“Get close to grass and you’ll see a star.”

It's been a hot, hot summer so far. There has seemingly been little break in the heat. We sat on the roof a week or so ago and watched a thunderstorm roll in on the midnight haze.

 

And the dark night became light as day as the storm reached us and we headed for cover.

 



But still the heat did not break. During the day our boat sits in the sun, with no shade to cool its baking steel and it became too much for me.

Rob came home from work and said, as he does from time to time, "will you let me turf the roof yet?". The answer to which has always been no because I think it's a crazy idea. Not this time though because I was willing to do anything to break the constant muggy cloying feeling that this summer has brought.

So we set off in search of some artificial turf.

 

We bought a piece large enough to cover a third of our roof and Rob fixed it into place around a mushroom vent.

 

 

Before enjoying the splendour of his work.

Maybe it seems strange, to have a lawn on a boat roof. I know we are not alone in this venture as there are other grass-topped boats too, but it has made the summer bearable as the temperature in the room below is now 5 degrees C cooler than the rest of the boat.

But that is not the only thing. It turns out that Dejan Stojanovic is right. When you get close to grass you do indeed see a star. And not just one. That night we lay on our new lawn and looked up at many of them, beautifully spread out in an ocean of darkness. We watched satellites pass and meteors fall, and I finally accepted that grass on the roof was a brilliant idea after all.