66. Dumb boat

SAINT-JEAN-DE-LUZ - FRANCE (NEAR SPAIN)

Roof bars painted

Returning for centre board

Yesterday, when I voiced that today the children might like to take the boat out on the lake my suggestion went down to howls of derision regarded our dumb boring boat.  Fair enough, not going to argue that as there are plenty of other options and I'm not going to force the boat upon them (brats, what would they know anyway, when I was their age I would have given my right bollock for a boat like that, not that I knew I had a right bollock, or any bollocks for that matter as they wouldn't appear for a another few years but I digress and that's not the point, little ingrates)  

Surplus crew, not signed for maiden voyage

Brian and I did a lot of this

Post breakfast this morning, while I was painting the roof bars, Audrey and Mary appeared with the now Captain Audrey demanding to know why her boat wasn't ready and didn't I know that they had been making a message in a bottle to throw into the lake from the boat, and I said yesterday that they could go out in the boat and why was I always making things difficult?  Brian also appeared at the double and I guess that he had also had a similar motivating talk from his ten year old, Able Seaman Mary (who hadn't been in a boat before).  Within a short time the unreliable labour (Brian and me) were hauling the boat to the lake with the girls carrying the oars excitedly planning the days expedition with Roman the Cabin Boy tagging along.  

Mast installed for flag

Fabulous lake and day for it

The girls put to sea, marooning the cabin boy on shore as he was not required on an important expedition such as this but buoyed up with the promise that he could hold the painter on their return (brother Douglas will relate to this kind of contract). We were not surprised when the expedition returned in about half the time we took to get them on the water however it turned out that Brian and I had carelessly cast them adrift without a thought for their wellbeing (food) and they were now going to have to get provisions themselves! This rectified, they cast off again, deigned to let the Cabin Boy on board (on promise of strict obedience) and set of of with the basics covered (Pemmican (ham), grog (lemonade), baguettes, a round of brie, apples and no doubt other smuggled items). Basically they spent the rest of the day, on the water, mucking around in the boat.  Only when it got dark did they return and after the shore slaves had dragged the boat the length of the beach (they had beached at the far end (of course)), across the lawn and onto the hard and were starting to put the cover on did they announce that the never said they were finished it was just that they had been cold but they now had jackets and we were to put the boat to sea immediately!

A sight never seen in NZ today,
taken from lake bank

We watched the mast disappear out into the lake, the aluminum mast being the only bit we could see reflecting in the dark, discussed at what point a postmortem might consider our parenting negligent, remembered that they were better drowned than duffers if not duffers won't drown and waited their return.

A great day.