Thursday, May 01, 2008

A change of boat

Only for the weekend. Having replaced the newly reshaped shelves under the telly in Herbie (forgot to take the camera so no pic yet), we're off this weekend to the Norfolk Broads for a spot of sailing.

This is an annual event with old friends. We hire half decker day sailing boats from Martham Boats and pootle up and down between Hickling Broad and (generally) Ranworth. Until last year, the practice was to hire all wooden boats, but that was a mistake really. Wooden boats are nice when they don't leak, but if you are the first hirer of the year, the boats have dried out and leak like a sieve. So from last year we changed to glass fibre hulls and now we don't have to spend the whole weekend baling out as we sail along. And we maintain dry feet!

Evenings are spent in the Lion at Thurne, next to which we hire little holiday chalets.

The big question is, who will win the Bowsprit Trophy? This is awarded to the helmsman who perpetrates the most damaging or disastrous error of the weekend. This new trophy has been constructed from a piece of broken bowsprit liberated from the rest of the boat when I accidentally rammed a cruiser last year (thus making me the current holder). I am quietly confident of retaining the trophy.

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