WHAT WE'VE DONE


I started 'boating' over 40 years ago, and have dabbled in narrow boats, dinghy sailing, sail-boarding and off-shore sailing. After finishing 'work' (which consisted of service in the Army of our own dear Queen and that of the Sultan of Oman, and then lecturing in 'Management' both in the UK and Oman) and having, along the way, divorced my dear lady wife, I took early retirement and went boating.

Rosy was masquerading under the name 'Imagine'. Her owners had bought her new, but were moving to Scotland. She was built by Keel Kraft (I think) and came as a 'trad' 53 ft boat with a 2 cylinder Kelvin engine and was some 15 years old when I bought her.

I had the well deck plated over, so that now she looks a bit 'tuggy'.

I sailed her to Calcutt Boats, from where she (and I) were shipped to Holland.

For the next few years we cruised in Euroland, covering Holland, Belgium, France, Germany and Poland. En route, and very sadly, she lost her Kelvin engine, and gained a 3 cylinder Perkins engine. In Poland we went up (and down) the famous inclined planes at Elblag, in the company of nb Temujin - we believe that we were the first narrow boats to do this. Following that adventure, we cruised back to France, and down the Rhone to check out the Canal du Midi - and 'Yes' it IS all its cracked to be. From there, it was back onto the truck to be shipped back to the English canal system, which we (I acquired Fanny-the-Woof whilst in Europe) are currently exploring.

If all goes to plan, we will return to Euroland early in 2014

Full details of our past, pre-blog adventures in Euroland and the UK can be found at www.billybubbles.demon.co.uk. We are planning to return to European waters in early 2014.

What I have yet to do is to find out how to make this Blog more visually interesting, by getting it to accept a more exciting font, and to learn how to inset the occasional photo.

Toodle pip!!

Bill