| Matt's
Lament
Matt sits at the bar with a drink in his hand
Regaling the crowd with his stories so grand
But his voice has a quaver, a whimsical note,
As he recounted the days of his life spent afloat.
And the crowd urge him on, they shout his praise
As he takes them back to his sailing days
Just a touch of remorse as the memories revive
Of the time that he sailed on the damned 505.
It was Gazza that did it, he knew who to blame
For he told him they’d put all the keel boats
to shame
“It looks so cool, and it sails so neat
Without any trouble we’ll sail past the fleet.”
They rigged it, they tuned it, they hoisted the sails
And Gazza instructed on what sailing entails
“You must manage the helm as I balance the boat
But always remember - we must stay afloat”.
Like a frisky young colt it took off from the beach
And out through the harbour they sailed on a reach.
They sailed from the harbour, they sailed for the
fleet
Then over the start line they began the first beat.
Gazza was exalted it was easy to see
Sailing so fast, just the way it should be
But the sea can be deceptive, the sea can be cruel
And Gazza was breaking the golden rule
For the forecast had warned that the winds would
be strong
And Gazza ignored it - you know he’s headstrong,
And the winds did increase, and the seas did respond
And the both of them thought of the lovely "Diamond".
For the deep furrowed sea is the keel boats’
domain
Challenging the elements, the wind and the rain
Now the waves did build, they were an enormous size
And the gallant little dinghy began to capsize
While Gazza distraught, tried in vain to recall
When they’d sailed on the water with nary a
fall
“It’s a smooth water boat I plainly can
see
It never should sail on the deep furrowed sea.”
With its mast in the water and the keel to the sky
They looked on in envy as the keel boats sailed by
There was Tumbleweed, with sail set so fine
While Rex passed around good vintage red wine
And on Jubilation they were drinking VBs
Sailing supreme in the deep furrowed seas.
While on Interlude both skipper and crew
Were nibbling hors doeuvres while enjoying the view
Now this story is over, as it’s often been
told
And the keel boats have welcomed him into the fold
And now he praises his Diamond, it’s ever so
grand
As he sits at the bar with a drink in his hand.
John Marriner
April 2006
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