It is a fact that, in any boating activities the memorable occasions are often near to tragedy. Yet, on recollection, the incidents concerned appear to be very humorous.

Naturally, it would be pleasant to believe that the incidents recalled below are not part of an emerging trend in my principal hobby. Or, does everyone afloat have their own selection of occasions best remembered by the fireside?

Incidents such as these…

When the skipper of a nearby yacht, on the Broads, shouted “cut the ropes” as his boat ploughed deeper into the sticky shallows of Hickling Broad, shortly to be followed by my own craft. Or, when the electrically-operated gates of Mapledurham Lock on the Thames started to close. About twelve feet of my camping skiff was on either side of the gates at the time. When the last food on the boat, noodle soup, was about to be eaten for breakfast but came to life and ran for cover in the bilges. When power gives way to sail or is it sail gives way to power? I remember the windless minutes one Saturday in August on the Thames Powerboatway. The driver of the 45’ cruiser no doubt remembers the nautical equivalent of a hedgehog across his track. He managed to miss me. Finally, the moment when I joined the Powerboat Set. In particular, I remember the chaos and very deep shock following the starting, on full throttle, of an outboard motor, for the first time in my life. The dinghy was completely surrounded by other tenders and dinghies.