<br/><span class="bbc_font" style="font-family: verdana;"><strong>Emily</strong></span><br/><span class="bbc_font" style="font-family: verdana;"><strong>In the boat at the marina</strong></span><br/><span class="bbc_font" style="font-family: verdana;"><strong>Talking to the kids</strong></span><br/><br/><span class="bbc_font" style="font-family: verdana;">“OK well, you can call everyone else ‘miss’, if that’s what your mum said, but not me, OK?”  Emily looked from one to the other with a smile.  “I’m not so important, so just call me Emily.”</span><br/><br/><span class="bbc_font" style="font-family: verdana;">“Yes the Hobiecat is a blast, Chrissie; with a bit of a breeze it really flies, you’re on the edge, you know, up on one hull and right out on a trapeze…it gives you a buzz!</span><br/><br/><span class="bbc_font" style="font-family: verdana;">“The motors, Sam?” Emily was glad she’d taken an interest when she was choosing the boat, and luckily she was reasonably technical; now she could reward Sam for opening out a little: “Well they’re Honda 200’s as you see; I went for for a pair of outboards so if one fails at sea you can get back with the other, and if one needs service you can just swap it out and not have to wait for the work to be done.  And if you hit shallows you don’t do as much damage cos they lift.</span><br/><br/><span class="bbc_font" style="font-family: verdana;">“They’re 200 horsepower each, obviously; four-stroke, three-point-five litre, twenty-four valve, sixty-degree V6 that’s why they’re so smooth.  Auto-tilt – that means the angle adjusts as the boat changes speed and goes up on the plane, and they have a lot of low-down torque so you can get up on the plane nice and quickly...”</span><br/><br/><span class="bbc_font" style="font-family: verdana;">Both the kids were gazing at her.  She grinned back at them, having forgotten for a moment the hassles and anxieties with their various relationships.</span><br/><br/><span class="bbc_font" style="font-family: verdana;">“OK?  More?  Or are you ready to get home?  You must be ready for your tea.”</span><br/><br/>