Stranded

Biking to work today wet and windy, something of a struggle but also glorious especially when it's over. It took be back to last week on the Norfolk Broads. The weather was mostly great apart from one evening when it got rather windy. We were anchored on a Broad fairly sheltered but in the night the wind blew us off the anchor and into a reed bed. It was still rather windy when we woke up and we could not free ourselves from the reed bed despite some athletic pushing on a pole by me and full on creative use of the engine by Sheila.

Well the people we hired the boat from would send someone out to rescue us but meanwhile we shouted out 'Help!' to the few passing boats. An Italian family in a small cruiser were first to respond but they nearly got stranded themselves. Then the small local ferry turned up and the captain knew his stuff and got us off in no time. There is a great sense of camaraderie among people on boats especially when sails are involved. The water does seem to equal us and we all need each other.

I managed to walk into things a bit more than usual on this smaller than usual boat and what with the sheer physical effort of hauling on sails in winds I was quite physical tired and bruised by the end of the week but it was good. There is something simplifying about living in such cramped conditions and cooking very simple meals and waking up hearing nature.

But times are changing and my daughter had her 11th birthday and she got rather bored and missed her mates and was keen to capsize our dingy which would have been great fun for her. So future holidays will have a changed pattern.

The Norfolk Broads are beautiful. Apparently they were created by people digging up peat thousands of years ago. You wouldn't know they just seem so natural now. It is stunning to travel by water rather than road or pathway you catch things in a different light in more ways than one. The stars were stunning on many nights so little artificial light and I had a good glimpse of Jupiter and Mars.

It's messing about on boats really you are not going anywhere fast. And there is a 58miles cycle route around the broads now that's something for a future visit to Norfolk.

Best,

Bill on bike.