I know I had a, um… sheltered life growing up. Which is to say I wasn’t often allowed outside the house, and was thus pretty sheltered, especially living in that cupboard. But this weekend, I finally did something I’d wanted to do since I was a child: I went on a boat.
Yep. I’d never been on a boat. Ever. Mother and Father did most of their business in the inner suburbs, so they certainly never felt the need to bring me along even if they did go on a boating holiday. Anyway, a friend at work said that he’s pretty tight with some boat mechanics open in Melbourne who have a good reputation, and sometimes they get him discounts on boating hire for the day. The weather was quite good over the weekend, so I took a big chance and went on a tour, along with several other real tourists who don’t live in Melbourne like I do.
It was very nice. We actually got a talk beforehand from a real-life boat mechanic and servicing person, who said that Melbourne’s boating industry was one of the strongest in the world due to a great revival. Then he pointed out where we could find the sick bags, which was very helpful because I’d heard all sorts of things about seasickness. Although their recommendations on where to get anchor winch services near Melbourne were lost on me, I can recommend. It was a very technical lecture, and I was far too preoccupied with possible shark attack nerves.
Fortunately, I seemed to have natural sea legs, because the whole thing turned out to be quite enjoyable indeed. The motion of the ocean is a strange thing, which makes sense when all below you is unstable, flowing water. The wind in my face was wonderful. And I suppose there’s a nice sense of isolation, out there on a boat away from the city life, even though the couple on holiday next to me spent the whole time leaning over me, taking pictures and talking very loudly. They seemed very happy, though.
-Baz