Prepare to be Boarded

Welcome back!  This blog has been woefully neglected this year, not for a lack of content.  It’s been a busy and productive year at Lloyd’s Landing, so there is more than enough to talk about.

Last year we learned that our friends on the lake often thought about boating up to our dock, but never did because they couldn’t tell whether or not the folks they spotted on shore were us, or some renters.  This seemed a tragic shame, so we resolved to find a big, obvious way to letting our neighbors know we were on the lake. 

Neon was definitely inappropriate.  Flares are too brief.  Semaphores require too much thought.  Thankfully, the best option was already available: a sturdy flagpole is firmly planted on the waters’ edge.  So I spent a few winter nights surfing online flag sites, in search of the perfect representation of Andersons on the Lake. 

At first I thought I’d try a “design-your-own” flag site, but couldn’t find anything that didn’t require a lot of money and a bulk order.  Focusing on parrots and pirates, I found that many of the best designs are for the little flags that people hoist on the masts of their sailboats. 

Finally, I discovered a treasure trove of pole-sized pirate flags.  Pirate flags are relatively simple to choose: they are either red or black.  There are only two or three graphic designs, all centered around the skull and cross bones.  And given the purpose of our flag, the saying on the flag was obvious: Prepare to be Boarded.

So now when the Andersons are on the Lake, the flag is hoisted.  And any boats docking at Lloyd’s Landing will surely be boarded.