A Day On The Water

I groaned when the phone rang to tell me that we’re going to sea. I went to bed too late and needed much more sleep. I barely had my coffee before the car arrived and I fell asleep on the backseat long before we overtook the other two towing the boat.

We managed to slip the boat and clear the breakwater before the sun came out. It was foolish to go out and I said so. The wind came up again and the sea was choppy. The water looked like pea soup and I knew were wasting our time. After some deliberation we decided where to go. As it happened we changed our position three times but the wind just got stronger and the sea choppier.

From a financial viewpoint the day was a disaster. I was lucky enough to land the first one but it was two fishes in one; my first and my last. When we left we had fourteen fish between us and we need at least sixty to seventy decent sized fish just to break even on the expenses.

But the day was not wasted. When six middle-aged men who went to school together; three of them married to the sisters of three other, another who was married to my sister and another whose sister has been sweet on me since childhood, there never is a dull moment. We’re brothers, not friends.

Only one of us did not have something going with a sister of one of the others at some stage and the only reason for that is because he’s gay. And if anybody calls him a queer, any one of us will ‘donder’ him personally. Not that he’ll need our help. He’s very handy with his fists. He’s a great guy… and I can trust him with my sister.

The shit that comes out on that boat when the fish won’t play hooky with us is unreal. If the language and the topics were fit for female company, just one outing would have supplied material for five blogs. We can say anything to each other and everybody will laugh. And these guys are great pillow talkers; I think that the womenfolk know exactly what is being said about them.

But eventually the sandwiches and juice ran out and we decided to call it a day two hours before the time. On our way back we did our neighborly duty by supporting a pub that opened recently which gave us an opportunity to play matches to see who must clean the boat today.


You all have a great day out there!