Shrimping in the Rain

Shrimp in the rain, originally uploaded by Bay Photographic.

The problem with an open boat in a rainstorm is not the actual getting wet. When it started heaving it down yesterday just as I was passing the entrance to Garstang Marina, I quickly donned a waterproof jacket (admittedly hoping for a brief summer shower rather than the prolonged monsoon that swept across the Fylde Plain from the Irish Sea) and carried on.
I've never been that troubled by rain. Even when instructed to put a hat on / put my hood up / get under this umbrella / take shelter in Topshop / run back to the car as if the alarm was going off, I have always just walked around as if rain was made of nothing more corrosive than...water. This has caused endless derision and complaint from those around me, but really, I can't see what all the fuss is about. Even if my clothes are not waterproof I am fairly sure that my skin is and, rather annoyingly for my mother, I learnt at the age of six that the common cold is not brought on by getting wet.
So I was happy enough inside my jacket plodding up the canal.
The reactions of people on other boats ranged from the 'Are you alright?' wave to the 'See how dry we are under this canopy' look and included an offer of an umbrella (declined, nicely) and the suggestion that I might take shelter under a bridge (easier said than done).
But none of this was even remotely as difficult as the actual reason I had to tie up to the towpath and sit inside the cuddy like a Hobbit for fifteen minutes.
Even at 3.2 mph (but with the wind blowing the rain in my face at an additional 10 mph) I couldn't see where I was going. It was like the day I rode my CX500 motorcycle from Manchester to Southend in a thunderstorm wearing an open face crash helmet. Only worse, because I'm not 26 any more and I now wear contact lenses.
So, in case it rains again this year, which seems likely given the extent to which it did last August, I am going to invest in some World War 1 flying goggles. I might grow a big moustache as well and go for the full Biggles look.
That should be enough to stop people offering me umbrellas.
And speeding advice.