Goodbye cruel sea

[Sammo]

Goodbye cruel sea, your time is up
You’ve brought me to my knees
I’ve had enough of gale force winds
an wobbly angry seas
I’m off to find contentment
With family and friends
On England’s Royal River
At Wallingford - on -Thames

No more for me the long pontoons
on which you need a bike
And getting to the shower block
Is near a two day hike
or waiting just to lock out,
when going for a ride,
or hoping for good weather,
or waiting for the tide.

See soon I can go anytime
And no one needs to know
I get up when I want to
then drop my ropes and go.
Cruising in the midday sun
So glad to be alive.
with no chance of a knockdown
and no chance of a jibe.

With no more endless passage plans
And cruising off the beach
And seeing all the fun ashore
That’s always out of reach
And being tired and wet and cold
and frightened in the night,
where everything’s an effort,
and everything’s a fight,

…

Goodbye cruel sea your time is up
It`s time for us to part
Our love affair is over
and you have broke my heart.
If you were to ask me why
The list just never ends
and so I go, with no regrets,
to Wallingford - on - Thames


……..

 

[byron]

Hey! We are going to have to re-name you Keats, Shelley or Wordsworth (You can't be Byron /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif )
I reckon we should take a vote and see if the other Forumites want to elect you Poet Laureate for the Thames.

 

[Sammo]

Cheers Byron, though enough of me I would be much more interested in a poem or even a Thames boaty story of how and why someone arrived on the river…

Every boat owner has a story to tell so lets hear erm.

……..

 

[oldgit]

I would to say that have always enjoyed our trips up the Thames and will certainly be back next year.The recent minor altercation at Kew involving a large tree,the river bank,my pulpit and eventually my insurance company did not put us off one bit. /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

 

[RutlandMike]

I'm new here but have thoroughly enjoyed reading several of your poems. You should seriously think about publishing them (if you haven't already) or maybe reproducing them for framing! They are masterful! I particularly enjoyed your missive on the subject of NB'S!!

 

[Sammo]

Thanks Mike glad you enjoyed the poems, I haven’t put them anywhere other than on here and so they only really last as long as they are on the forum,

Fred
This year come a bit further up and pay us a visit at "wind in the willow" country,
This summer is going to be a scorcher.


……

 

[Ramage]

I am no poet, so I hope these lines suffice,
three Christmases ago ,
I decided that for my wife so nice,
only a boat would do.

I searched e-bay for days upon end
and finally there she was, though not new,
a narrow beam'd cruiser called Huntress II
complete with outboard, a good boat and true.

I drove off to Windsor
with bated breath to see her
a quick "sea trial" though I'm no sailor
then back to the computer and I'm the buyer.

New Years Day was bright and crisp
the family all aboard were eager
to set off upon our maiden trip
though our experience was meagre.

Down the reach we did go
through Bell Weir Lock
and all went well until Oh No!
the engine died in front of Penton Hook.

We hit the layby with a clang
while I struggled with the motor
the day that had started with such a bang
now ended with a whimper.

The engine just would not go
so the Lock-Keeper, a helpful chappy
called my mate Ian to give us a tow
which made my wife more happy.

All went well until near the moorings
for the river had risen since that morning
Smack! into the bridge went Ian's hard top
alas he failed to hear my warning!

 

[Sammo]

Welcome to the forum Paul, a great first post, a poem and a boaty story all rolled into one... thanks /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

Hope you`ll stick around and join in the tittle tattle.


…

 

[Ramage]

/forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

Thanks for the welcome!

To expand more on the story, the wheelhouse on Ian's Birchwood 25 collapsed as all the glass smashed. My daughter then burst into floods of tears.

Ian fixed up his wheelhouse over the next few weeks, and I shelled out £2000 for a new Yamaha 9.9 High Torque outboard for Huntress II. (She who must be obeyed insisted on a new engine if we were going to continue boating!).

I finally sold Huntress II in May 2006 and we now own "Carli", a diesel powered Birchwood 25. She is out of the water for the winter at the moment. Roll on April!

 

[Grehan]

. . . hello South Oxfordshire

Hope you enjoy Wallingford, where our business was located (Market Place and Thames Park) for ten years, and (marginally less impressively) where William the Conq. crossed the Thames after Hastings on his way to London. If you go to see the Bayeux Tapestry you'll see a big map with Normandy, Hastings, London - and Wallingford. Lots more history (including minimal remains of what was a very large castle) beyond that, too.
It's a nice place.

 

[byron]

Re: . . . hello South Oxfordshire

I love your boat Grehan, exactly what I would want if I were taking up rag & stick. The idea of a retracting keel is great, how does it come up? Motor or wind by hand?

 

[Steve Clayton]

Re: . . . hello South Oxfordshire

[ QUOTE ]
I love......

[/ QUOTE ]
.....seeing the red kytes and how well they have adapted and flourished in this area.

 

[Grehan]

Re: . . . hello South Oxfordshire

The keel is hydraulic, operated by an electric motor and a simple up-down switch. Of course, there's a big pump-the-hydraulic-pump handle if that were to go wrong. Which it never has. Brilliant and reliable (touch wood, fingers crossed . . . ).
We need about a bit less than 2m keel down, a bit less than 800mm keel up. The prop's well protected by a skeg-type extension, too.
She's just about perfect for the canals and waterways.

For a raggie.

Closest place we found to see those fantastic red kites, close to Wallingford, was the King William pub on the ridge above at Ipsden. Bl**dy good beer (and food) too.

regards

 

[Steve Clayton]

Re: . . . hello South Oxfordshire

[ QUOTE ]
Closest place we found to see those fantastic red kites, close to Wallingford, was the King William pub on the ridge above at Ipsden. Bl**dy good beer (and food) too.

[/ QUOTE ]
Not been in the King Bill for years now. Knew the landlord (Brian ??) who kept a few Shire Horses (one was called Thor) and displayed them at Knowle Hill and Woodcote steam rally. Apart from being on the river nothing better than supping a pint (or several) from the barrel, sat outside and overlooking the downs.

(Sh*t. I'm going all nostalgic now!)

 

[byron]

Re: . . . hello South Oxfordshire

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
I love......

[/ QUOTE ]
.....seeing the red kytes and how well they have adapted and flourished in this area.

[/ QUOTE ]
I had them nest with us last year... 3 chicks.

 

[TrueBlue]

Re: . . . hello South Oxfordshire

They've spread as far as Henleya, lovely to watch as one waits for Hambledon lock