Water Performance

I was out on the lake yesterday in a canoe.

I was trying to recall my last such escapade .

 This was mainly to justify my self appointed role as watersports expert amongst our holiday group of which, at age 50, I was the youngest. I do have some experience in that I helped to build and then use a number of fibre glass canoes when I was a Scout. Being the smallest member of the Troop I was volunteered to be shoved headlong into the newly joined top and bottom moulded sections to blather the seam with sticky and pungent adhesive. It was a very, by current Health and Safety standards, injurious to health operation with just a thin gauze face mask to protect my lungs.

 I deny to this day that it was my job to sand down the underside of the cockpits of the four canoes .In the performance of an escape from an intentionally capsized craft this lack of finishing detail resulted in many lacerated legs.

 I attended an Outward Bound Adventure Course shortly after which included more watersports in which I put to use my confidence and new found aptitude for all things involving paddling with an oar.

It must have been in my genes because even before that I was wholly engrossed , as was the entire family as my Father assembled from a kit a single  kayak.

 This was a long and drawn out project and as  my Mother said it was nice for a man to have a project but not ideally one carried out at the far end of the best living room.

The resultant boat was sleek and fast out on the Scottish Loch in the first summer after its completion but took some handling.

 First dibs to use it were initially fierce amongst us children and we had to learn to wait our turn patiently and graciously which I did, I admit, find difficult.

In order to address the demand the family acquired a huge orange coloured Canadian open cockpit canoe. This could take the other members of the family when the single seater was in use.

Size brought with it the inevitable weight. In addition to the sheer bulkiness was the wooden slatted decking with the seating which made it impossible for the boat to be moved, let alone lifted up and secured on the car roof rack and manhandled off and into the water without an army of helpers. The Canadian was only actually used a few times before coming a permanent fixture in the back garden as an improvised flowerbed.

The hand made wooden wonder was stowed up in the timbers of the garage and has remained there for the last 30 plus years.

So that constituted my CV as far as canoes were concerned. Not that impressive in terms of water-hours or distance travelled but enough for me to assume the role of Master and Commander for one hour on Derwentwater. Nice.