I love to take to the water in any way I can. Over it, in it, under it, or through it. I am there. I’ve been feeling frustrated since losing my beloved Scally boat a year ago, I miss idling away a Sunday with a trip along the Medway. I have also been thinking how best to improve upper body strength to give me more power on the coffee grinder or winches – my two favourite spots on a racing boat. So I found a great, affordable solution – an inflatable kayak!
electric boats, loss of power, and a choppy river… Last weekend I went for a day cruise on the River Thames, on a small electric boat hired from Harts Cruisers in Kingston-Upon-Thames.
First thoughts on an electric boat…
On arrival we were given a free upgrade from our small diesel cruiser which we’d booked, to an electric day cruiser. An electric boat, doesn’t feel right to me… but it was a free upgrade, so we gave it a go.
This summer my daughter had a party in Tonbridge for 2 hours, which left me with my 2 four year olds for a couple of hours, and nowhere to go! So we walked to the castle for a little look, and that’s where we spotted a little line of rowing boats neatly moored up next to the Castle Bridge on the River Medway. Obviously, we couldn’t walk away once we’d spotted them!
The rowing boats (and one motor cruiser) belong to Tonbridge River Trips. I chatted briefly to the nice gentleman and he fitted the kids up with appropriate life jackets and off we went. He asked me ‘Have you ever rowed before?’… to which I replied ‘Not really’ with a wink, haha. He would find out later, when I tagged his small business on twitter that I have an obsession with water, and given the chance I would probably row across the Atlantic!