Chapter Thirty Eight – “Messing About In Boats”

Thursday, 2nd August 2012 –

Well, here I am back in Devon for the remainder of my short three-week summer break. I’ve just returned from a ‘cruise’ on the Norfolk Broads with old friends from school (some older than others) – sailing, birdwatching, rambling, and enjoying the countryside. I enjoyed living onboard the boat, but back at home now I’m grateful to have a proper bed (so I can stretch out), and high ceilings and doorframes (I’ve lost count how many times I forgot to duck). I’ve also become uncharacteristically appreciative of normal washrooms!

Mark and I travelled up to Norfolk last Tuesday (24th July), leaving the house at five o’clock (yawn) – not so bad for me, you would think, as I’m used to early starts! I couldn’t help feeling for Mark though, driving all that way. We would be travelling in convoy, but would be sure to make the necessary rest stops. We finally arrived in Norfolk by mid-day, and rejoined the rest of our party – along with Mark, myself and Chris, who was leading the trip (one week shy of a full year on the Broads), there was Simon (an old pupil of his, now a teacher in Oxford, with a very infectious accent – “fancy some pickled wombat?”), Ed, Joel, Alex,  and Harry (who I would come to spend a lot of time with during my various endeavours). The following day we would meet Mike, an ex-teacher with a very relaxed attitude, complementing Chris’ energetic personality.

Mark and I made sure to select one of the less cramped cabins, which despite the narrow bed which was slightly too short, a shortage of headspace on my side, and the periodically leaky window later in the week, was actually rather comfortable. We were very glad it was just for one week, though!

The ‘cruise’ consisted of a round-trip on the rivers, stopping at the various Broads along the way. It was nice to moor in a different location each evening, and for the first five or six days we had glorious weather – perfect for getting into the dinghies and trying out some rowing or sailing. I even got opportunities to pilot the main craft – relatively straight-forward, although it took some time to get used to the slow reactions, which accounted for my initial weaving motion when I tried to maintain a straight course.