A Free Boat, A Storm, And The Limmat

On Saturday morning I went out for a walk near my place in Zurich. Beside the street was a large blue dry bag. I was ready to keep walking; then I noticed it was a SealLine, and those bags are expensive enough to earn a second look. I have learned over time that Zurich's found-on-the-street quality is not bad at all.

A small sticker read: "Boat, works. Free to take away." Inside was a pump and a folded inflatable boat. I stood there for a moment, looked at the bag again and thought: okay, I guess we gotta do this.

I took it home, checked the weather immediately and started planning the rest of the day around testing it. I had gone out for a walk. Saturday now had a boat in it.

That afternoon I carried everything to Wipkingerplatz on the motorbike. The pump took some negotiation, but eventually the boat was inflated. Ten minutes later I came back and it had very obviously lost air.

I found a couple of holes and went out to get a PVC repair kit.

Back at the river I patched the holes, inflated the boat again and found more. I patched those too, launched, knelt inside and started learning how the whole thing wanted to move. The first half hour was awkward. The boat was still softening, so I stopped once more, found the remaining leaks and repaired them.

The route to Dietikon has two legs. At the Hongg dam I had to get out, walk roughly a hundred metres and launch again. The rain had started, but by then I had decided I was doing the whole route.

The rain became aggressive after the second launch. A bridge was visible ahead and took about fifteen soaking minutes to reach. I pulled the boat out underneath it and started drying myself. Fifteen minutes of serious rain is a lot when there is nowhere to negotiate with it.

Experience has thankfully taught me when to turn around and pack a long sleeve, dry trousers and a towel. Everything stayed dry inside the bag. I changed under the bridge and felt absurdly proud of that decision.

When the rain eased, I got back in. The signs near Glanzenberg suggested it was the last place to leave the river. Apparently Dietikon had another exit, so I continued. At one point the Limmat felt almost boiling hot against my hand. Closer to Dietikon the water looked increasingly questionable, and I decided one temperature reading was enough.

I reached Noetzliwiese with the boat still holding air. By then I had become comfortable enough to row properly and had discovered that I could sit on the sides, which was much better than spending the whole trip on my knees.

The rowing felt excellent for my back, forearms, palms and wrists. It connected immediately with the work I do for handstands and power yoga. I had been looking for exactly that kind of complementary exercise without knowing what it was.

It also brought back Greece in 2014. I wanted to get into kayaking badly. I knew the brands, the local spots and the famous routes; I had researched the whole thing and could afford none of it.

Workload has a way of shrinking the world without you noticing. Then a free boat lands in front of you and hijacks a Saturday. I came back physically tired and mentally awake.

I went out for a walk. By the end of the day I had repaired a boat, rowed to Dietikon and reopened a dream from 2014. I have a feeling this was only the first trip. Free things can be expensive.