Yesterday, the members of the boat club set the moorings in the Delaware River -- those moorings that had not been left in the water over the winter. Our mooring for Bluebird was on the bank and ready to be launched, but at this point I don't know whether it made it.
There were some rules standing in its path.
The Red Dragon Canoe Club is an organization that relies on the labor of its members. If you have a boat, you are required to invest 10 hours a year at the club. Normally, Monica and I put in our hours cleaning up the lawn and helping out at various club social functions. There always have seemed to be enough boys eager to play on the water that my efforts can best be expended elsewhere.
Yesterday morning, I made an exception and went to the boathouse at 8:30 a.m. to be available for the mooring launch. But I already knew that Bluebird -- not yet ready herself for the water -- might have to wait a bit for a mooring.
The rules in the way were two: One, that you had to have all your club fees paid before your mushroom anchor, 75 feet of chain and a mooring ball could be hauled offshore and dropped in the current. Two, that you had to have proof of liability insurance.
We were current on our fees. I actually checked with Pat, the lady who accepts money, to make certain.
But since Wednesday, I'd been trying to locate the home owner's insurance policy that said that our boat was covered. I'd had no luck.
I found packets of papers that proved that we had home owner's insurance from 2007 until February, 2010. I couldn't find the packet that said we were covered since February, though.
More important, none of the packets actually spelled out the risks for which we were covered. They referred to the policy in general and noted any changes.
Lacking a document that proved a 19-foot, two-inch boat had liability insurance, I was pretty sure our mooring was in trouble.
I admit, we should have been on top of the issue of insurance documents. They are a pretty vital piece of one's paperwork.
The problem, as I've realized the last few hours, is that there is so much paperwork.
It is unimaginable that a postal service that delivers two catalogues from the same retailer in the same day is facing the need to cut costs. Indeed, there are some retailers that are so supportive of the United States Postal Service that they send us catalogues almost daily.
Then there are the insurance companies themselves. We certainly get more than one piece of mail daily from the medical insurance firms. Usually, they are stating they need more information before they can pay a bill. I have come to believe these pieces of mail are a way for the insurance companies to play the float. How many millions do they make investing our premiums while they delay paying legitimate bills.
Not only does all this mail seem adequate to fund the mail delivery system. Inundated with all these envelopes, we, as humble recipients, are hard pressed to keep up with it all.
And this is probably the explanation for why we can't find the insurance documents.
I called the insurance company last week and talked with three representatives, two of whom said I needed a new insurance policy for Bluebird, before one said that, indeed, our home owner's policy was adequate. They told me I could get a copy of the policy online.
But when I checked our online account, there was no home owner's document.
So tomorrow, I call the 800 number and hope to get through to someone able to send a copy of the required document.
Only then will Bluebird be set to sail.