Living the dream – ups and downs of life afloat on a boat are real but so worth while. So why boats?
My grandfather worked in the shipyards in Glasgow, a boatbuilder whose ancestry is traced back to Donegal. My maternal Grandparents were from Dublin and Liverpool, so the Celtic connection to the sea is strong. Indeed I am an Irish Citizen and a passionate boatman. I’ve owned a fishing boat, a yacht and three narrowboats in the last thirty years. My motto was whatever you own should float, be warm and have a bed in it.
I still own a narrowboat and it is my intention to eventually sell that and buy a yacht again to live on.
In fact I’d much rather live on a boat than in a house. When I was a child I’d sit by the canal in Worcester, watching the boats, dreaming about them going to Bristol to off load their goods to the great sailing ships. Beautiful imagination.
Boats can move in and around some of the most beautiful parts of our country, they are incredibly cosy and comfortable. It’s easy to fit solar, wind and harness engine power.
Boating keeps you really fit, if you choose to take exercise. So many journeys by Narrowboat take you through the locks and into remote corners. I love walking back for the car….that’s the best way to see Britain.
It’s peaceful, requires a positive energy and gives you the opportunity to be close and even at one with nature.
The flowers, the birds, the hedgerow, the characters, the pubs. Its just beautiful.
There is nothing better than just heading to the boat with hardly any luggage, because it’s all there.
I’ll be blogging regularly here about boating and boat life. Sharing stories and photographs.
