Well, it had to happen I suppose!  Yesterday I took an impromptu dip in the canal, when a sudden gust of wind took the sail and the boom knocked me overboard!
We’d just hove to in order to set the sail after a period of running on the outboard motor, when my 60-year-old overweight body didn’t react quickly enough and I was knocked over the side.  I managed to grab the boom, in the hope that I would avoid a soaking, but, of course, that and the mainsail came down with me into the wet stuff.

Upside down in cold murky water with legs entangled in ropes is not a good place to be, but I managed to grab the side of the boat and get my head out of the water.  Our quick-thinking skipper grabbed my specs before they fell off and I hauled myself back on board, soaked to the skin and somewhat abashed.  Then the three of us burst out laughing, as did the crews of several other boats in the vicinity that had slowed down in case we needed help.

A few minutes later we moored up so that I could change out of my wet-through wet gear and inner clothing before we continued our sail through the lakes and canals back to base, a hot shower and a couple of beers.

© Paul Whitelock

www.a1-solutions-spain.com