Riding Out Gale in Malta Was ‘Fun,’ Bush Says

President Bush said today he had a lot of fun riding out a raging gale that temporarily marooned him aboard a U.S. warship during the Malta summit.

“Don’t tell me that that little chop was risking anything. Frankly, I haven’t had that much fun in a long time,” Bush said at a news conference when asked why he rode a small motorboat back and forth between his ship and the docked Soviet liner Maxim Gorky, rather than move inland.

The gale became so fierce Saturday that Bush, an avid boater who is used to stormy conditions off the coast of his Maine vacation home, was stranded aboard the cruiser Belknap overnight in 50-knot winds and six- to eight-foot waves.

When a reporter suggested that Bush, who has a reputation for being dull, was showing off, he shot back: “Well, you know these charismatic, macho visionary guys--they’ll do anything.”