Cabin fever for the Murrells leads to driveway Graduate sailing!
by Bob Murrell 6 Apr 15:47 BST
Withdrawal symptoms for Bob & Maggie Murrell © Bob Murrell
It's Sunday, the sun is out and the wind is blowing. It would great day for the first sail of the 2020 season, but the clubs are all closed, no-one's about and we're in lockdown, stuck at home.
A Graduate is such a sweet boat to sail and we haven't sailed Rincewind since November last year. We are having withdrawal symptoms, not to mention cabin fever!
Hang on, Rincewind is in the garage, the mast is in the back garden, all the chores for the day are done and it's 2.30pm. We should be racing!
Maggie's keen too - OK, get the mattress off the spare bed and down the stairs on to the drive and disguise it with the cover; pull Rincewind out of her boat-shaped space in the packed garage, the mast up, the sails on; Rincewind propped up safely and we're good to go.
With the neighbours and passers-by looking on with bemusement Maggie and I don our life-jackets (you can never be too careful), clamber in and pose, smile, wave, take some selfies and generally feel so much better.
All over with far too quickly and nowhere to go as we're home already. But just sitting in the boat lifts our spirits and makes us feel things are OK again for that moment.
We're really looking forward to being able to sail for real later in the Summer, see all our friends and blow the cobwebs away.