Punting

Today, we attempted to punt in Oxford. Punting is an ancient Oxford and Cambridge tradition that involves steering a long, flat boat with a pole. One person stands on the back to steer and propel the vessel, while the others just get to sit back and enjoy the ride. The whole process looks sort of like a gondola ride in Venice. The main difference between a punt and a gondola is the presence or absence of a rudder. Gondolas, the traditional Venetian rowing boats, use a rudder as means to maneuver down the river. Punts, on the other hand, don’t believe in rudders. To steer a punt, one must drag the pole behind the vessel in the direction you wish to travel. For example, straight behind to go straight, left side to go right, and right side to go left. If this seems pretty simple, just wait until you try it. I do believe that the members of my punt spent more time on the bank, in the blackberry patch, or amongst the ducks than we actually did sailing down the river. Even so, I still enjoyed being a part of this historic Oxford tradition.