longjohnsilver
Well-known member
I became interested in boats and boating through my passion for diving, initially I went out on charter boats but pretty soon got fed up of having no real say as to when and where we went and dived. It was then that I decided that the only way to have some control was to have my own boat.
It was the best decision I ever made (and the most expensive!), now have a group of like minded friends who are happy doing the same sort of diving as me and can get out pretty much anytime. Last weekend caught 3 lobsters in a 30 minute dive, each of them almost 4lbs plus a few scallops. Previous weekend we had a lobster and scallop lunch on board, what can be better than eating what you've just caught only minutes after it's been pulled up from the sea bed.
The point of this post is that I recently had a fairly serious diving incident, the first in 20 years of diving, which now curtails my enjoyment of my hobby (hopefully only on a temporary basis) and it really got me thinking what I would do if I was unable to dive again, would it be good enough just to go out and come back again without the sense of achievement and enjoyment I get from diving. Sitting on the boat watching others do what I desperately want to do myself is frustrating and I think I would soon become bored with motoring off to the same ports doing the same old things time and again.
Once the weather improves, if it ever does, then we plan to go across the channel and try some new places around St Malo, now that should be interesting, and hopefully hot! But I still ask myself would I bother to keep a boat in this country if I didn't have a real reason to use it. I look at 90% of the motorboats down my way that leave port maybe once or twice a year, have a quick spin out, either get bored or frightened and then quickly retreat to the shoreside facilities never to be seen again. What a waste. I suppose for many people a boat is a lifestyle statement, seems to be those that talk the loudest do the least. Those sort of people aren't interested in the sea. Fortunately most peeps on this forum are in the 10% who do use their boats.
So back to the point, what do you get from going out in your boat. Is it just the pleasure of being away from the everyday pressures of work etc or is there more to it, the sense of adventure and achievement when arriving at new places.
On a lighthearted note, I'm a financial adviser and after my diving incident (I got a bend) my diving buddy now takes great pleasure in introducing me to all his friends as "meet John, he's my bent financial adviser!" <G>
It was the best decision I ever made (and the most expensive!), now have a group of like minded friends who are happy doing the same sort of diving as me and can get out pretty much anytime. Last weekend caught 3 lobsters in a 30 minute dive, each of them almost 4lbs plus a few scallops. Previous weekend we had a lobster and scallop lunch on board, what can be better than eating what you've just caught only minutes after it's been pulled up from the sea bed.
The point of this post is that I recently had a fairly serious diving incident, the first in 20 years of diving, which now curtails my enjoyment of my hobby (hopefully only on a temporary basis) and it really got me thinking what I would do if I was unable to dive again, would it be good enough just to go out and come back again without the sense of achievement and enjoyment I get from diving. Sitting on the boat watching others do what I desperately want to do myself is frustrating and I think I would soon become bored with motoring off to the same ports doing the same old things time and again.
Once the weather improves, if it ever does, then we plan to go across the channel and try some new places around St Malo, now that should be interesting, and hopefully hot! But I still ask myself would I bother to keep a boat in this country if I didn't have a real reason to use it. I look at 90% of the motorboats down my way that leave port maybe once or twice a year, have a quick spin out, either get bored or frightened and then quickly retreat to the shoreside facilities never to be seen again. What a waste. I suppose for many people a boat is a lifestyle statement, seems to be those that talk the loudest do the least. Those sort of people aren't interested in the sea. Fortunately most peeps on this forum are in the 10% who do use their boats.
So back to the point, what do you get from going out in your boat. Is it just the pleasure of being away from the everyday pressures of work etc or is there more to it, the sense of adventure and achievement when arriving at new places.
On a lighthearted note, I'm a financial adviser and after my diving incident (I got a bend) my diving buddy now takes great pleasure in introducing me to all his friends as "meet John, he's my bent financial adviser!" <G>
