Steve Burt
Committee Member
Boat Name: Lutra Lutra
I have always enjoyed being on, or in, water. However, I was only introduced to narrowboating as an adult, when my girlfriend (now my wife) invited me to join her on a family holiday on the Leeds and Liverpool Canal. The experience was complete with an accidental full immersion ‘baptism’.
It didn’t put me off. Our eldest son was cruising the Oxford Canal at 3 months old, and we regularly hired as our family grew. But it wasn’t until Covid hit and our three children had ‘flown the nest’ that it became feasible to buy our own boat. Lockdown resulted in my work as a portfolio finance director and business mentor going online, and advances in technology meant that I could attend board meetings and investment pitches from the dinette with a suitable virtual background.
Lutra Lutra is a 58’ cruiser stern built by Stillwater in 2009. We moved aboard in October 2021 and rapidly learnt the difference between hire boating and ownership; leisure boating and live-aboard. We became Waterways Chaplains and joined Canal Ministries.
We had already heard of BCF and, being committed Christians from an early age, we joined and attended our first AGM before we had even bought a boat! We discovered a group of like-minded boaters from diverse church backgrounds willing to share their knowledge and experience with the ‘newbies’. We enjoy meeting up at national events and in random encounters with other members displaying the ichthus logo on the cut.
We even enjoy the hospitality (and washing-machines) of those fortunate enough to have houses on the waterways. Now, I am delighted to have been elected to serve on the committee and look forward to helping BCF flourish and enjoying traditional fellowship with all our members.
Please knock on the boat if you see us out and about.
