Boom Jumping - DO NOT TRY THIS WITHOUT SERIOUS CONSIDERATION OF HOW MUCH LIFE MEANS TO YOU!

Boom Jumping is an ancient sport, forbidden in most countries, passed down from generation to generation, between the men who have dared to even try such a feat, and those who truly wish they could. Because of the extreme danger involved it is only spoken of in whispers, while imbibing in large doses of alcohol crouching around the campfire.
Yes, the story I'm going to tell you is true and I thank the Lord God Almighty for allowing this man to survive this death defying feat!
This story starts with a tragedy, of the realization that his marriage was over. Now he would be spending this long summer alone, licking his wounds and learning that all things happen for a reason, and that God has a very twisted sense of humor....
This one weekend in August he was camping at Green Peter Reservoir, just northeast of Sweet Home, with the one true love of his life now, his little 16' runabout boat. This boat wasn't the prettiest boat you had ever seen but it was faithful to him, always starting the first time, never letting him down in a tight spot, and this weekend, probably saving his life.
OK, I'll get on with it....
That late August night,
while the stars shone bright,
and the water was warm, and cast an eerie light,
he was feeling pretty good,
like a boom jumper should,
and prepared for the feat of his boat in flight. (pretty cool rhyme, huh?)
Of course like all boom jumpers he had consumed many ounces of alcohol and as he looked toward the west he saw a big light. It was glowing, pulsing, welcoming, and he thought, hey, it could be someone having a party!
Now feeling pretty good, and tired of being alone, he headed for the light, in the west it had shone. (another cool one)
Now it didn't take long to get bored puttering around under the full moon so Mighty Man decided to push the throttle forward, as far as it goes, toward the light. This light in the west was truly beckoning him and wanting to get there before everyone left, he took off thinking he was invinsible, at a speed that only daylight should see!

DISCLAIMER: If you are an insurance agent or work for the BLM or Forest Service, you should move on to another blog and forget you ever heard of this forbidden sport!

With the throttle forward and the cool air in his face he headed toward the light. Because of the darkness it was hard to tell how far away it was and at first it seemed like he was never going to get to it. Then, at a speed I'm sure is forbidden in the dark of night on a lake, he realized that the light, the one he thought was a campfire surrounded by the local natives, was actually the clearance light at the top of the dam......
YES, he was headed straight for the dam! Now as the recognition sunk in he also realized that before you could hit the dam you would hit the large corrigated boom that surrounded the dam (so no boats could run into it of course). As he reached the boom, and he launched into the air, boat and all, outboard motor not even nicking it, and landed on the other side with a slam!

While his boat slammed down on the water, somehow the throttle managed to shut the motor down at the same time. As he explained the physics of hitting the boom at a speed unbelievable he tells how it wasn't until he hit the water that his face hit the windshield, turning his bottom lip into hamburger. Other than that he seemed ok. (Keep in mind that the medicinal alcohol had prepared him for this).

Now he was in a predicament. Now being under the influence of the medicinal alcohol his first thought was, what goes in should be able to go out the same way. Thank God he didn't try that. Next he thought about swimming to land, walking miles to his pickup and bringing it over to the Dam, maybe he could pull the boat out. Somehow he didn't completely lose his mind and realized chances were his pickup would probably end up with his boat, behind the boom. What could he do?
He definitely didn't want to be found inside the boom the next morning by anybody. He didn't want to leave his boat there since he probably could be traced as the owner. He needed to get out, but how? These large corrigated drainage pipes were shackled together with clevis pins. Of course his tools were home. Again it was with thanks to God that he had one tool, a little crescent wrench. It took a few trys to find a clevis pin that his wrench would work on. Thanks to the Lord God Almighty! He scooted out of the boom and back to camp with a story to tell for generations of Hornby's to come.
I just thank God that He spared my honey from this death-defying stunt, saving him for our fateful meeting 7 months later....

PLEASE DO NOT TRY THIS AND ONLY MENTION IT TO THOSE CAPABLE OF UNDERSTANDING THE TRUE SCOPE OF PREDICAMENT THIS POOR SOLE WAS IN.....





















































































































































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