It's the last day of the year and as I look out of my office window at another big snow storm with a gale warning in effect this afternoon, it's pretty clear that there will be no more sailing for me in 2008.
So I failed to make my target of 100 days of Laser sailing in the year. I only made it to 94.
Thanks to everyone who encouraged me along the way in my quest for 100. There were many helpful suggestions, most of which I ignored. Sorry about that.
The 100 day thing started because I noticed, when I read in the Laser sailing class magazine about some of the top Laser sailors, that many of them sailed at least that many days in a year. So I wanted to see what it would be like to make that kind of commitment to Lasering and whether it would make me a better sailor in the process. And even though 94 is not 100 I think I sailed enough days to learn something on both counts.
I did get a feel for what I need to do to prioritize sailing to the point where I could come close to 100 days in a year, how to fit it in with other activities in my life, how to choose the days to sail.
In not achieving the target I learned something about how to plan my sailing through the year, realizing now that I should have done more in the "good weather" months.
I'm going to do an analysis in another post about the kind of sailing that made up the 94 days... solo practice, group practice, club sailing, regattas etc. I suspect I will learn that I ought to make some adjustments in that mix in 2009.
I learned that when you set yourself a target it can become an end in its own right, sometimes to the detriment of the underlying reason for setting that target. I have to admit that some of the sails were short sessions simply to tick off another day. Not that I didn't enjoy them but from the perspective of training I ought to focus on quality of each session as well as sheer number of sessions.
I think I did become a (slightly) better Laser sailor by sailing so many days. I fixed some of the faults in my technique. I won a Laser regatta in a bigger fleet than I have ever done before (still not huge and still not against top competition but it's a step in the right direction). I took second place in my age group in one of the toughest regional Laser Masters regattas. A solid year to build on.
I also learned that I am a wuss. I learned that, being retired and able to choose almost any day to sail, I tend to choose to go solo sailing on sunny days with winds between 5 and 15 knots. I don't sail on my own when it's raining, or a drifter, or 20 gusting 30. But race committees run races on days like that so I really ought to bite the bullet and go and practice on days like that too.
I learned that 100 days is not too tough a target and I'm going to have another shot at it in 2009.
Wednesday, December 31, 2008
Tuesday, December 30, 2008
BX
Do you remember the Sunday before Xmas, before those days spent buying last minute presents for the man or woman that has everything, and racking your brain to remember if you bought them the same thing last year, and driving through bad weather to get to the party, and feasting and drinking and hanging out with all your relatives, and playing silly games, and watching too much TV, and giving each other presents, and telling each other, "It's just what I wanted," whether it was or not, and eating too much and drinking too much, and waking up with a hangover or worse, and driving through bad weather to get home from the party, and standing in line at the mall to return the presents because they gave you the same thing last year?
Of course you don't remember. Sunday December 21 was in another reality. BX. Before Xmas.
So you don't remember that on that day I posted Simply The Best, a very simple request from me asking all you sailing bloggers to tell us what was the best post on your blog in 2008. But never mind. I forgive you for forgetting me. And the good news is that you still have two days to write that post on your blog about the best post of the year.
If you need an incentive, consider this. While you were enjoying yourselves over Xmas the dedicated hard-working judges of the 2008 Best Sailing Blogs of the Year panel were meeting and scoring all the sailing blogs of the year against a gazillion selection criteria. A massive spreadsheet was constructed. Points were awarded in every imaginable category from visual impact to veracity, originality to obtuseness, participation to pomposity, community awareness to complexity, believability to bullshitness.... And still the judges couldn't make the final cut. It's entirely possible that a good entry in the Simply The Best group writing project could sway their decision.
Go for it.
Full details at Simply The Best.
Of course you don't remember. Sunday December 21 was in another reality. BX. Before Xmas.
So you don't remember that on that day I posted Simply The Best, a very simple request from me asking all you sailing bloggers to tell us what was the best post on your blog in 2008. But never mind. I forgive you for forgetting me. And the good news is that you still have two days to write that post on your blog about the best post of the year.
If you need an incentive, consider this. While you were enjoying yourselves over Xmas the dedicated hard-working judges of the 2008 Best Sailing Blogs of the Year panel were meeting and scoring all the sailing blogs of the year against a gazillion selection criteria. A massive spreadsheet was constructed. Points were awarded in every imaginable category from visual impact to veracity, originality to obtuseness, participation to pomposity, community awareness to complexity, believability to bullshitness.... And still the judges couldn't make the final cut. It's entirely possible that a good entry in the Simply The Best group writing project could sway their decision.
Go for it.
Full details at Simply The Best.
Monday, December 29, 2008
What I Learned From Sailing in 2008
Anyone who sails a good deal knows that sailing teaches you a lot more than the differences between a rolling hitch and a carrick bend, a ketch and a kedge, or a barnacle and a baggywrinkle. Sailing is an arena where you learn such vital life skills as teamwork, leadership, decision making, discipline... and how to avoid the club bore.
So, in that spirit, I thought I would look back on 2008 and contemplate what lessons I learned from sailing that have relevance in everyday life...
In January, in Airline Paranoia I learned that it's good to be paranoid. And in Airline Paranoia Revisited I discovered that just because you are not paranoid it doesn't mean that they are not out to get you.
In February, I discovered in Fear Factor that I know seven different ways to overcome fear... most of which I forget when I really need them.
In March I learned from an Olympic sailor a lesson that applies to many walks of life, Don't Get Burned Out by Practice. Good job there's no chance of me making that mistake in any pursuit.
In April I learned that I should be careful what I wish for in Ironman No More.
In May I learned in Polyphony that if you strike up a relationship on the Internet with a member of the opposite sex half your age, there may be unexpected consequences.
In June I learned in Tiverton Tilling that sharing your spouse's passion can also have unexpected consequences.
In July I learned in And Now For Something Completely Different that sometimes it's a good idea to respond to one of those unsolicited emails from total strangers. Unless it's from Nigeria of course.
In August I learned in Hidden Law of the Universe that it's pointless to try and apply my logical brain to some aspects of life. Some phenomena are just not amenable to logic.
In September the US Stock market experienced a total Meltdown, and I learned that the best response to the end of capitalism is simply to go sailing.
In October I learned in Fat Boy and Little Man that contrary to what Harry Chapin sang in Cat's In the Cradle, it can be a good thing if my son grows up "just like me".
In November I learned in Gonna Need a Bigger Boat that grandkids trump a bigger boat any day.
And finally, in December I learned in If I Had a Boat that, when it comes to experiences, quality is more important than quantity; and that if you have a dream then you should be more like Tonto.
So, in that spirit, I thought I would look back on 2008 and contemplate what lessons I learned from sailing that have relevance in everyday life...
In January, in Airline Paranoia I learned that it's good to be paranoid. And in Airline Paranoia Revisited I discovered that just because you are not paranoid it doesn't mean that they are not out to get you.
In February, I discovered in Fear Factor that I know seven different ways to overcome fear... most of which I forget when I really need them.
In March I learned from an Olympic sailor a lesson that applies to many walks of life, Don't Get Burned Out by Practice. Good job there's no chance of me making that mistake in any pursuit.
In April I learned that I should be careful what I wish for in Ironman No More.
In May I learned in Polyphony that if you strike up a relationship on the Internet with a member of the opposite sex half your age, there may be unexpected consequences.
In June I learned in Tiverton Tilling that sharing your spouse's passion can also have unexpected consequences.
In July I learned in And Now For Something Completely Different that sometimes it's a good idea to respond to one of those unsolicited emails from total strangers. Unless it's from Nigeria of course.
In August I learned in Hidden Law of the Universe that it's pointless to try and apply my logical brain to some aspects of life. Some phenomena are just not amenable to logic.
In September the US Stock market experienced a total Meltdown, and I learned that the best response to the end of capitalism is simply to go sailing.
In October I learned in Fat Boy and Little Man that contrary to what Harry Chapin sang in Cat's In the Cradle, it can be a good thing if my son grows up "just like me".
In November I learned in Gonna Need a Bigger Boat that grandkids trump a bigger boat any day.
And finally, in December I learned in If I Had a Boat that, when it comes to experiences, quality is more important than quantity; and that if you have a dream then you should be more like Tonto.
Saturday, December 27, 2008
Christmas Traditions
Over the Christmas holiday all eight members of the Tillerman US clan gathered at our house for traditional Christmas fare and merry times together.
Eight! How did that happen. All of a sudden I'm the patriarch of a family of eight. Me and the beautiful Tillerwoman, two handsome sons, two sons' gorgeous partners, and two adorable grandchildren. OK, my younger son's fiancee doesn't have the same last name as the rest of us until that wedding by the water planned for next September but as far as I am concerned they are all family.
In my new role as patriarch (I like that word) I feel it's important that I establish some family Christmas traditions.
Eight! How did that happen. All of a sudden I'm the patriarch of a family of eight. Me and the beautiful Tillerwoman, two handsome sons, two sons' gorgeous partners, and two adorable grandchildren. OK, my younger son's fiancee doesn't have the same last name as the rest of us until that wedding by the water planned for next September but as far as I am concerned they are all family.
In my new role as patriarch (I like that word) I feel it's important that I establish some family Christmas traditions.
- All the family, however large it grows (and we wouldn't complain about a few more grandchildren in the coming years) should gather together under the same roof at Christmas for at least one night. Yeah, I know there are the in-law families to consider too, but with Christmas Eve and Christmas Day and Boxing Day, not to mention weekends before and after, I don't think it's too much to ask that we find a way to synchronize plans so that we can all gather together once at Christmas. Hey, if one of the eight of us ever becomes rich and famous (or just filthy rich for that matter) we could even have our family Christmas get-together at some resort in the BVI at his or her expense.
- Granddad should always receive some sailing-related presents. This year I receive two real doozies. The C-Vane and Dave Perry's Understanding the Racing Rules of Sailing 2009-2012.
- The C-Vane is the very last word in wind indicators for Lasers. At least, until someone else comes up with a new last word. My current wind indicator is Web 1.0 to the C-Vane's Web 3.0. My current instrument was even laughed at this year by a certain Laser Sailing God. When the gods laugh at you it's time for a change.
- And Dave Perry's book is the last word on interpreting the Racing Rules. At least until they change the rules again in four years and poor old Dave has to write a new version of his book and every serious racing sailor has to buy the new edition. Poor old Dave.
It's fantastic to have a world-class Racing Rules expert like Dave to explain the new rules to me. I'm hoping I can find material in the book which will be an inspiration for some more wonky posts here in the same vein as Both Leeward and Both Starboard where I can show off my truly awesome understanding of the Rules.
So on Christmas Day I found a quiet corner and sat down with the book and, with my usual arrogant attitude, after only thirty minutes had discovered one definite mistake and one area where Dave's interpretation of a rule didn't make a lot of sense for Laser sailing. Should I write poor old Dave a polite note or should I write a scathing review of the book on the blog in a series of increasingly wonkish, impenetrable, argumentative posts?
Hmmm. Tough one.
- The C-Vane is the very last word in wind indicators for Lasers. At least, until someone else comes up with a new last word. My current wind indicator is Web 1.0 to the C-Vane's Web 3.0. My current instrument was even laughed at this year by a certain Laser Sailing God. When the gods laugh at you it's time for a change.
- My final new Christmas family tradition is that everyone in the family should share their aspirations for sailing for the coming years. This one is a bit of a stretch as the only confirmed sailors in the family are myself and my two sons... and son #2 hasn't done much sailing since high school. But in the last few days I made some good progress in establishing this tradition.
- Son #2 volunteered, out of the blue, that he and his fiancee plan to take some sailing lessons next year with a view to chartering a yacht during their honeymoon in September.
- Aforementioned fiancee expressed her approval of this plan. Wow.
- When I mentioned their plans to Tiller-daughter-in-law the next day she said that she planned to take sailing lessons when her daughter Emily (currently three years old) learns to sail. Double wow.
- Son #2 also expressed an interest in getting involved in some big boat racing series.
- Son #1 a.k.a. The Whippersnapper was dreaming about buying a Flying Scot and teaching his kids to sail in it, and also racing it competitively on the local circuit. He even had me checking The Google on The Internet Machine to find out the prices of new Flying Scots.
So that just leaves Tillerwoman (a lost cause as far as sailing is concerned I fear) and Aidan who is too young to have an opinion on the matter, and everyone in the Tillerman clan has expressed (or had expressed for them) some kind of aspiration to do some sailing at some (not always well defined) date in the future.
Hmmm. A tradition has started. - Son #2 volunteered, out of the blue, that he and his fiancee plan to take some sailing lessons next year with a view to chartering a yacht during their honeymoon in September.
Thursday, December 25, 2008
Happy Birthday
Happy Birthday to Sir Isaac Newton, born on December 25th 1642 (Julian calendar) in Woolsthorpe-by-Colsterworth in the county of Lincolnshire in England, only a few miles from my own place of birth. Indeed Isaac and I went to the same school, The King's School in Grantham. Not at the same time I must point out.
By all accounts our Isaac was a bit of a weird old stick, a recluse, and given to feuding with some of the lesser geniuses of his time. But it probably wasn't an easy gig being the founder of classical physics. I mean, can you imagine just dreaming up mechanics and gravity and the nature of light out of thin air, and by the way inventing calculus on the side to help you do the math? Enough to make anyone a bit eccentric. Or perhaps it was sniffing all those mercury fumes when he was dabbling in alchemy? On the other hand, he was a solid enough chap that he was later put in charge of the Royal Mint, improving the coinage and hanging those dastardly counterfeiters.
Sadly his birthday is not as widely celebrated as it should be. After all this guy was arguably the greatest scientist of all time. Just his luck to be born on the day that the followers of Baby Jesus arbitrarily (and almost certainly incorrectly) chose as the day to mark aforementioned baby's birth, and then one thing led to another until the whole Merry Christmas Ho Ho Ho thing gave an excuse to those bastards at Jordans Furniture to run a TV ad yesterday afternoon informing my wife that if we had only bought those leather chairs that she was coveting a few weeks back they would also have given her a free Blu-Ray Player for Baby Jesus Day. Damn them. What's a free Blu-Ray Player got to do with Baby Jesus?
Where was I? Where am I? Oh yes, Merry Newton Day.
Thanks to Olivia Judson for filling us in on some of the facts about Newton in The Ten Days of Newton on her blog The Wild Side. And if you care to celebrate my old schoolmate's birthday today, Ms Judson offers this song...
By all accounts our Isaac was a bit of a weird old stick, a recluse, and given to feuding with some of the lesser geniuses of his time. But it probably wasn't an easy gig being the founder of classical physics. I mean, can you imagine just dreaming up mechanics and gravity and the nature of light out of thin air, and by the way inventing calculus on the side to help you do the math? Enough to make anyone a bit eccentric. Or perhaps it was sniffing all those mercury fumes when he was dabbling in alchemy? On the other hand, he was a solid enough chap that he was later put in charge of the Royal Mint, improving the coinage and hanging those dastardly counterfeiters.
Sadly his birthday is not as widely celebrated as it should be. After all this guy was arguably the greatest scientist of all time. Just his luck to be born on the day that the followers of Baby Jesus arbitrarily (and almost certainly incorrectly) chose as the day to mark aforementioned baby's birth, and then one thing led to another until the whole Merry Christmas Ho Ho Ho thing gave an excuse to those bastards at Jordans Furniture to run a TV ad yesterday afternoon informing my wife that if we had only bought those leather chairs that she was coveting a few weeks back they would also have given her a free Blu-Ray Player for Baby Jesus Day. Damn them. What's a free Blu-Ray Player got to do with Baby Jesus?
Where was I? Where am I? Oh yes, Merry Newton Day.
Thanks to Olivia Judson for filling us in on some of the facts about Newton in The Ten Days of Newton on her blog The Wild Side. And if you care to celebrate my old schoolmate's birthday today, Ms Judson offers this song...
On the tenth day of Newton
My true love gave to me
Ten drops of genius
Nine silver co-oins
Eight circling planets
Seven shades of li-ight
Six counterfeiters
Cal-Cu-Lus!
Four telescopes
Three Laws of Motion,
Two awful feuds
And the discovery of gravity!
My true love gave to me
Ten drops of genius
Nine silver co-oins
Eight circling planets
Seven shades of li-ight
Six counterfeiters
Cal-Cu-Lus!
Four telescopes
Three Laws of Motion,
Two awful feuds
And the discovery of gravity!
Cheers.
Hic.
Hic.
Wednesday, December 24, 2008
How A Christmas Tradition Started
One particular Christmas season a long time ago, Santa was getting ready for his annual trip ... but there were problems everywhere. Four of his elves got sick, and the trainee elves did not produce the toys as fast as the regular ones so Santa was beginning to feel the pressure of being behind schedule.
Then Mrs. Claus told Santa that her mother was coming to visit. This stressed Santa even more.
When he went to harness the reindeer, he found that three of them were about to give birth and two had jumped the fence and were out, heaven knows where. More stress.
Then when he began to load the sleigh one of the boards cracked and the toy bag fell to the ground and scattered the toys.
So, frustrated, Santa went into the house for a cup of coffee and a shot of whiskey. When he went to the cupboard, he discovered that the elves had hidden the liquor and there was nothing to drink. In his frustration, he accidentally dropped the coffee pot and it broke into hundreds of little pieces all over the kitchen floor. He went to get the broom and found that mice had eaten the straw it was made from.
Just then the doorbell rang and Santa cursed on his way to the door. He opened the door and there was a little angel with a great big Christmas tree.
All radiant and smiling; the angel said, very cheerfully, "Merry Christmas Santa. Isn't it just a lovely day? I have a beautiful tree for you. Isn't it just a lovely tree? Where would you like me to stick it?"
Thus began the tradition of the little angel on top of the Christmas tree.
Monday, December 22, 2008
Best of the Best (Modestly Speaking)
Now that I've challenged each of you sailing bloggers to select from all of the posts that you have written on your blog this year the one that is Simply The Best, I suppose I'm going to have to set an example by choosing the best post on Proper Course this year.
This is no time for the modesty for which I am justly famous. This is a time to go down to the cellar of my archives and taste once again the many fine vintages and cheeky little numbers stacked away on the dusty racks down there. But what is "best" when there are so many superb posts written in my trademark meek, humble, and unpretentious style?
Should I choose a post about when I sailed the best? Or the post that attracted the most interest? Or the funniest? Or one that my readers found inspiring and uplifting? (Hmmm, that last one would be hard.)
Let's see...
I could select one of those totally pointless posts so typical of Proper Course such as Sock Fetish. I don't suppose anyone else is going to have a best post that starts, "I love my socks..."
Or perhaps I could choose the tale about the day when I finally met the young woman known previously in my family as "Granddad's Internet Girlfriend", actually a story about when I spent an afternoon introducing Polyphony to Laser sailing.
Or I could pick an account that includes two of the regular characters on Proper Course, my perpetual nemesis and my granddaughter. One of them says I'm their Best Friend.
Then their was the day that I actually won a regatta. The post has a suitably modest title... Just One of Those Days.
Or one of those rare regattas where I actually beat my nemesis, described in the very modestly written Not Throwing in the Towel.
Or one of those quirky posts about a more laid-back sailing day such as Just Six Laser Dudes Racing Round a Sausage.
Or the story about a morning spent blasting around in the waves off Third Beach Newport with my son, followed by a delicious lunch. Fat Boy and Little Man.
Or perhaps I should choose the post about the day I experienced a Sailor's High, a.k.a. Cannabinoid Moment.
No. I think I will choose Never Failed to Fail, a story about the last day of racing in the Laser Masters Worlds in Australia, a day when I was reminded that, as a Laser sailor, I have much to be modest about. Regular readers of Proper Course may remember this post as the one where I was dragged underwater with a noose around my neck. This post is simply the best because it combines the three underlying themes of my blog... bad sailing, humor and an expression of my passion for the sport.
Now it's your turn. What was the best post about sailing on your blog this year? Full details of how to participate at Simply The Best.
Full Disclosure. This idea for a Simply the Best writing project was shamelessly stolen by Tillerman from Joanna Young of Confident Writing who was the original author of Simply the Best:Group Writing Project.
This is no time for the modesty for which I am justly famous. This is a time to go down to the cellar of my archives and taste once again the many fine vintages and cheeky little numbers stacked away on the dusty racks down there. But what is "best" when there are so many superb posts written in my trademark meek, humble, and unpretentious style?
Should I choose a post about when I sailed the best? Or the post that attracted the most interest? Or the funniest? Or one that my readers found inspiring and uplifting? (Hmmm, that last one would be hard.)
Let's see...
I could select one of those totally pointless posts so typical of Proper Course such as Sock Fetish. I don't suppose anyone else is going to have a best post that starts, "I love my socks..."
Or perhaps I could choose the tale about the day when I finally met the young woman known previously in my family as "Granddad's Internet Girlfriend", actually a story about when I spent an afternoon introducing Polyphony to Laser sailing.
Or I could pick an account that includes two of the regular characters on Proper Course, my perpetual nemesis and my granddaughter. One of them says I'm their Best Friend.
Then their was the day that I actually won a regatta. The post has a suitably modest title... Just One of Those Days.
Or one of those rare regattas where I actually beat my nemesis, described in the very modestly written Not Throwing in the Towel.
Or one of those quirky posts about a more laid-back sailing day such as Just Six Laser Dudes Racing Round a Sausage.
Or the story about a morning spent blasting around in the waves off Third Beach Newport with my son, followed by a delicious lunch. Fat Boy and Little Man.
Or perhaps I should choose the post about the day I experienced a Sailor's High, a.k.a. Cannabinoid Moment.
No. I think I will choose Never Failed to Fail, a story about the last day of racing in the Laser Masters Worlds in Australia, a day when I was reminded that, as a Laser sailor, I have much to be modest about. Regular readers of Proper Course may remember this post as the one where I was dragged underwater with a noose around my neck. This post is simply the best because it combines the three underlying themes of my blog... bad sailing, humor and an expression of my passion for the sport.
Now it's your turn. What was the best post about sailing on your blog this year? Full details of how to participate at Simply The Best.
Full Disclosure. This idea for a Simply the Best writing project was shamelessly stolen by Tillerman from Joanna Young of Confident Writing who was the original author of Simply the Best:Group Writing Project.
Sunday, December 21, 2008
Simply The Best
A question for all you sailing bloggers: What was the best post you published on your blog in 2008?
I thought it would be fun to create a collection of the best sailing stories of 2008, and who better to pick the entries than the writers of those posts themselves? So that's our final group writing project of the year. Pretty simple really because you've already written the original post. That's why this project is called Simply The Best.
Here’s how it works:
1. Select the one post from your archives that you think is your best piece of 2008.
2. Write a post (on your own blog) about it, including the link to your selected best piece.
3. Complete this sentence as part of the post: "This post is simply the best because…"
4. To make it more challenging, the explanation needs to be 30 words or less. (You don't need to count the words "This post is simply the best because..." and you can have as many, or as few, words as you like in the rest of the post.)
5. When you’re done, link back to this post, and leave a comment here please so I know about it.
6. Post your contribution by 31st December 2008.
I’ll then do a wrap-up post with links to all the best pieces and the 30 word reasons why their authors chose them. We'll then have a collection of the best sailing writing on the web in 2008... because we all know that all sailing websites except blogs totally suck... along with what I expect will be some very diverse definitions of the meaning of "best".
Go for it.
Full Disclosure. This idea for a Simply the Best writing project was shamelessly stolen by Tillerman from Joanna Young of Confident Writing who was the original author of Simply the Best:Group Writing Project.
I thought it would be fun to create a collection of the best sailing stories of 2008, and who better to pick the entries than the writers of those posts themselves? So that's our final group writing project of the year. Pretty simple really because you've already written the original post. That's why this project is called Simply The Best.
Here’s how it works:
1. Select the one post from your archives that you think is your best piece of 2008.
2. Write a post (on your own blog) about it, including the link to your selected best piece.
3. Complete this sentence as part of the post: "This post is simply the best because…"
4. To make it more challenging, the explanation needs to be 30 words or less. (You don't need to count the words "This post is simply the best because..." and you can have as many, or as few, words as you like in the rest of the post.)
5. When you’re done, link back to this post, and leave a comment here please so I know about it.
6. Post your contribution by 31st December 2008.
I’ll then do a wrap-up post with links to all the best pieces and the 30 word reasons why their authors chose them. We'll then have a collection of the best sailing writing on the web in 2008... because we all know that all sailing websites except blogs totally suck... along with what I expect will be some very diverse definitions of the meaning of "best".
Go for it.
Full Disclosure. This idea for a Simply the Best writing project was shamelessly stolen by Tillerman from Joanna Young of Confident Writing who was the original author of Simply the Best:Group Writing Project.
Thursday, December 18, 2008
If I Had a Boat
My fellow retirees from the Mighty Absurd Refreshment Syndicate had a lunch meeting last week in New Jersey. They sent me a photo. They are looking good. Some of them even look younger than when they were working with me at the Mighty Absurd Refreshment Syndicate 8 years ago. Retirement seems to be treating most of us well.
I didn't go to the meeting. Today I went sailing instead.
What a superb day for sailing. Why can't all winter days be like this?
If you painted a picture of this day you wouldn't need gray paint like last time. You would just need several tubes of blue.
I sailed a fine reach out of Bristol Harbor towards Poppasquash Point, straight into the early afternoon sun. Following the streak of the sun on the water. Color it yellow.
Once I rounded the point the wind increased a bit, there were actually some waves, and I sailed close-hauled for a while towards the distant skyscrapers of Providence glimmering in the sunlight, 12 miles away to the NNW. A bit of a hike-fest to work out the quad muscles.
What a day. Day 94 of Laser sailing this year. Perhaps the last such day given the weather forecast for a 3-day snow storm starting on Friday, and then all kinds of festivities and fun family activities associated with the Winter Solstice, Yule, Saturnalia, Chronia, Sol Invictus, etc. etc.
If this is the last day of Lasering in 2008 it wouldn't have been a bad place to do it, in this crossroads of Narragansett Bay where four arms of the bay come together. I started remembering all the places I had sailed around here this year...
Stretching to the south is the eastern passage of Narragansett Bay and 10 miles away is Newport, where I played bumper boats in April in Ironman No More, duelled with Mr Fast in July, and raced with the Newport Laser Fleet in November At Last.
Someone sailing up the eastern passage from the south is faced with three choices here...
To the northeast is Mount Hope Bay, My Bay, and I couldn't help thinking of the day when I sailed with my son from Bristol, under Mount Hope Bridge and into My Bay, the one and only Diana and Joe's House of Only Orange Shirts 78th Sail of 2008.
Upper Narragansett Bay a favorite place for solo practice in the summer, stretches away to the NNW. In the distance I can see Barrington, the site of our district championship this year, where once, just once, this Blind Squirrel found his nut.
And due north from this crossroads on the bay is Bristol Harbor, another favorite solo sailing area, and also the site for A Bit of a Yot.
What a year. So many sailing memories.
Then it was time to turn back downwind and sail back to the launch site. Is the last sail of the year. Who knows?
I do know that it was for days like this that I retired from the Mighty Absurd Refreshment Syndicate.
I didn't go to the meeting. Today I went sailing instead.
What a superb day for sailing. Why can't all winter days be like this?
If you painted a picture of this day you wouldn't need gray paint like last time. You would just need several tubes of blue.
I sailed a fine reach out of Bristol Harbor towards Poppasquash Point, straight into the early afternoon sun. Following the streak of the sun on the water. Color it yellow.
Once I rounded the point the wind increased a bit, there were actually some waves, and I sailed close-hauled for a while towards the distant skyscrapers of Providence glimmering in the sunlight, 12 miles away to the NNW. A bit of a hike-fest to work out the quad muscles.
What a day. Day 94 of Laser sailing this year. Perhaps the last such day given the weather forecast for a 3-day snow storm starting on Friday, and then all kinds of festivities and fun family activities associated with the Winter Solstice, Yule, Saturnalia, Chronia, Sol Invictus, etc. etc.
If this is the last day of Lasering in 2008 it wouldn't have been a bad place to do it, in this crossroads of Narragansett Bay where four arms of the bay come together. I started remembering all the places I had sailed around here this year...
Stretching to the south is the eastern passage of Narragansett Bay and 10 miles away is Newport, where I played bumper boats in April in Ironman No More, duelled with Mr Fast in July, and raced with the Newport Laser Fleet in November At Last.
Someone sailing up the eastern passage from the south is faced with three choices here...
To the northeast is Mount Hope Bay, My Bay, and I couldn't help thinking of the day when I sailed with my son from Bristol, under Mount Hope Bridge and into My Bay, the one and only Diana and Joe's House of Only Orange Shirts 78th Sail of 2008.
Upper Narragansett Bay a favorite place for solo practice in the summer, stretches away to the NNW. In the distance I can see Barrington, the site of our district championship this year, where once, just once, this Blind Squirrel found his nut.
And due north from this crossroads on the bay is Bristol Harbor, another favorite solo sailing area, and also the site for A Bit of a Yot.
What a year. So many sailing memories.
Then it was time to turn back downwind and sail back to the launch site. Is the last sail of the year. Who knows?
I do know that it was for days like this that I retired from the Mighty Absurd Refreshment Syndicate.
The mystery masked man was smart
He got himself a Tonto
'Cause Tonto did the dirty work for free
But Tonto he was smarter
And one day said, "Kemo Sabe
Kiss my ass I bought a boat
I'm going out to sea."
He got himself a Tonto
'Cause Tonto did the dirty work for free
But Tonto he was smarter
And one day said, "Kemo Sabe
Kiss my ass I bought a boat
I'm going out to sea."
Saturday, December 13, 2008
Paint it Black
My 93rd Laser sailing day of the year last Tuesday was on an overcast, cold, cloudy, gray winter day in Bristol Harbor... even more dark than the Hazy Shade of Winter day. But hey, if I only sail on sunny days, I'll never make it to 100. I probably won't make it to 100 anyway but there's still an outside chance.
I've been sailing a lot in Bristol Harbor these last few weeks. It gives me a sense of security. Compared to some of the lonelier spots around Narragansett Bay where I sailed in the summer, it's quite urban. Even though there's very little other boating traffic at this time of year I figure that if I got into trouble somebody on land would probably spot the crazy old dude standing on the upturned Laser waving his arms about. Or even if they didn't see me I'd probably wash up at the bottom of the lawn of one of the Poppasquash Point mansions, or into some dock on the Bristol harbor front before too long.
If you had wanted to paint a picture of the harbor last Tuesday you would have needed a lot of gray paint. The sky was various shades of gray. The water was almost black. The buildings around the harbor all looked gray. Then after you had smeared gray paint all over your canvas you would have added a few tiny spots of green and red for the navigation buoys, a few tinier spots of gold for the lights coming on around the harbor, even at 3 o'clock in the afternoon. If you were painting it from the perspective of the crazy Laser guy you would need a smear of red for his vang line and a few touches of blue for the band round his mast which he had to put there to indicate which fleet he was sailing in at the US Masters back in June and which he has been too lazy to to remove since.
Where was I? Where am I? Oh yes. Bristol Harbor on a dark December day.
At least my hands weren't so cold as recently. I have a new pair of gloves. Like they always say, "When the going gets tough, the tough get.... latex." See Sticky Fingers for full explanation.
So my hands were dry and warm, but the spray blowing off the wave tops was making my hat wet. Hmmm. Do I need a latex hat as well?
So there I was blasting around on my Laser in the cold and dark at about 3:30 in the afternoon, watching all the cars on Hope Street with their lights on... and then it started to rain.
Life is good.
93 down. 7 to go. Brrrrr.
Yesterday my 3 year-old granddaughter Emily out of nowhere suddenly said, with much emphasis and emotion, "Grandad, I love you." (I seem to have progressed. In June she was saying I was her Best Friend.)
"That's great Emily. Why do you love me?" (Always fishing for a compliment, even from a 3-year-old.)
"Because you're wearing a green shirt, Grandad."
Hmmm.
Life is very good.
I've been sailing a lot in Bristol Harbor these last few weeks. It gives me a sense of security. Compared to some of the lonelier spots around Narragansett Bay where I sailed in the summer, it's quite urban. Even though there's very little other boating traffic at this time of year I figure that if I got into trouble somebody on land would probably spot the crazy old dude standing on the upturned Laser waving his arms about. Or even if they didn't see me I'd probably wash up at the bottom of the lawn of one of the Poppasquash Point mansions, or into some dock on the Bristol harbor front before too long.
If you had wanted to paint a picture of the harbor last Tuesday you would have needed a lot of gray paint. The sky was various shades of gray. The water was almost black. The buildings around the harbor all looked gray. Then after you had smeared gray paint all over your canvas you would have added a few tiny spots of green and red for the navigation buoys, a few tinier spots of gold for the lights coming on around the harbor, even at 3 o'clock in the afternoon. If you were painting it from the perspective of the crazy Laser guy you would need a smear of red for his vang line and a few touches of blue for the band round his mast which he had to put there to indicate which fleet he was sailing in at the US Masters back in June and which he has been too lazy to to remove since.
Where was I? Where am I? Oh yes. Bristol Harbor on a dark December day.
At least my hands weren't so cold as recently. I have a new pair of gloves. Like they always say, "When the going gets tough, the tough get.... latex." See Sticky Fingers for full explanation.
So my hands were dry and warm, but the spray blowing off the wave tops was making my hat wet. Hmmm. Do I need a latex hat as well?
So there I was blasting around on my Laser in the cold and dark at about 3:30 in the afternoon, watching all the cars on Hope Street with their lights on... and then it started to rain.
Life is good.
93 down. 7 to go. Brrrrr.
Yesterday my 3 year-old granddaughter Emily out of nowhere suddenly said, with much emphasis and emotion, "Grandad, I love you." (I seem to have progressed. In June she was saying I was her Best Friend.)
"That's great Emily. Why do you love me?" (Always fishing for a compliment, even from a 3-year-old.)
"Because you're wearing a green shirt, Grandad."
Hmmm.
Life is very good.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)