We turned off the busy road and headed into the empty countryside under wide Suffolk skies. After a few miles we took another turning, down a dusty, single-track lane, deeper into the remote countryside. A few minutes later, the river glinted at us through the trees and we reached our destination.We had moved the boat up to its new mooring late last week and are being initiated into the joys of inflatable dinghies and East coast mud. Having unloaded and parked the car, it took rather a long time in the hot midday sun to pump up the dinghy, attach the outboard and load it with supplies for an overnight stay. As I gingerly stepped onto the treacherous thing, it floated away from the jetty slightly, pulled by the tide, leaving me straddled, one foot in the dinghy, the other slipping off the jetty into the thick gooey mud. Not my most dignified moment, but a baptism of fire into the reality of a river mooring, after the luxury of marinas and pontoons.
We finally managed to get ourselves onto the dinghy, started the outboard and set off a quarter of a mile upriver to our boat, sitting rather closer to the water than is entirely comfortable for a landlubber. We tied up and somehow managed to haul ourselves precariously on board. At last we got the sails up and drifted along the meandering river on a light breeze, then moored up by a riverside pub, lowered ourselves into the dinghy again and rowed ashore for a well-earned drink.
Very evocative. The fibreglass dinghy is 'in-progress', the boarding ladder is 'work-in-progress'. All your desires will be fulfilled.
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R x
I'll hold you to that one! x
ReplyDeleteUsed to sail and have somehow lost it in looking after all this garden, family, houses etc etc. wobbly dinghies were however one of my least favourite things about it!
ReplyDeleteYes, it can be hard to fit everything in, but a garden such as you have is a huge commitment, Elizabeth, but lovely and very rewarding.
ReplyDeleteWobbly dinghies really are the pits but R is busy painting up a solid one he's borrowing from a friend as I type this!
GOOD to hear from you Marianne so please keep in touch!
ReplyDeleteOf course, Jan, and nice to see an old friend again.
ReplyDeleteOh, I can feel the call of the water and feeling of mud between the toes! LOL :)
ReplyDeleteThere is something very special about life on the water, despite all the difficulties, Jinksy. Have you tried it? I'm really an Annick Goutal sort of girl myself, but east coast mud is starting to grow on me!
ReplyDeleteThanks for dropping by my blog, Marianne. Yes, I know that East Coast mud and loved it too, though I am no sailor and am quite content to leave that to others. Strange because as I child I thought it would be wonderful and yet the reality of boats has always disillusioned me: being confined in a small space at the great danger of the sea. I expect to get a buzz but I just don't. I'll stick to castles.
ReplyDeleteMud wasn't on my agenda at all either Fenny, but I am open to all possibilities! Life on the water can be terrifying and very uncomfortable, but it can also be magical and I hang onto that. Enjoy your castles.
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