Like a Duck to Water

I’ll confess that for me Pater Duck’s annual return to the river, after a winter ‘laid up’ in the yard and after a more or less thorough period of ‘fitting-out’ by me, is always a thrill. It’s like hearing the first cuckoo, seeing the first swallow - one of those seasonal delights that never fails to bring a moment of delight and a feeling that all’s well with the world - even when it isn’t. This year it was different. In March 2020 the imminence of lock down precipitated a panicky plunge back into the water just in case it proved prolonged and and she was left on the concrete when the summer sun came beating down. Peter Duck is larch - larch is a relatively volatile wood which dries out too far too fast. Later in summer 2020 when restrictions eased, she came out, had a little bit of TLC, retrieved her masts and gave me those later months of socially distanced delight.

Then, in 2021, she didn’t go in at all. Aged 75 she needed structural attention and a blessed legacy from my mother enabled this to happen. She spent almost a year, not in the sun but in the purposeful, orderly space of the Woodbridge Boatyard shed. I pined.

Finally 30.3.2022 the moment came for her return to her proper habitat. As she settled back into her element I breathed a deep sigh of gladness. - Aaaah!