Life's Short Stories: Death of a Camera

Friday night started out great. We were invited out on our friend's boat for a night of cruising and chilling. The water was calm, the sky was clear, and the friends were fun.

And about two hours after these photos were taken, it all went down hill. Way down hill.

We had decided to stop off at a nearby water-front restaurant for a break from the boat. As I walked around the docks admiring the massive yachts that filled the marina and taking pictures of the beautiful sights, I was suddenly submerged in water. Without a moment's hesitation, my hands reached for my camera, plucked it from the water, and handed it off to whomever's outstretched arms were attempting to save my camera's life (or so I'd like to think - those arms were probably more for me). Once the camera was out of the elements, I was dragged out of the water myself. My legs and arms were cut up from hitting the barnacles that lined the sea-wall, but all I could think about was my camera. Even pulling my water-drenched cell phone out of my pocket was an afterthought.

I had fallen in the water because of a small area between the dock and the sea wall. This small area wasn't easily seen after nightfall because the dark water blended in with the dock. I've contacted the marina to try and get them to install a handrail or some lights lining the dock so that this doesn't happen to other people in the future.

I'm still pretty upset about my cell phone and camera and the costs that I'll incur from replacing them (about $800 worth of technology), but at the end of the day, I know I need to be more appreciative that I wasn't more seriously hurt.