Anne Dickens | The Day After Yesterday

Great Britain! That proud seafaring nation.

Being an island means that no UK citizen is probably more than 2 hours from the sea. It also means that a love of the sea and sea-craft is woven into our DNA. Not suprising really, if you consider that in order to get to any other country in the world, we need to cross the sea.

The British love of sea-travel, goes back thousands of years, and has resulted in many exciting discoveries; America, Australia (even though the Aborigines already lived there, we still claimed the result), Darwin's theory of evolution, and the potato (introduced to the UK by Sir Walter Raleigh).

So, set against a backdrop of prestigious, historical seafaring achievement, it was with great interest that I read of yet another nautical challenge that was being attempted by three plucky Britons.

Trainee solicitor Jack Watkins, 25, and engineers Chris Hayes, 24, and Dave Sibley, 25, all from Clapham, south London, decided to attempt crossing Lake Garda, Italy, in a bouncy castle.




And if the Londoners hadn’t already turned enough heads in their tailor-made red and yellow castle, they managed to accidentally gatecrash an international sailing regatta during their attempt, much to the surprise of the serious sailors competing in the event. A police escort was deployed to guide the bouncy castle away from the competitors and to the safety of the shore.

Once ashore, Chris said: "Great Britain has such a great tradition as a seafaring nation and we really feel we have played no role at all in adding to this. That said, it was possibly the most fun we have ever had and we really never believed this most frivolous of dreams would ever be realised."

Oh, and aside from seafaring, did I mention that the British are also known for their eccentricities?


With thanks to 'nothing to do with Arbroath'.