Traumatic dunking for little Debbie we try to sail the Blue Peter on a brighter , but cool and showery day but a warm recovery and trip to the cinema for her to see 101 Dalmatians, which she loves as Thatcher is Britain’s enemy abroad with the anti-union and anti-Tory youth comments but the Geneva arms talks get under-way
A slightly restless night and after a better sleep in the early hours, up at 7.00am to make the drinks and start the heating. We had decided to stay at St Ives again last night and set off this morning and so, after breakfast, I prepared the dinghy when the boat had been refilled with drinking water and the other chores done. I invited Debbie to sail with me and we donned our life jackets and waterproofs and set off. A good time sailing as we tacked to and fro upwind and then, with Debbie wanting to go home, I turned the dinghy downwind for home. Unfortunately, as I brought the boat across wind, a gust took it right over, pitching us both into the water. Poor Debbie was wet and frightened as we bobbed about in the water, but we were quite safe with our buoyancy aids. Alas the water was very cold and Debbie howled. I turned the upturned dinghy into the wind and at the third attempt pulled down successfully on the dagger board and managed to reach the gunwhale and pull it upright. The main sheet was running loose and the sail flapped in the wind. I helped Debbie aboard, but she was too frightened to let me come aboard from the stern, worrying that it would capsize again. I swam with the wind and pulled the dinghy to the river bank and scrambled back, but by this time the oars and bailer had floated out of reach. I would have spent time trying to retrieve them, but Debbie’s teeth were chattering and she was begging to go back and so I left them behind, using a reefed sail and the rudder as sculling propulsion. Diana was away from the boat shopping, but Daniel helped us hang our clothes out to dry, as we stripped off, put the heating on and warmed up.
Daniel was sent out to bail out the dinghy, but immediately capsized it again so that his clothes were also wet; and all of us with only a single change with us. Diana was sent for jeans and a jumper from the shops and, eventually, I bailed out the dinghy, took apart the rigging and stowed all safely on the davits. Off then to town to get £100 cash from Barclays to replenish our purses and then to look round the shops before meeting at Took’s the bakers for a lunch of sausage rolls and chips. I had checked with the local jewellers and none stocked new silverware. Back to The Lady and to set off upstream, looking fruitlessly for our oars en route. Hemingford Lock and then Houghton, both of which were luckily set for us and then we dropped off at Hartford Marina to look at the chandlery. A waste of time as it was all topsy turvey and nothing worthwhile having there except an ice cream apiece, which we enjoyed before setting off. On to Huntingdon and we moor at the adventure playground and walk briskly to the town centre for an hours shopping. The antique shops were closed for some reason, but I marked out 2 or 3 for tomorrow’s attention. I then spotted the Cromwell cinema open for a 5.00pm screening of 101 Dalmatians and quickly found Diana and Debbie and agreed to take Debbie to see it, leaving Diana and Daniel to the Wimpy bar and then the boat. Debbie loved the three hour performance (it was also accompanied by Peter the Wolf and some cartoons) and did not get bored or distracted. I treated her to an ice cream tub in the interval and chips and popcorn after the end. We walked slowly back to The Lady after a super evening and Debbie had a play on the adventure playground before getting back to tell Di all about it. She to bed with today’s trauma behind her and I hope that she sleeps soundly. The weather has been bright, with sunny intervals and a few showers, but a cool breeze and the occasional dip necessitated the heating now and again. The No1 main ships battery is run down and we are carefully managing on the reserve at the moment, which is always a worry. The pressure water system fault dealt with the other day. News tonight of the football authorities moves over Millwall – a fine of £7,500 – and Luton; who will have to fence in their pitch. In the Far East tour, Mrs Thatcher is accused at home of being Britain’s enemy abroad because of her anti-union comments. Meanwhile she visits three countries in a day and ends up at Brunei. The Conservative Federation of Youth hits back at the recent central office censures with a press conference and the teacher’s unions are discussing their next moves in the absence of any government conciliation. The first public negotiations in the Geneva arms talks are aired via the media, with a Soviet offer of medium range deployment freeze met with a certain rejection by the Americans. The weather forecast for tomorrow is for more of the same and that ends a rather eventful day.