Paddling en famille

No, not the kind of paddling that left me with shoes full of sand this morning ( I emptied them out of the bedroom window), but going for a sail on Paddle Steamer Waverley, the oldest sea-going paddle steamer in the world. This has become a family tradition over the past few years - the ship sails from Glasgow, so both our sons, with families, drive over from Edinburgh early to steam down the Clyde and pick us up at lunchtime. Then we all sail down the coast, through the Kyles of Bute (I missed seeing the seals on the rocks as I was looking to starboard) where the loudspeaker always plays The Arrival of the Queen of Sheba in memory of a long-ago encounter with Queen Mary II to Tighnabruaich. There just about everyone on board goes ashore and marches with great determination to the very small shop that sells ice-cream ...

Today lived up to all expectations. It was warm on the rear deck - apparently windy and cold up top, where we usually congregate - and apart from a few random drops it was dry. There was some sun. There were no fights over keeping seats, and there were some charming people on board (apart from us) - I spoke to a German-Swiss woman who was perched on the end of the opposite bench because she was clearly fascinated by the mixture of French and English conversation emanating from my family.

One of the best moments was seeing a French friend from church, Jean-Claude, having the most conversation he's had with anyone since he came to Dunoon four or so years ago. He was delighted by my French daughter-in-law, sharing expat experiences, and by my younger son whose French is terrifyingly  fluent, and on the way up the road after disembarking was still enthusing about his day. 

And the grandchildren? They were such fun, so entertaining - and so grown up compared with the small children we used to take on sails. In the collage, the four of them walk ahead of me on the road to Tighnabruaich pier to go back on board; the other photos are of the engines - a must-visit on every sail for the hypnotic beauty of their motion and the smell of warm oil - a family group chatting as we head for home, and the dramatic sky to the south as we near Dunoon.

Utterly exhausting, utterly enjoyable. And they all got home safely ...