Better to keep quiet

My son was proudly telling his colleague and keen sailing friend from a wealthy family all about the big step that I, his dad, had taken getting into yachting. He explained that at 7m, I had just bought a little boat to start with, with basic navigation instruments, pretty tight cabin space and a temperamental outboard. He went on about how the weather had smiled down upon us on our first trip to Dartmouth, how faultless our navigation had been, how enjoyable the evening beers were as the sun went down and how perfect our mooring had been at the end of the day.

His friend listened patiently and politely to the end before mentioning that his dad had just got into yachting too and bought himself a boat. ‘What is it?’ asked my son, with a great deal of interest. ‘It’s a 32m motor sailer berthed in Greece with a permanent crew, two masts and two powered tenders.’

‘I should have known that he’d have had a story like that and kept quiet!’ said my son.