Don’t Speak Unless You Have To

Rather than Blip about Paddy again I thought I’d relate a story to reinforce my wife’s belief that I cannot say no.
Some years ago, a lot in fact, around 1984, I attended a meeting, for operational reasons the patrol vessel on task needed to exchange one of its RIB’s, Rigid Inflatable Boats. The exchange of craft was always conducted by road and was manpower intensive.
The boat had to be trailered down by one Land Rover with two others, four marines in each, riding shotgun. On arrival at the designated launch point the area would be secured by the UDR and the exchange would go ahead.
On the week in question the threat level was higher than normal and no ‘green’ road moves were permitted but the boat had to go.
I rashly stated to a room full that “I’ll drive it down by sea”, a distance of some 75 miles and never done before.
Two boats, four blokes and off we went, myself and a young soldier in one and Sgt Glen Ashley RM with another soldier in a second boat as escort.
All the way down the coast of Ulster, a benign Irish Sea, glorious sunshine and I was getting paid for it.
The journey back in the unreliable boat was as uneventful.
150 mile round trip, never attempted again afterwards, still quite chuffed, and still cannot say No.