During my time as a pilot I have never encountered any activity that is more ego-crushing than seaplane flying. Maybe it is just a self regulating mechanism that keeps us pilots from getting too cocky in such a non-forgiving environment, before we can screw up something really bad. 

The ego crushing game normally begins with a series of very successful flights, probably including some well executed glassy water landings, high density altitude takeoffs with heavy loads, and complicated docking maneuvers in rather challenging situations. This often gives the pilot the impression that now he really knows what he is doing. Thoughts like this are not uncommon at this stage of the game: „So it is possible to master the seaplane flying in just a few hundred hours, at least for someone as skilled as I am…“

Then the fun part begins, usually on a day with only light wind and not many waves, and preferably when docking to a large and comfortable dock at the well known homebase. Maybe even some crowd is gathering in the vicinity, and everyone is just as eager to witness yet another demonstration of pure skill, as the master pilot himself is eager to deliver it. 

Very shortly thereafter many things can happen, most of them are not very harmful, except to the self image of the poor pilot who just recently discovered that he himself was gods gift to seaplane flying… 

It is, for example, a very sobering experience to just bounce off the dock and drift helplessly back out into the lake while standing on the float, holding the rope in your hands like the first human, and contemplating about the risks and benefits of jumping the gap, while the distance to the dock is slowly increasing. 

No wind to blame, everything happens in slow motion, and you wish you could just disappear from the scene. It does not make it any better when the passengers, who until a few seconds ago believed to be on board with a younger version of Captain Sullenberger or Chuck Yeager, ask now if they could maybe help you, while you try to keep smiling as you paddle the airplane back to the dock. 

Normally, after such an experience, the pilot will be very alert and focussed on not screwing up, which is likely to result in a series of very successful and uneventful flights, and the ego crushing game starts all over again.