawrence Skiff is a rowing vessel between 18 and 22 feet long, about 4 feet wide at the center, and pointed at both ends. It weighs at least a couple hundred pounds and is the perfect rowing vessel for the strong currents and choppy water found in the Thousand Islands. Hughie had told me about their two-row boat called Helen over lunch at the picnic table. After our softball game, a few days after the fishing marathon, Hughie suggested we go to the town line to load up on candy and see the view. The next morning, or maybe two mornings later, Hughie and I set out in Helen to assert our independence. I remember joking with Hughie that “We don't need a cheap speedboat to sail the river.” We might even have made up a little song on this theme. Fact or fiction, I don't have a clear memory of it now. I was a prisoner of Dad's schedule and had no way to come and go whenever I wanted. The Bobby project languished, because I was too busy playing with Papworth to complete the work that still needed to be done. I thought rowing into town on the Helen would be a good test ride to see how to maneuver a boat to a chosen destination. With Hughie showing me the ropes, I felt it would be a great learning opportunity. I remember the whole fiasco vividly. Hughie and I started by paddling down the back canal to get a sense of coordinating the stroking motion in unison. What a “unison”, I thought to myself. We clashed our oars repeatedly and finally made it to the pier in the Upper Town. The fact that we went ashore without falling into the water was a major achievement. The skiff is much sturdier and more stable than a canoe, but it tilts and rocks from side to side. I had some... paper media......and a hardware store. As we approached the dock, he said something like, “Walk lively boys and handle those lines.” We were told to wait on the boat, which was fine with me. I sat in our spear tub in one of the slightly decrepit wicker chairs and soaked up some sun, while chatting to Hughie. I remember seeing several islanders come down to the dock with personalized leather mailing envelopes on their way to the post office. I saw some people enter the market near the pier and the pharmacy at the end of the block. We were near the end of the pier closest to the road. A gray shed with a corrugated iron roof and no walls sat on the edge of the seawall and met the pier at a right angle. This was a bait stand with two tanks full of minnows. Several fishermen came and bought bait while we waited for Grandpa Papworth to return.