Health Warning; re Waders:
Many moons ago I was moored on the River Dee & used to walk to & from my then boat before the tide came in & after it left. It was quiet, relaxing & saved the hassle of dragging a dinghy around. Anyway, I got myself a pair of fetching green thigh length waders & used to hang them over the stern to wash while I sailed. An excellent arrangement.
One afternoon, after a lovely sail with SWMBO we decided to go ashore before the tide had fully left in order to get home in time to do tea for the kids who were with grandparents. "I will carry you ashore" I said gallantly as I was much fitter then & SWMBO was a mere 7 stone. I put on my waders & went over the side & stood, back to the gunwhale for her ladyship to sit on my shoulders, holding our shore going stuff.
Now, I had 2 choices, follow the channel for 200 yds to the clubhouse where I could wade along the slipway to safety, or stride out a mere 20 yds across a bit of mud direct to the beach. I had crossed this mud patch many times before in my waders, so it was a no-brainer & off I strode.
What I had not considered was that adding Linda's mere 7st to my own 12, gave us a combined weight of 19st, still supported by my size 8 waders. I went much deeper into the mud than expected, but the waders were long enough to keep me dry. So no problem there.
However, it became much harder to release my feet from that depth of mud & slowly, as I tried to extricate the trailing leg, the leading leg went deeper & the extra weight on my shoulders slowly teetered me further forward. but the trailing leg would still not release.
And then it did with a slurping, glooping, squelch. I struggled manfully to regain my balance, but no, SWMBO & I together measured our full length in a few inches of cold sea water and several feet of sticky black, foul smelling mud.
We really struggled to get up - we were laughing so much, tears were streaming down our faces leaving white lines in the mud & we had lost control of our limbs just by looking at each other. We walked down to the club & just hosed each other down to get the worst of it off & then got in the car to drive home, where we immediately had a shower & changed.
It took a while to get the car cean again too. So, hear my tale & remember, waders are not always the ideal solution . . . they have their limitations!
Great story Searush. But I'd have thought with that magnificently biblical white beard the waters would have parted for you.
The waders im after btw are the ones made of the very thin 'kagool' type material and are just over the waist high with shoulder straps
