Sailing and Grandkids

Sailing and grandkids.

The persistent themes of this blog.

Today Tillerwoman found a canvas bag at the back of a closet that apparently came from the Laser US Masters Championship in 2008. So, being a curious kind of fellow, I just had to look up where that regatta was sailed.

New Bedford YC apparently.

I even wrote three blog posts about it.

My Best Friend
Dirty Duck
Blindsided


There's lots of entirely forgettable stuff about sailing in those three posts.

But the parts that still struck a chord with me were the parts where I wrote about my (then) only grandchild, Emily.

Emily and me at the beach

A few years ago

After the first day of the regatta...

Then home for lamb chops and salad with Tillerwoman, Cutest Granddaughter in the World, Tiller-Son#1, and Tiller-Daughter-in-Law who had all come to see us for the weekend. 

Apparently Cutest Granddaughter in the World had been asking where I was. When told that I was sailing she had said, "Grandad is my best friend."

Life is good.

And after the second day of the regatta...

I skipped the Saturday night regatta dinner at the yacht club and went home as my son, daughter-in-law and granddaughter were still at my house.

My two-year-old granddaughter Emily must have missed me because I was the center of her attention all evening. "I want to do something with you Grandad," she was saying before I was barely in the door. Hmmm. I needed to rinse my sailing clothes. Emily likes to play with hosepipes. So I let her spray water all over my sailing gear (and occasionally me) and she was deliriously happy.

I was even chosen to be the one to put her to bed and tell her bedtime stories. So I told her about when her father was a little boy and how he and his brother used to ride on my Laser sitting in front of the mast. And how we went camping in France with the Laser and the boys sailed on a lake with me. And how when her father was seven I bought him a green, wooden Optimist whose name was Dirty Duck and how he used to sail that all by himself. 

Her last words before she drifted off to sleep were, "Maybe one day I can have a dirty duck?"

Emily's father in Dirty Duck

A lot of years ago

Smart, funny, kind, loving, creative Emily is ten now.

Her passions these days are dancing and acting and friends, not sailing.

We never did buy her a "Dirty Duck."

When we went over to my son's house yesterday I only saw Emily for a few minutes before she was out of the door, going to a sleepover with a friend.

I have five other grandkids now.

Two of them are two years old.

Emily's little brother Andrew - one of those two-year-olds - still wants to play with me.

He has a leg in a cast right now, so we couldn't do anything very active.

But he does like to cuddle up to me and watch videos with me on my computer.

His favorites are "Three Little Fishes" and "Day One of the Total Domination 2015 Moth US Nationals at the Gorge."

No, really.


Day One Total Domination Moth US Nationals from Nick Bowers on Vimeo.

He even knows when to grunt "Huh" like the singer does.

Maybe we will be buying him a Waszp one day?

Andrew at the beach
This year

Sailing and grandkids.

The more things change the more they stay the same.



In other news, Tillerwoman has thrown my 2008 Laser US Masters bag away.

Throwback Thursday - Emily - Sailor, Kayaker, Dancer

10 years ago, in February of 2006, I posted this picture of my granddaughter Emily, who was then a couple of months old.

I was obviously very thrilled at being a new grandfather. In that month I posted an imaginary conversation about Laser sailing with her, Hiking, and also a story about how I learned to play Twinkle Twinkle Little Star for her on an Octopus.

Well Emily didn't turn out to be a Laser sailor, at least not yet. But I have taken her sailing on my Laser a couple of times, the first time being this occasion in 2012.

More recently she has been showing some interest in kayaking. See Emily the Kayaker.

But her real passion these days is dancing. She goes to dancing lessons several times a week and competes in competitions sometimes too. Even at home it seems like she is always practicing her "moves."

She's come a long way in 10 years...

Ten

Ten years ago today I became a grandfather.

Nine years ago today I posted this collage of shots from the first year of my granddaughter, Emily.

This is how she looks now.

Happy Birthday Emily!

Tiller Extensions on the Beach

While I was in Oregon this weekend playing in a little boat, Tillerwoman went to the beach with the Massachusetts tiller extensions.

The photo reminded me of this photo from a 2013 post.

Wait.

1, 2, 3.

1, 2, 3, 4.

There's another tiller extension in the 2015 photo who wasn't there before!

How did that happen?

Winter is Over?

The Sharon High School Sailing Team sailing on Lake Massapaog

(with a couple of the Tiller extensions in the foreground)

on an 80 degree day in March 2012.

The Sharon High School Sailing Team sailing on Lake Massapoag

while there is still ice at the edge of the lake

in April 2015.

Random Things I Am Thankful For This Thanksgiving

This Thanksgiving I am thankful for…

My sailing friends 

especially the ones who drove 

down from Massachusetts so many times 

to train with me in Rhode Island this year

The RS Aero 

perhaps the best new singlehanded sailing boat 

since the Laser

Cup-holders on boats 

The winter solstice

Trapezoid courses

Form N-400

MagSafe

Snow

My blog readers 

especially those of you who 

take the trouble to leave a comment 

or send me an email

Waking up

Sunrises

Mangoes

Papayas

Marley

Rum

 especially rum after sailing 

The farmers, growers, fishers, brewers, and winemakers 

of New England 

The Oxford comma 

The Final Beat

IEEE 802.11

Rule 43.1(a) 

Command-Shift-4

The Leinster Burger 

at Aidan's Pub 

Beer 

especially beer after sailing 

All the people who work in restaurants and bars and pubs 

Even More Extreme Sudoku

by

Antoine Alary 

Six little people

R.I.P Old Friend

 For many years I was "the guy in the green hat."

Then for a few more years I was in my flowery hat phase. For part of that time I was in my flowery hatted bearded marxist phase.

In the last few years I have been "the guy in the orange hat."



It's true. Once I find a sailing hat that fits well, I tend to wear it all the time, year after year, until I lose it or it falls to pieces. I have been wearing my orange hat for…

… sailing with friends in Rhode Island...

….sailing with my granddaughter in Massachusetts...

…breaking Laser masts in the BVI…

…training in Florida...

…and hanging out in beach bars with friends in the Dominican Republic.

A lot of good times and happy memories.

That orange hat has had a long and fulfilling life.

But all good things must come to an end.

On our sailing trip to Menorca last month I noticed that my orange hat was falling to pieces.

It was time to arrange for it to be put to rest.

I've had this hat a long time.

As you can see it commemorated the East End Laser Series. As in East End of Long Island. I never sailed in the East End Laser Series. The hat was given to me by a friend who used to organize the East End Series. Maybe he still does. I guess he must have had some hats left over that year.

And so I had to say a sad goodbye to my orange hat in Menorca.

I did contemplate giving it a Viking funeral but, in the end, I threw it out in the trash.

So now it is rotting away in a landfill in Menorca.

Or perhaps it was incinerated and its ashes are blowing away in the Mediterranean breeze.

Either way I like to think it's a fitting end.



So now I have to choose a new hat for sailing from my vast selection of sailing caps.

Something I will proud to wear for at least 5 or 6 years.

Hmmm!

Emily the Kayaker

My eldest grandchild - smart, talented, funny, kind Emily - is now a solo kayaker. And what a place to learn - in the spectacular scenery of the Adirondacks.


Hard to believe she is the same baby in this photo from less than 9 years ago.

10 Reasons Why Massapoag YC Might Be the Best Sailing Club on the Planet

On Saturday and Sunday my son and I raced with the Laser fleet at Massapoag Yacht Club in Sharon MA.

I can't remember the last time I had so much fun.

Here are 10 reasons why Massapoag YC is (quite possibly) the best sailing club on the planet….

1. There is Laser racing on Saturdays. Actually there is racing for Sunfish and Lasers on Saturdays. Lots of short races which is what we "board boats" like. Minimal waiting around between races. We did one windward-leeward race and then a gazillion Harry Anderson courses so we could enjoy some exciting reaches and the RC could video us gybing round the committee boat.

2. There is Laser racing on Sundays. Actually Sunday is their race day for all the fleets at MYC. Yesterday there was a good sized Flying Scot fleet, a couple of Day Sailers and seven or eight Lasers. The RC runs two longer races on Sundays, and then all the other boats go back to the club and the Laser sailors race lots more short races until our arms or legs drop off, whichever comes first.

3. There is wind. Lakes have a reputation as light wind venues. Well, it certainly wasn't light at MYC this weekend. Somebody said there were 28 knot gusts on Saturday and I don't think Sunday was much less. Of course it's gusty and shifty compared to sailing on more open waters but that just adds to the fun.

4. They let ME sail there. They even let my son sail there. Amazing!

5. The competition is just the right level for me. I'm not trailing around at the back of the fleet (except when I do something incredibly stupid.) On the other hand it's not easy to win there. In fact, I only won one of the gazillion races this weekend. But that's all I need to go home happy. (My son won a few more but then he had an expensive sailing education under the pretense of studying for an engineering degree.)

6. The club is only a few miles from my son's house. He doesn't have the time to sail very often so on the rare occasions I can persuade him to sail with me, this is one of the easiest locations to do it.

7. It's a very friendly fleet. In fact, when they found out that Sunday was my birthday someone organized an impromptu birthday party for me after sailing, complete with birthday cupcakes, a candle (66 candles would be a lot to expect) and a rousing rendition of Happy Birthday in five part harmony.

8. The water is fresh. After all the sailing I do on the sea, it's a real pleasure not to have to rinse the boat after sailing.

9. They make videos of the sailing. Well, at least they did this weekend. I can see my rather slow capsize recovery, my very bad leeward mark roundings, and many other learning experiences.

Here is my son initiating the gybe at the RC boat

And here I have just completed the gybe around the RC boat

and am about to chase the my son (who was leading the race) down the final run.
Screenshots from MYC video by David Gilman.

10. I think Massapoag YC may have unwittingly hooked my two eldest grandchildren, Emily and Aidan, on sailing. They have only been sailing on small boats once before, two years ago. It was at Lake Massapoag and I wrote about it here. On Sunday, Tillerwoman and my daughter-in-law (recently named by National Geographic Magazine as a top family blogger) were in the vicinity of the sailing club with the kids so they brought them there, arriving as my son and I were derigging.

Apparently Emily asked her mother when she could go sailing again. Mom told her that she could choose to go sailing any time she wanted. Just say when.

Emily didn't have to think before replying…. "NOW!"

I think she takes after me a little bit.

Happy birthday indeed.

Emily sailing with me in 2012

A Day at the Park - Best Father's Day Ever

My son said he wanted to take me out to a park for Father's Day.

What? Does he think I'm some old geezer whose idea of a good time is a trip to a park? I'm a Laser sailor, a runner, a skier (well, I used to be a skier), a kayaker (well, a few times a year.)  Why didn't he choose something sporty like that to do with me on Father's Day?

Anyway I decided to humor him. So on Sunday morning my son, my son's wife, my two eldest grandkids and I all packed into their minivan to drive into Boston to go to the park. They seemed to think it was a big deal. Apparently it is a very historic park.  And through my daughter-in-law's general famousness and awesomeness as a mommy blogger she had secured for us what was apparently the fantastic privilege that when we got to the park we would be allowed to go on "THE FIELD."

They always said "THE FIELD" as if it were in capital letters and quotes. That's how I knew it was a special honor and privilege to be allowed to go on "THE FIELD." Apparently while were on "THE FIELD" we would be able to watch BP.

BP's new corporate logo

I didn't quite know why we would want to watch BP but I humored them and went along with the flow.

We got to the park. We parked the car quite close to the park. I could tell this must be a very famous and popular park because it cost $40 to park the car. Some very nice gentlemen took our money and showed us where to park the car. Apparently this parking space belonged to Brad. 

Brad's parking space

Thank you Brad.

My daughter-in-law found the gentleman at the park who was there to help us and whispered to him the secret password. (It was "mommyblogger" but don't tell anyone.) The gentleman ushered us through some secret doors and tunnels and opened a gate for us so we could go on "THE FIELD."

Wow!

It was quite a big field shaped a bit like a pizza slice. The grass was very nice and green. I think they use Scott's fertilizer like I use on my lawn at home. 

The hallowed turf of "THE FIELD"

But we weren't allowed to actually go on the hallowed turf of "THE FIELD." We had to stand on some dirt at the edge of "THE FIELD." 

The dirt at the edge of "THE FIELD" 

But we were quite close to the hallowed turf. It was almost like being in church.

Selfie 

showing how close I was 

to the hallowed turf

Anyway after a while the gentleman who was there to look after us said it was time to go to our seats. My son was very impressed with our seats because apparently they were the original seats that had been there since the park was first opened, coincidentally the same week that the Titanic sank. 

Seats as old as the Titanic

Judging by the legroom, people were a lot smaller in 1912.

Proof that people were a lot smaller in 1912

The other thing I noticed was that we were in a part of the park that had a roof over it and there was water dropping from the roof on to us. At least I hoped it was water. Maybe the roof had been there since the Titanic sank, so it was not surprising that it had a leak. The Titanic had a leak too, I believe.

Roof that lasted a lot better than the Titanic

even if it did leak a little bit.

The roof not the Titanic.

The Titanic had a much bigger leak.

Anyway by now it was time for lunch so we went and bought some hot dogs and pizza and beer. I knew it must be very good beer because a glass cost $10. I was beginning to enjoy myself. Maybe the park wasn't so bad after all.

So we hung out at the park in the seats from the Titanic and drank the very good beer and I got to meet some of the other famous mommy bloggers who all seemed to have very cute kids, although not as cute as my grandkids of course.

My grandkids standing on the dirt

at the edge of "THE FIELD"

and looking for BP

After a while someone sang the National Anthem and then some guys in white and grey uniforms came on "THE FIELD" and played rounders for about 17 hours... and then we went home.

What an awesome day.

Not at all what I expected.

Best Father's Day ever!

How to Get Killer Starts in Laser Races

Last Thursday evening there was another webinar organized by Javier "Rulo" Borojovich, the head coach at the Laser Training Center in Cabarete. This one was about Starting Technique and featured as guest expert, UK Laser sailor Nick Thompson, currently ranked by ISAF as #5 Laser sailor in the world.

Nick Thompson

God knows I need to improve my starts but unfortunately - well fortunately really -Tillerwoman and I had agreed to babysit the four Massachusetts tiller extensions at the designated hour for the webinar while their parents went out on a well-deserved night on the town in Boston which was somehow earned by my daughter-in-law's blogging efforts. I think I mentioned before that she is the successful blogger in the family. People actually give her things like money and nights out on the town in Boston for her blogging. I don't know where I'm going wrong.

Where was I? Where am I? Oh yes babysitting the Massachusetts tiller extensions.

4 grandkids randomly doing stuff

 on a couch that isn't very level

So as I really really need to improve my starts, and as I was clearly not going to be able to concentrate on the webinar while four grandkids were running around the house pretending to be a ballerina or monster trucks or whatever it is they are supposed to be, and bouncing off the walls and singing songs about royals or tigers or making monster truck noises, and clamoring for something to eat or refusing to eat what is put in front of them, in other words just kids being kids… I asked Rulo if I could have a look at a recording of the webinar at some later date. And he agreed.

So once I had recovered from the babysitting experience (only joking kiddos - I always love spending time with you) and the terrible awful disgusting thing that happened just after their parents came home from their bloggy night out in Boston (you really don't want to know) I settled down quietly at home to watch the recording of the webinar and learn about starting technique from Rulo and Nick.

Rulo's presentation and Nick's expert contributions covered everything you would want to know about getting killer starts in Laser races including, how to decide where on the line to start, how to hold your position on the line, how to create a leeward gap, how to accelerate at the start, and how to hold your lane after the start.

Of course a lot of this is standard stuff that you will hear at any starting clinic or can read in any good book about Laser sailing. But there were also quite a few useful tips and hints that I hadn't heard before such as…

• Why Nick doesn't start in the middle of the line very often but why Robert Scheidt does and where someone who doesn't have very good boat speed (I think he was talking about me) should start.
• A trick on how to spot the RC boat at the end of the line when the view is blocked by sails.
• The importance of checking "drift rate."
• How to find a gap on the line in the last 30 seconds before the start (with a video showing Nick pulling this off to perfection!)
• Six tips to minimize leeward drift.
• Three ways to create a leeward gap.
• Five keys to protecting your gap.
• A trick to confuse the judges. Sssshhh. Don't tell anyone.
• Three best ways to practice starting.
• And much much more.

So thanks to Rulo and Nick for an excellent webinar.

And thanks to Emily, Aidan, Owen and Andrew for being good kids and so much fun (apart from that terrible awful disgusting thing that happened after their parents came home.)

The next webinar will be on 27 March and will be about upwind speed in light and medium winds with Laser Olympic Bronze Medalist Rasmus Myrgren from Sweden as guest expert. You can sign up here.
       

Tiller Extensions on the Beach

The three oldest tiller extensions are at the beach this week.

We will be joining them for a couple of days later in the week.

Why do human beings like the beach so much?

I'm a Mess

Yesterday, Pandabonium of Sweet Bluesette published a thoughtful and inspiring post on the subject of Winning. You should read it.

Panda sails the only Lido 14 (so far) in Japan with his wife. He doesn't sail to compete. He and his wife sail purely for fun, for the pleasure of each other's company, and to improve their sailing skills. They seem very content with the role of sailing in their lives and their approach to it.

In the post Panda talks about his attitudes to competition in his youth, and reminds us of an example from the Olympics of an athlete who won the hearts of people all over the world by demonstrating perseverance against adversity; a real "winner" even if he didn't come away with a medal.



I was touched by his post, but surprised at the end when he gave a shout-out for this blog and wrote of my "sensible attitude toward racing" and my knowing "what really makes his life worthwhile."

Really?

It doesn't feel like that from where I sit.



In contrast, I don't feel that I am very sensible at all about my approach to sailing and racing, and am always confused and conflicted about how to balance the things that make life worthwhile.

I swing back and forth from one extreme to another.

I tell myself I am one thing and act like I am another.



I write a blog about Laser sailing and about how I am trying to become a better Laser sailor and about my Laser racing.

But I am always being pulled away from Laser sailing by other enthusiasms, and often by my own laziness.



Some years I am very competitive and sail lots of regattas and even do some frostbite racing.

And other years I seem to have very little appetite for racing at all.



Some years I like to travel all over the world to race.

And other years it just seems like the rewards of that will not be worth the cost in money and effort and time.



Some times I enjoy sailing for the sheer pleasure of it, the enjoyment of solitude in wind and waves and water.

And other days I miss an opportunity to enjoy such a sailing experience because I convince myself it's too cold or too hot, or too windy or not windy enough.



I enjoy the company of other sailors both on the water and afterwards over a beer or two.

But sometimes I pass up on opportunities to meet up with friends for sailing. Last weekend was a perfect example. I could have had a fun sail on Friday with friends on Buzzards Bay but I went for a long run in the heat instead and was too tired to do anything else for the rest of the day. Then on Saturday I could have gone racing with the same friends, but I stayed at home and played with my grandkids instead.



The truth is I am not as committed to sailing as I would need to be if I really wanted to improve my racing skills significantly.

The truth is that there are other things in life, like family and running and gardening and just relaxing, that often get in the way of sailing.



Bottom line: I'm a mess.



On the other hand...

Everyone has to balance the demands for their time. Work, family, recreation, exercise, travel, relaxation. I have it better than most. I don't have to do the first thing on that list any more. And I have four amazing, fascinating little people in my life, Isabel, Owen, Aidan and Emily, my grandkids.

One of the first posts on this blog was called Focus.

Perhaps it has taken me eight years of blogging to realize that the secret of a happy life might be more about balance than focus?

Maybe that's what Panda was trying to tell me?

10 Safety Tips to Follow when Boating with Kids

As an avid sailor and a grandparent of four young children aged one to seven, I naturally relish the idea of going boating with my grandkids. We had some boating trips together last summer such as the memorable day I wrote about here.

I look forward to many more such opportunities.



Of course, safety is paramount when boating with kids, which is why I am happy to recommend this article, originally posted on NannyPro.com (not a site I link to very often!)

Getting out onto the water and enjoying the spray across your face is a relaxing way to spend a summer day, and an exciting experience for little ones that are getting their first taste of the joy that is boating. Unfortunately, boating can also be a highly dangerous activity when there are kids involved and the adults on board aren’t properly educated on important safety rules. These are ten of the things you should always keep in mind when you’re on the water with little ones in tow.

Read the rest of the article...

Cake

We had some of the family at our house this weekend to celebrate my 65th birthday.

My 7-year-old granddaughter decorated this cake for me.

Best Father's Day Card Ever

Last July, my son and I took his two eldest kids, Emily (then 6) and Aidan (4) sailing on our Lasers for the first time.

This week at pre-school Aidan drew this picture for his Dad for Father's Day.

Do you think we might have someone else in the family already hooked on sailing?

Another Half to Remember

It was a strange weekend.

No sailing for one thing. On Saturday I was resting in preparation for the half marathon, on Sunday I was running the half marathon, and on Monday I was resting and recovering from the half marathon (and groaning a lot).

I say resting, but there's no real rest when when the house is full of Tiller Extensions. The two eldest grandchildren came for a sleepover on Friday night - a very special treat for them. The rest of the Massachusetts Tiller Extensions arrived on Saturday morning, and every hour when I wasn't actually running in Boston was full of play and games and fun. Grandchildren are the best fun ever invented.

Emily, my eldest grandchild, had worked out that Memorial Day was actually her "half birthday." She was exactly 7 years and 6 months old.

So we had to have a Half-Birthday Party.

With half a birthday cake. With seven and a half candles. And we sang half of Happy Birthday (omitting every other syllable.)

Very silly.

Emily and Tillerwoman made the half-birthday cake.

But Emily did all the decoration of the cake, with the flair and imagination that only a seven and a half year old girl could conjure.

Another half to remember!

A Good Friday

Review of 2012

2012 was another funny old year...


In January I went out racing with the Newport Laser Frostbite fleet early in the month and had a very confusing day which I wrote about at Say What You Like About The Deaf. This was also the month that I accidentally got into one of those stupid Internet fights with some hip, young bloggers selected to cover the Volvo Ocean Race in Abu Dhabi. Why do some people not understand my sense of humor? Anyway I forgot about all that nonsense by jetting off to the Laser Center in Cabarete with a bunch of local Laser sailing friends for Just Another Week in Paradise. Aaah! I feel like I may need another Cabarete break soon.

In February I had a day out in Boston and wrote Two Things about the New England Boat Show. And in the depths of the New England winter I was dreaming about the  Top 9 Sailing Destinations on the Planet. Didn't sail a Laser even once. Ugh!

In early March, I went down to Florida with some sailing friends for a 4 day Laser sailing clinic at Kurt and Meka Taulbee's SailFit. We had a blast and I wrote about it at Mashers Gone Wild. In other news I was philosophizing on 7 Reasons Why Human Beings Love The Beach. March must have been comparatively mild because I did go Laser sailing locally three times too.

For reasons that seem to have slipped my memory, I only sailed my Laser once in April, and even that day was a pretty pathetic attempt as I had to invent 30 Reasons Why I Only Sailed 3 Races Today. On the blog we had a group writing project about sailing destinations and, thanks to some inspiration from Anna Railton I wrote the ultimate, definitive Laser Sailing: The Rules.

Early in May I went out for a Tuesday evening sail in somewhat windy conditions and hurt my back so badly that it basically screwed up the rest of my season. I wrote about it at Scary Play and Playing Hurt.  In fact for some crazy reason I was writing posts on the theme of "play" every day in May. Two of my favorites are Playing with Dad and Playing with Grandkids.

In June I eased rather slowly into Laser sailing again, not wanting to make my back injury any worse. You can read about it at Back. We had a group writing project on photography for bloggers which elicited an amazing response. And Tillerwoman and I had A Nice Day Out In Newport watching some chaps in helmets race catamarans.

In July I sailed my Laser nine times but the highlight of the year was definitely the afternoon when I took my granddaughter sailing for the first time. Read about it at Sailing with Grandkids - The Hook and When Daddy Was a Little Boy. I love my grandkids, of course, but I also wrote about another love of mine in A Love Story.


In August I sailed my Laser nine times too, including the three day Buzzards Bay Regatta which (unusually) had great sailing winds every day. I was working pretty hard - see When I'm 64 - but was still nursing my back injury by skipping some of the later races each day. I also wrote a long rambling post about different ways of Learning concluding that my favorite way is the fish and chips and beer method.


In September I sailed the New England Masters at the start of the month, always one of my favorite regattas. But I was "knackered" as we say in real English after only two races on Day 1, (definitely wasn't fit this summer) but I did manage to complete all the races on Day 2. It's sad to say that my 2012 racing season was so messed up by the slow recovery from my early season back problem, that that was the first day at a regatta that I had been able to finish all the races. Oh well, better late than never. Later in the month Tillerwoman and I headed off on a trip to visit family in England and then on to the Mediterranean for some sailing. Somehow I also managed to find the time to write one of those rambling philosophical posts about Sailing and Luck.


We spent the first half of October at one of my favorite places, Minorca Sailing. I raced a lot and won sometimes. I did gazillions of drills and learned a lot from the instructors. Some days I just had a blast on my own. I actually sailed Lasers on 14 consecutive days, sometimes twice a day. I guess my back was finally better? On my return home I sailed in my last regatta of the season, the Fat Boys in Bristol, completed all the races and actually managed to come 3rd and 5th in the final two races. Wow. I finally got back to form just as the season was ending? Such is life.

In November I did a bit of frostbiting at Duxbury and Newport, and finally worked out, after over 30 years, why I still persist in sailing a Laser even though it's hard and I have never been very good at it.

"If it's amazing, it won't be easy. 

If it's easy, it won't be amazing. 

 If it's worth it, you won't give up. 

If you give up, you're not worthy."

 (with apologies to Bob Marley who almost said this.)

December brought some more frostbiting at Newport and then off for ten days at the Bitter End Yacht Club where I received some very sad news.

When I counted up how many days I had sailed a Laser in 2012 I discovered that the total was 64. Not too shabby (but still a long way from my old aspiration to make it to a 100 days one year.) In spite of the back injury leading to an incredibly below average summer of Laser racing and training for me, I made up a lot of days on our trips to the DR, Florida and the BVI, and especially with that 14 days of consecutive Laser sailing in Menorca.

There were some great days of sailing in 2012, but that day in July when I sailed with my granddaughter for the first time was the best of all...

Happy New Year to all my readers.

Celebrating the New Year Tillerman Style

Sunday

I didn't expect to go sailing on Sunday. But I did expect to be on the water.

Encouraged by a friend I had signed up a few weeks ago to be part of the race committee team for the Newport Laser frostbite fleet on Sunday. As I recall it, his logic was that we should do race committee together "before the weather gets really cold." I was all for that. I always find it colder doing RC in the winter than actually sailing. At least when you are sailing a Laser you can usually work up a nice fuggy sweat inside your drysuit.

I kept checking the weather forecast for the weekend all week. It didn't look good. Snow was coming. It was going to be cold. It was going to be windy.

The snowstorm hit on Saturday afternoon dumping several inches of snow. The forecast for Sunday was for 40 mph gusts and mid-teens windchill. Early in the evening an email arrived from the fleet captains...

Weather forecasts are calling for up to 6 inches of snow tonight and then windy and cold tomorrow. If we can safely sail, we will.

Yikes. These guys are serious. Further updates were promised for 9am and 11am on Sunday morning. But they clearly wanted to postpone a decision not to sail to as late as possible, because in the last few weeks the wind forecasts for our sailing areas have not been all that reliable.

I got up on Sunday morning around 7am to make a cup of coffee. I checked the weather forecast. There was a Wind Advisory out for Newport threatening 50 mph gusts. Wind chill was still forecast to be in the mid-teens.

Surely they will cancel sailing, I thought. Certainly if I weren't committed to doing RC I would have decided to skip sailing myself. The wind was already a solid 20 gusting to 30 and forecast to get windier as the day progressed. But I had made a commitment to do RC, so if they sailed I would have to go.

I kept checking my email and Facebook. Nothing by 9am. Nothing by 9:15, 9:30, 9:45... Just before 10 the email arrived...

No sailing today. It might technically be sailable right now, but the breeze is expected to pick up, and the temperature isn't expected to get above freezing. With gusts into the 30s, we're going to err on the side of caution. See you in 2013. Go Pats!

I loved that bit about being "technically" sailable "right now."

With a sense of relief I settled in for a lazy day by the fireside...

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Monday

I didn't expect to go skiing on New Year's Eve.

I haven't skied since about 2004.

I thought that I was done with skiing.

But my son and his wife had been talking about getting their 7-year-old daughter, Emily, on skis sometime soon. So as I looked out at all the fresh snow on Sunday afternoon and had a glass or two of wine with dinner, or perhaps it was a bottle or two, and perhaps there was something a little stronger too... on an impulse I called my son and asked, "How about we take Emily skiing tomorrow?"

He was way ahead of me.  Not only was he already planning to take Emily skiing, her little brother Aidan (4) also wanted to come. Tillerwoman and I said we would join them.

I then started rummaging around in the back of my closet, looking to see if I had any skiing clothes that still fit me. (I might be a few pounds heavier than I was in 2004.) I found some gear that, while not exactly the height of fashion at St.Moritz for the 2013 season, didn't make me look totally ridiculous.

And on Monday morning we all headed off for Wachusett Mountain in Massachusetts.

We checked the children into the "Polar Kids" program which was excellent. The instructors took care of fitting the children out with boots and skis and helmets, looked after them for three hours, gave them skiing lessons in a safe area fenced off from all the other skiers, and gave them a break in the middle of the session with hot chocolate and snacks, all the time making it fun for them.

As for me, I felt totally strange being on skis for the first time in almost nine years. I just walked around on the skis for a while to get the feel for it all again. Then I braved the chair lift and managed to fall off at the end of the ride. I somehow forgot to stand up!

I slid tentatively down the nursery slope doing some ugly turns. But I did get down in one piece.

Then I went over to where my grandkids were and watched them for a while. They seemed to be doing better than me already.

Emily

I think she is smiling? 

It's not really a look of terror. 

And no she doesn't actually have three arms.

Aidan

Actually he wasn't smiling most of the time.

He looked really glum when he was doing the lessons.

But he always looks that way when he is concentrating.

So do I. 

I usually look totally miserable when photographed sailing my Laser.

But I'm not.

Neither was Aidan.

I then went and skied a bit more. Actually started going faster and making not quite so ugly turns. It all started coming back to me. I think I could get back into skiing again. Maybe I should take a refresher lesson?

The kids had a ball. Couldn't stop talking about all the fun they had had and how they definitely wanted to come again. Until they both fell asleep in the car on the way home.

So that was quite an appropriate way to celebrate the last day of 2012 - the year in which we had also taken Emily and Aidan Laser sailing for the first time.

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Tuesday

I did expect to go for a run on New Year's Day.

And I did.

Once again I entered for the aptly named Hangover Classic 5 mile road race in Bristol.

I wrote about the 2011 run at The Older I Get The Faster I Was and the 2010 event at Crazy Run Grandad.

As in the previous two times I ran the race, there was snow on the ground making it all the more spectacular.

But it was a lot colder this year. Either that or I am getting older and it felt colder. Whatever the reason I didn't run the race in shorts and T-shirt this year. No sir. Long pants, sweatshirt, hat, gloves, the whole caboodle.

Hurricane Sandy damaged one of the roads on which we normally run, so the course was different this year. The bad news was that this meant that the first and last half mile or so were on a very icy stretch of the East Bay Bike Path. The good news was that the middle three miles or so of the race were on roads in Colt State Park which had been plowed clear of snow this year because they were being used as diversions for the road damaged by the hurricane.

I ran very carefully and slowly on the icy stretches. Didn't want to start the new year by breaking a leg.

But I kept up a pretty good pace (for me) on the middle three miles.

When I checked back in my notes in my running diary (did someone say"anal-retentive"?) I discovered that, in spite of my slow pace on the icy stretches, I actually ran the 5 miles faster than any other 5 miles I ran in 2012, and the middle 3 miles were faster than any other 3 miles I ran in 2012.

So that was quite an appropriate way to start 2013.

Happy New Year!