The Retirement Newsletter: Awareness and Boats

Issue Number: -25 — Am I becoming more aware?

Photo by Author — Going into a tunnel on my boating course — a metaphor for approaching retirement? What lies beyond?

Welcome

Welcome to issue -25.

This week, Awareness and Boats, a little reflective bit and more on my trip to Myanmar (Burma).

Awareness

As I age, I seem to become more aware of the world around me. And I have really noticed this in the last few years.

Is this something we all do as we age, or is it just me?

I have always considered myself an ‘aware’ person because, as a scientist, I have an inbuilt curiosity about life and things around me. But recently, I seem more aware.

I now find that I notice noises more, the changing of the seasons, the change in the daylight hours, et cetera. I have become more aware of the passage of time.

I used to be able to sleep through anything, but now the slightest noise wakes me up. And whereas in the past, I could sleep in a room with the thinnest of curtains, I now need black-out blinds to block out the early sunrise. Winters are much easier when the sun gets up at a reasonable hour.

I used to be able to ‘sleep for England’ (according to my dad), and now if I stay in bed much beyond 7 am, I get a headache. And bedtime has shifted from midnight to 10 pm.

When I go out walking in the local countryside, I often hear or see something first (and, on some occasions, the last). I will be the one to comment on the distant sound of road traffic or how noisy the birds seem. I will spot the changes in nature.

It is odd.

Is anyone else experiencing this? If you are or are not, please leave a comment below.

The Boating Course

Last week, I told you that I was going to take a boating course on how to manage a narrowboat. Well, I have now completed that course, and it was great fun.

The course lasted two days and was excellent. But first, here is some context on why I took the course.

As I said last week in Issue -26 — Six months to go — I do have this whacky plan for when I retire of either buying a ‘live aboard’ narrowboat or taking the occasional holiday on a boat.

This plan (madness) is deeply rooted in my youth.

As a kid, I spent much time playing on, in or fishing the local river. I spent two or three summers working for a company that hired out rowing boats on the river.

I did some boating courses and always thought I would take boating holidays when I was ‘all grown up’. It never happened.

Now that I am approaching retirement, it could be time to take the boating holidays or move onto a boat for a few years.

So, why the course?

Well, it has been well over 40 years since I spent any time on a boat, and I had plenty of questions, such as:

• would I still enjoy boating?

• would I still be physically capable of handling a boat (I am not that old and indeed not infirm, but boating can be quite physical. Boats and lock gates are heavy and take some effort to move).

• how much of my old ‘skill set’ would I remember?

• had the passage of time painted a ‘rosy picture’ of being on a boat?

The two-day course was accredited by RYA (Royal Yachting Association) and on a narrowboat on the Grand Union Canal. On the course, we looked at the following:

• preparing the boat for cruising

• how to handle the boat (driving and mooring up)

• how to navigate the waterways (rules of the road)

• how to operate swing bridges (that was a new and challenging experience)

• how to operate manual locks (previously, I had only used electric locks)

• how to get through a tunnel (something I had not done before and not as easy as it sounds)

And I had a blast. I loved every minute of it.

I was delighted to discover that I could still handle a boat; I had remembered the rules of the road and knew my knots and how to handle a rope.

I was shocked to find I had a lot of trouble mooring. My excuse for my mooring problems (and I am sticking to it) is that you use the current on a river to help slow the boat; on a canal, there is no current. In truth, I have never found mooring easy.

The two big surprises on the course were tunnels and how roughly you could handle a narrowboat.

On day two of the course, we went through an 800 m tunnel that was dead straight. You would therefore think you could point the boat down the tunnel and let it get on with it. Well, boats don’t tend to run straight (first problem), and the water pressure from the boat interacts with the lumps and bumps in the wall and the canal bed to push the boat around. It was hard work. I was surprised by how much I had to move the tiller and adjust the steering.

The second surprise was how roughly we treated the boat.

Want to turn around? Wedge the bow (front) of the boat against the bank at a winding hole and swing it around using the engine. Need to get away from a stone lock landing? Tie the stern (back) down and use the engine to lever the boat out into the canal.

In my youth, touching the bank with the boat was a big no-no on boat handling courses.

Anyway, bottom line — I remembered much of what I had been previously taught, learnt a ton of new stuff, and had a blast. And I can’t wait to get back out on a boat.

Travel — Nostalgia Corner

This week, more reminiscing about my trip to Mandalay in Myanmar (Burma):

• Myanmar (Burma) — Yadanabon Zoo, Mandalay, Myanmar (Burma) — the day I mistakenly went to the zoo. This was a big shock. I misunderstood the sign and thought it was a botanical garden. It wasn’t.

• Myanmar (Burma) — Buddha’s Collar-Bone Peshawar Relic Worshiping Place — Mandalay Hill, Mandalay — visiting the Buddha’s Collar-Bone shrine.

• Myanmar (Burma) — Mandalay Hill, Mandalay, Myanmar (Burma) — this was a long and hot walk up a hill in my socks. But the climb was worth the effort, but I don’t think my feet will ever forgive me. So many steps!

• Myanmar (Burma) — Sandamuni Pagoda, Mandalay, Myanmar (Burma) — a visit to a stunning pagoda — check out the photos.

Next week, a massive book, dirty electricity and moving on to Yangon (Rangoon).

Reflections

On the boating course, when not being taught or driving the boat, I found time to sit on the boat and watch the world go by. It was bliss. The countryside was stunning. It was like being in a different world. Being on a boat moving at about 3 mph (ca. 5 km/h) through some stunningly beautiful countryside with hardly anyone else around was magical. Time slowed, and I felt myself relax. I have to do more of this boating lark.

Next week

Next week in issue -25 — another pension and retirement wobble.

Last week in Issue -26 — Six months to go — I wrote about how I had six months to go until I retired and how that was only six more pay cheques (paychecks). Thinking about those pay cheques caused a significant wobble.

Thanks

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Until next time,

Nick

PS, If you want to contribute something to the newsletter — a story, advice, anything — please get in touch.