Am I getting soft?

A cold south-westerly wind played round the anchorage as I put off to a friend’s newly purchased Colvic 27ft motor-cruiser. Her excellent wheelhouse provided all round vision and great protection from the elements. Her cosy cabin provided four berths and a neat galley.

She has a sea-worthy hull more than capable of crossing the North Sea, probing down Channel or weaving through the Thames Estuary. She sits upright on the mud. She could transit the French Canals…

As I walked up the causeway on the way home, I paused momentarily, then turned and walked away. There was not a mast insight and I’m too young to be buried alive.