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Outdoors Local wilderness society gives chance to explore There is an old adage, often re peated, that a person is like a bad penny and keeps turning up all of the time. I guess that this old say ing is true today as I am back writ ing a column again. I have missed writing over the past months and was very happy when Jim Kerce called and said that he was coming back as editor of the paper. When he asked if I would start writing a column again, I immediately accepted. I have spent some time during the past two weeks with the mem bers of the Perry Wilderness Society and after seeing their inter esting schedule of activities, have paid my dues and joined. I led 15 members of the society on a canoe trip into a beautiful lo cal cypress pond on a recent cool Saturday morning. I have written about the mysterious beauty of this pond in an earlier article. Most of the nesting water birds have completed their nesting cycle and we did not see the large num bers of water birds that we usually see earlier in the year. We did spot several Anhingas or, as they are The advantages of pre-rigged boats U|. , Gone L 1 I David and Susanne Andgl_ Pre-rigged or packaged boats arc rigged at the factory with the mo tor, trailer, trolling motor, electron ics and all accessories included in the total package. The creation of pre-rigged boats has come about in the last decade or so, when major boat builders joined forces with major outboard motor manufacturers in order to save each other during a bad economic period. Those who found partners are still in business while many manufac tures who refused went out of busi ness. The quality of a boat a manufac turer was building didn't seem to matter. If a bad time came, the manufacturer was quickly caught up with losses going over their heads, leaving the boat builder with noth ing else to do except give up. One such manufacturer was Winner Boats. Winner Boats had one of the finest boats on the mar ket, and was fast becoming one of the top selling boat brands when the owners decided to expand their plant during a bad economic period. Winner Boats had the opportu nity to join with a major outboard engine company in a pre-rigged deal, but decided against it. They were unable to continue building boats when the market went bad, and Winner Boats is history now. There are some good things to be said about the package deals. First and foremost: prices are a good bit lower in the packaged rigs. This has nothing to do with the quality of the products, but every thing to do with being able to buy in large volumes and getting better price breaks. Another good quality about the packaged rigs is that the boat manu facturer has been better able to match the boat with the outboard and trolling motors. Therefore, you get exactly what you need. What this means to you is that you get a boat that will load easier, trailer easier and get down the lake easier. Most package deals are com plete all the way down to the paddle and hom. As in anything good, there are some drawbacks to package deals. Most of the drawbacks deal with motor preference on a particular boat. For instance, let's say you have decided on the brand of boat you want only to find it in a pack age boat with a Brand X engine in stead of the Brand A engine you re ally wanted. This is really not so bad since most of the boat manufacturers will mount most brands of engines. Getting Brand A is just a matter of letting the boat manufacturer know before you order your boat. Another drawback is the choice in electronics on a boat. Many times, you don't have a real choice in the brands or models of electron ics that come with pre-rigged boats. A lot of time a dealer will work more commonly known, water turkeys. The society members also spot ted several of Georgia's most beautiful duck, the wood duck. This pond is excellent habitat for the rearing of this tree nesting duck, and the members are making plans to construct wood duck nest ing boxes and place them in the pond. I also attended the regular monthly meeting of the society last Thursday night and saw an interest ing program on Georgia snakes. Steve Mathews, an 11th grade stu dent from Amcricus, Ga., gave a slide presentation of local snakes and then showed two live speci mens, a rat snake and a very bel ligerent water snake. Mathews became interested in with you on this issue. If a dealer will not work with you, I would try to find a dealer that will, or sell the electronics you don't want and pur chase what you do want. Probably the biggest drawback to packaged boats is that old hard heads like myself can't custom rig the boat just like we want to. Personally, I want to have my ' II fi —B IT* ig£BjJP Rjpw -j Boats can be bought either pre-rigged by the seller, or stripped down and custom rigged by the buyer. TYPE OF PFD DESCRIPTION OF PFD Type I Type I PFDs are designed to turn an unconscious person in the water from a face down position to a vertical or slightly backward position. They are very buoyant and are approved for use on all boats. Type II Type II PFDs are a buoyant vests designed to turn an unconscious person from a , facedown position to a vertical or slightly backward position. They are not as buoyant as a Type I PFD. Type 111 Type 111 PFDs will not turn an unconscious person over from a facedown position. However, these PFDs are stylish, comfortable to wear, and available in many designs. Type 111 PFDs designed for children often have straps which go between the legs to help hold the PFD in place. Type IV Type IV PFDs are a buoyant cushion or ring buoy which can be thrown to a victim in the water. Use these PFDs by clasping them to the chest, they are not designed to be worn. Type V Type V (hybrid) PFDs are inflatable devices. They are legal only when worn and properly fastened. They come with a rip-cord which activates a carbon dioxide cartridge to inflate the device. They also have a manual device for inflation. Perry Athletics buried by Mudhens 7-6 By VETO F. ROLEY Sports Editor The Perry A's continued a three game slide Sunday with a 7-6 loss in Dry Branch to the Mudhens. With two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning, the Mudhens pushed across the winning run on four consecutive walks, the last coming to Duncan to force Huck aby across the plate. The loss was the managerial de but for Johnnie Gilbert, who re placed Voy Heath as manager. Heath left the team because of per sonal reasons. the study of snakes about two years ago, and has worked closely with a professor of Herpetology at Georgia Southwestern College in his study. Mathews is very knowl edgeable in this field. Other activities of the society are a trip to the mountains of North Georgia in September and an an nual camping trip to Georgia's Cumberland Island in November. Various other canoe trips, camping trips and other outdoor activities fill the rest of the year. The 38 member organization meets the first Thursday night of each month at the Perry United Methodist Church at 6:30 PM. The society has a very varied member ship with people with great outdoor experience and rank amateurs en joying the activities. People with an interest in our great out-of-doors and a love for nature and outdoor activities are invited to join the organization. Dues are only $lO per year and may be paid to the president, Frank Riley or secretary-treasurer, Sybil Brown. hands in everything that goes on or into my boat. That way, I know exactly where every wire connector or plug-in is, because I put it there. Motor preference is not a big thing with me as long as it is a Mercury, nor is electronics as long as it is Bottom Line. See, I'm not hard to please. Please see Fishing, page 11A Even though the A’s are going through a difficult stretch, Gilbert said the A’s should make the play offs. Last year, the Perry A's fin ished second in the Middle Georgia Baseball League, losing in the fi nals to Jeffersonville. "It was probably good to lose these (three) games," said Gilbert. "We had gotten the big head. When we have faced good pitching, we have had a lack of discipline at the plate. "We will make the playoffs," said Gilbert. Houston Times-Journal , ’’ MM " I §ll||||l| Vi 'IUK OTBI /II an Patrick Means (top left photo) handles a snake at a recent Wilderness Club fneef/n{J. At the same meeting (top right photo) David Talley (right), Means and Steve Math ews examine a snake. In the bottom photo, Means paddles his mother through a Cy press swamp. The A's struck first in the top half of the second. With one out, Renard Soloman banged a solo homer to get Perry on the score board. Keith Ragin pushed two runs across the plate in the fourth with a two out single, staking the A's to a 3-0 lead. In the fifth, the A's would stretch their lead to 5-1, with a Chris Norwood single plating Willie West and Tobe Gilbert. After the Mudhens added a single run in the fifth, the A’s got it back Please see A's, page 11A Wednesday, August 10,1994, "Houston Times-Jownai Page 10A i * m 3 i\ < » mm . - SOLUNAR/LUNAR TIMES ferry Georg 1 « Area SOLUNAR TIMES ~~~ LUNAR TIMES 4 y. p. M. Longitude 83.44 Latitude 32.28 Aug Minor Ml. lor Minor Major Sunrise Sunset Mugnjlae M<?pp Up HoQaJteSR 1 Ron 01:21 07:33 01:45 07:51 06:47 08:31 1:48. 8:51a ®-15 p l Tue 02:05 08:18 02:30 08:42 06:48 08:30 2:33. 9:40. J®-®* p 3 Wed 02:40 00:02 03:15 00:27 06:40 08:20 3:21. J0:30» 4 Thu 03:35 00:47 04:00 10:13 06:40 08:28 4:14. 11:21. 11.46 p 5 Fri | 04:21 10:34 04:46 10:50 06:50 08:21 5:10a IJ:IJp ZZ.ZZZ 6 S.t " 05:08 11:21 05:34 11:46 06:51 08:27 6:10. 1.02 p 7 Sun • 05:58 06:23 12:10 06:51 08:26 7:11. J-53p l'?! 8 Mon I 06:40 12:37 07:14 01:02 06:52 08:25 8:13a 2:42p 2.18. 0 Tue I 07:43 01:31 08:08 01:56 06:53 08:24 9:J6» ®-®? p ®;®I“ 10 Wed 08:30 02:26 00:04 02:52 06:53 08:23 10:10. 4.23 p 3.57. 11 Thu 00:37 03:23 10:03 03:50 06:54 08:22 11:24. 5:15 P 4.48. 12 Fri 10:35 04:22 11:02 04:40 06:55 08:21 lj=3op ® ! ®® p *'!l* 13 S.t 11:34 05:20 05:48 06:55 08:20 1:36p 7:05p 6.36. 14 Sun 12:08 06:17 12:32 06:46 06:56 08:10 2:41p 8:02p 7:33. 15 Mon 12:58 07:13 01:28 07:42 06:57 08:18 3:43 P 0:01p 8.31. 16 Tue 01:52 08:07 02:21 08:36 06:57 08:17 4:41p 0.58 p ®;®®» 17 Wed 02:44 08:58 03:12 00:26 06:58 08:16 5:33 P 10:54 P JO. 27. 18 Thu | 03:34 00:48 04:01 10:15 06:50 08:15 6:20p ll:48p JJ-JJ* 10 Fri I 04:23 10:35 04:48 11:01 06:50 08:14 7:02p ----- „J P 20 S.t I 05:10 11:23 05:35 11:47 07:00 08:13 7:40p 12:30. J:o4p 21 Sun 0 05:58 06:2112:00 07:01 08:12 8:14 P 1:28. 1.51 p 22 Mon | 06:46 12:34 07:08 12:57 07:01 08:10 8:48p 2:J4» ‘•®” p 23 Tue I 07:34 01:23 07:56 01:45 07:02 08:00 0:20 P 2:50. 3.21 p 24 Wed I 08:23 02:12 08:45 02:34 07:03 08:08 0:53p 3:43. 4:05p 25 Thu I 00:13 03:02 00:35 03:24 07:03 08:07 10:28p 4:27. 4.40 p 26 Fri 1 10:02 03:51 10:25 04:14 07:04 08:06 ll:04p 5:11. 5.34 p 27 S.t 10:52 04:40 11:15 05:04 07:05 08:05 11:44 P 5:57. 6.20 p 28 Sun 11:41 05:20 05:53 07:05 08:03 ------ ® ! l® a I;®’ p 20 Mon 12:05 06:17 12:20 06:41 07:06 08:02 12:26. 7:31. 7.55 p 30 Tue 12:52 07:04 01:17 07:20 07:06 08:01 1:12a 8:20. 8.45 p 31 Wed 01:38 07:50 02:03 08:15 .QUOJLJtiIOP a 9, '- P - M.jor-2 hours/Minor=l hour Accurate within 1 minute O = Full Moon • = New Moon | “ reak activity period of week Tines adjusted for DST All boaters on federal waters must have PFDs Effective immediately, class A vessels, which are boats less than 16 feet in length, must be equipped with one type I, II or 111 wearable personal flotation device (PFD), or lifejacket, for each person on board, says the Georgia Department of Natural Resources. The change in regulations comes from the U.S. Coast Guard, and is for boats operated in "federal" wa ters only. Federal waters in Georgia include the Ocmulgee River from Macon downstream to the Altamaha River; the Chattahoochee River from Peachtree Creek in Fulton County downstream to the Florida state line, including West Point Reser voir, Lake Walter F. George, Columbia Lake and Lake Seminole; the Flint River from Crawford County downstream to Lake Semi nole, including Lake Blackshear and Lake Worth; the Savannah River in its entirety and all impoundments, including Lake Hartwell, Lake Rus sell, and Clarks Hill Lake; the Oconee River from Lake Sinclair Fok {he BeS{ /h {he FcFFookK F/s'h/ hg £ Sohhy Tvgq/e , Moon Times Solunar/tunar times accurate within 1 minute downstream to the Altamaha River; the Altamaha River in its entirety; all tidal rivers on the Georgia coast, including the Ogecchee River and the St. Mary's River; and all costal waters. Statistics from the U.S. Coast Guard indicate nearly 80 percent of people killed in boating accidents were not wearing PFD's. In order for PFDs to work, they must be worn, and worn correctly. Make sure the PFDs fitted and adjusted for the person who will be wearing it. Always wear a PFD in rough water or threatening weather. Fur thermore, children and non-swim mers should wear a PFD at all times. (Editors note: PFDs should be worn by everybody at all times when on the water.) For more information regarding the change in the regulations related to PFDs for boats less than 16 feet in length in federal waters, or on boating safety, contact the Wildlife Resources Division, Law Enforce ment Section at (404) 618-6408.