Life without boats in Linden you say? Well, that is well nigh impossible- at least in the foreseeable future anyway.And the reason is quite obvious- the community is split through the middle by the Demerara River.So not even the Mackenzie/Wismar Bridge that spans the divide, can replace the services rendered by the ‘ferry boats’, unless of course all residents acquired vehicles- a long shot, in a town plagued by unemployment.Jerry, an old operatorSuch has been the perpetual love affair with these boats, that life without them is unthinkable to put it mildly. Most Lindeners can attest to going without running water in their homes for days and without electricity for hours on end, but to go without the ferry boats?? Inconceivable!Long before cars, buses, bicycles and motorcycles became popular, there were the boats.As a matter of fact, our boating history most likely began even before bauxite mining began in 1916.Before many of us were born, the boats provided passage for early bauxite workers from Wismar to Mackenzie where they boarded the train that took them to the various mining sites.However, in those early days, crossing the river was hard work,Wholesale NFL Jerseys, but fun too, because even though each person in the boat had to be equipped with a paddle and had to paddle, passengers often engaged in ‘racing’ to see who would get to the other side faster. And of course each person had to pay a fare of three cents, this was later increased to five cents. The sole responsibility of the Captains of these boats was to steer them- no paddling for them!Later the Demerara Bauxite Company (Demba) established a boat landing in front of what is now the Wismar Police Station to accommodate company workers and their families.Waiting Sheds were erected on both sides of the river to protect passengers from the weather, while they awaited the boats.Private persons also established other landings, and so it was that ‘hand powered’ boats were gradually replaced by engine powered ones.Even though boat landings remain a permanent feature of our riverfront, there are no ‘waiting sheds’ today. And instead of each passenger being equipped with a paddle,NFL Jerseys Outlet, the only requirements for utilising the boat services are a $50 boat fare, and the donning of life jackets. The latter rule is seldom if ever adhered to, however.Crossing between Wismar and MackenzieAnd ironically the boats today which are far sturdier,Angel Di Maria Jersey, and more river worthy than some of their predecessors, are all equipped with life jackets, which is a prerequisite for obtaining and keeping one’s operating licence.Not surprisingly,China NFL Jerseys, a few persons lost their lives, as a consequence of those ill equipped boats.One of the more memorable cases involved a boat which plied the route between Lui Ken Pen on the Wismar shore and the old ration store at Mackenzie, adjacent to the bauxite plant.According to a survivor, Theodore Adams, himself a ‘boating entrepreneur’, that accident occurred some time in the early sixties.‘’It was during the lunch break, and myself and a few other Demba workers were on our way home.“A ship, it might have been the Saguenay, or one of those popular bauxite boats that used to come, was just going out, and we were sort of riding the ‘swells’ in its wake, when the powerful pull of the propeller sucked our boat down.“That boat went right down, and was never recovered. I of course remained in the boat until the very last holding onto my bicycle, and I somehow made it ashore with that bicycle, which was very expensive as it cost me $35.“My Demba helmet floated away though, but I was thankful to have survived, as three persons were not so lucky. They went right down with the boat.’’That accident triggered a sort of inordinate fear of the big boats (ships) in the minds of many who utilised the ferry boats, and some either refused to cross the river while the ships were in proximity, or urged the operators to ‘stay put’ until the ‘danger’ had passed.Such was this fear that one man, in his bid to escape the ‘dangerous’ ship, which was coming while the boat in which he was crossing was still midstream, that he jumped out, and drowned as a consequence. That incident occurred some time in the late ‘60’s – early seventies.Another boating accident which occurred during that same period involved a boat purportedly owned by a man named Gilkes. Shock waves reverberated throughout Linden that day, as news of the tragedy spread. At least four persons lost their lives that day after a Schooner ran over the Gilkes boat, according to reports.Gilkes Boat Service, was sort of the unofficial designated service for workers attached to the then functioning Alumina Pla