Stanley rides in an airboat

I went back to work with Uncle Rohan last week and one afternoon we went out onto the frozen lake in one of the department's airboats.

The boats are quite loud, so we sat in the operator's cabin, which helps to muffle the sound of the motor. It is also heated, which is really nice, given we were cruising across a frozen lake.

Uncle Rohan and his friend Mark wore survival suits - these will help keep them safe if they fall into the cold water.

You can see the earmuffs and microphone that Uncle Rohan is wearing - this helps muffle the sound of the motor while he can still talk to his friend driving the boat.

This is me in the operator's cab with Mark, who was driving the boat. The stick in his left hand steers the boat - if you push it forward, you turn right; if you pull it backwards you turn left. I have never seen a steering stick before and it looks nothing like the steering wheel in Uncle Rohan's car.

Mark let me help to steer the boat. It was lots of fun as we slid across the ice on the lake. A few times we went in a complete circle, as the boat is quite hard to steer on the ice.