It was a crisp and clear morning when we left the house to go and meet Scotty who had propositioned us earlier in the week with tales of a boat he had acquired. With it being "Year of the Boat" and all, how could we refuse? Road rage was aplenty as I battled my way through the Bristol traffic stopping only to get some fuel for the mighty vessel and some Opal Fruits. We walk along the waterfront with a jerry can and full of maritime spirit and spot Captain Saunders (Scotty) drift past in the water below.
"Aye aye Captain Birdseye!! That's a fine looking ship you have there!"
The weight limit of this boat is 30 stone-collectively, we weigh 34 stone plus all the kit we are carrying. This could get interesting..... Captain Saunders and Master Bates (Userscott) sit in the back whilst First Seaman Bucket (me) has to sit in the doggy seat at the front to act as the windshield.
Banksy thang on the side of the Thekla
We sit back and take in the sites after stopping to "borrow" some lifejackets and an oar from our friends at the Scout barges. The sight-seeing boats zoom past us and rock the water unforgivably.
Hello sailor
OpalFruitHenge
Captain Saunders
Master Bates
"Hello swan!! You're the Queen's property! Neooowwwwwww 10 points!"
We stop at various places along the water to poke around the old entrances to cellars that would once have been some kind of cargo stores-see earlier reports on the Bristol underground. This one in particular held ancient drinks cans and old copies of Woman's Weekly from the 80s. Pedestrians on the bridge above us stare in disbelief so we wave politely and carry on with our misdemeanors.
Bobbing along peacefully, we near the place where the SS Great Britain is sitting soaking up a tenner for every tourist who is stupid enough to pay that much to look round an old ship. The Matthew sits in its shadow closer to the water's edge. We moor up and disembark to have a sandwich and climb the dock cranes. Master Bates goes solo on these as the fellow crew members stay grounded and keep watch for Mr. Intrepid.
We take it in turns to steer, I nearly crash it into a bridge....
"Left is right and right is left....arghhhhh I'm so confused!!!!"
The steering-I haz it
An excellent days boating in my opinion. Many thanks to Captain Saunders for organising the event, Master Bates for not going to crazy with the driving and last of all, HMS Fishfinger for being the best boat in the west!
Over and out,
First Mate Seaman Bucket.
"Aye aye Captain Birdseye!! That's a fine looking ship you have there!"
The weight limit of this boat is 30 stone-collectively, we weigh 34 stone plus all the kit we are carrying. This could get interesting..... Captain Saunders and Master Bates (Userscott) sit in the back whilst First Seaman Bucket (me) has to sit in the doggy seat at the front to act as the windshield.
Banksy thang on the side of the Thekla
We sit back and take in the sites after stopping to "borrow" some lifejackets and an oar from our friends at the Scout barges. The sight-seeing boats zoom past us and rock the water unforgivably.
Hello sailor
OpalFruitHenge
Captain Saunders
Master Bates
"Hello swan!! You're the Queen's property! Neooowwwwwww 10 points!"
We stop at various places along the water to poke around the old entrances to cellars that would once have been some kind of cargo stores-see earlier reports on the Bristol underground. This one in particular held ancient drinks cans and old copies of Woman's Weekly from the 80s. Pedestrians on the bridge above us stare in disbelief so we wave politely and carry on with our misdemeanors.
Bobbing along peacefully, we near the place where the SS Great Britain is sitting soaking up a tenner for every tourist who is stupid enough to pay that much to look round an old ship. The Matthew sits in its shadow closer to the water's edge. We moor up and disembark to have a sandwich and climb the dock cranes. Master Bates goes solo on these as the fellow crew members stay grounded and keep watch for Mr. Intrepid.
We take it in turns to steer, I nearly crash it into a bridge....
"Left is right and right is left....arghhhhh I'm so confused!!!!"
The steering-I haz it
An excellent days boating in my opinion. Many thanks to Captain Saunders for organising the event, Master Bates for not going to crazy with the driving and last of all, HMS Fishfinger for being the best boat in the west!
Over and out,
First Mate Seaman Bucket.
