I don’t have a family coat of arms strangely enough but if I did it would probably feature a boathook. This useful little implement could easily be overlooked as insignificant. Ah but my family history would be so much different without it.
I have previously mentioned that when I was a small boy my father converted a ships lifeboat and took us around the canals of England and Wales. This was at a time when the canal system was in decay and there was virtually no leisure traffic and a minute amount of commercial traffic.
One day I was crossing a lock gate when I had the misfortune to slip into the open sluice. I remember little of it other than being dragged under water in a sea of bubbles. I was stuck but my father got a boat hook and eventually managed to hook onto me underwater and pull me out with it. I didn't suffer any long term effects other than a bit of abuse for falling in. Strangely I don't like heights but have no fear of water or drowning.
So that is why I feel obligated to the humble boat hook.
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