There is a reason the water pulls at people the way it does. A boat is freedom of a particular kind - the horizon open in every direction, the shore and its obligations receding behind you, and nothing on the agenda but where to point the bow.
Arizona, improbably, is fine boating country. The great reservoirs and desert lakes fill with families and enthusiasts all summer long, and the machines themselves range from simple runabouts to serious craft built for speed and comfort in equal measure.
Whether the draw is fishing, skiing, or simply drifting with the engine off, the appeal is the same one that has pulled at people for as long as there have been boats: a few hours on the water, and the world feels a good deal larger - and a good deal lighter.
Originally published in View AZ Highlife Magazine, Aug / Sep 2007.