susys running away to sea

"The rigors (sic) of an expeditionary lifestyle"

Monday, May 05, 2008

Bateaux

With the sleet and howling wind battering my brand new hire car, I found the marina and boat sales office at St Jean de Losne. In summer, this must be a gorgeous place to mess around in boats, but not when I went. It was warm in the office, as I explained what I was looking for to the extremely tasty guy. I felt the need to have to talk to him rather a lot and in great detail, before grabbing the keys and going to inspect bateaux down on the windy pontoons.

As the chap had said, the ones I looked at had not been fitted out using 'noble materials'. Indeed not - a flame thrower would have been handy before a total refit. Shame, really, because the boats themselves were very pretty. Alas, too expensive, though! The one I'd particularly liked had been withdrawn from sale, was in good condition and very reasonably priced.

But the main thing that stopped me buying a boat, either that day, or till this, wasn't that I couldn't do it - heaven knows I've been on and around the wretched things for well over 50 years. Nope, it was the thought of boating all my myself. Yes, family and friends could, and probably would, visit. It was a beautiful part of the world, and the canal and river systems go all over Europe. But I couldn't quite see a point to wandering aimlessly alone ...

Oh well, I had had three boats in the past, so it wasn't as if I'd never tried it out, I could always hire a boat, crew for other people, and of course there was all that money I'd save - and the £ was getting worse against the Euro - and there would always be more dreams to try on for size ...

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