Why I Changed My Name This Weekend

I have been called lots of things in my 67 years on this planet.

My parents gave me a first name which I have never liked very much.

I do have a middle name but I like that even else.

At the school I attended from ages 10 to 17 - what was known as a grammar school in England - I was called by my last name. That was the way in boys' schools in England in those days. That was OK. I have a nice simple English last name which only Americans manage to spell wrongly.



My wife has called me all sorts of things but we don't need to go into that.

I have been called all sorts of things when racing my Laser too.

And here in the blogosphere I go by Tillerman, of course.



Ten years ago, I became Granddad and I thought that was the coolest name ever.

Until this weekend.

We have been in Connecticut celebrating the 2nd birthday of my youngest grandchild, Juliet. That's her on the right in the photo with her big sister Isabel.

Juliet is talking up a storm these days, learning new words and expressions almost every day it seems. Perhaps it was the kids' TV program we watched together about circles and squares and rectangles, and concepts like small, medium and big, but whatever the reason she suddenly decided to call me Big Granddad!!!

It is true that I am a few inches taller than her other grandfather, and Juliet is a very observant child.



I do like my new name.

I am Big Granddad.

Who are you?

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

What Keeps Me Young

My grandkids make me laugh.

Isabel (2) was given a new sled towards the end of the winter.

Where is she going today?

Is she looking for snow?

Or does she think it's a boat?

Owen (3) broke his arm this week.

He was very brave at the hospital.

Here he is, having a bath, keeping his cast dry with a bread bag.

A bread bag?

My grandkids make me laugh.

Laughing keeps me young.

My Father's Eyes

Today would have been my Dad's 92nd birthday.

It's hard to believe I've been without him for 18 years.

He never met any of his American great grandchildren.

But he would have taken enormous pleasure in all of them.

As the sun set tonight, Isabel and I played some music for Dad.

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?

Ocean Girl

Youngest granddaughter Isabel has been at the beach in South Carolina this week.

I think she likes the water.

Cracked!

The day wasn't supposed to end like this.

In the morning we were babysitting our two totally amazing, awesome, handsome grandsons in Massachusetts. I had checked beforehand with my daughter-in-law that we would be able to leave as soon as she finished work at lunchtime. I wanted to get back to Rhode Island in time to go sailing this afternoon.

We drove back to Rhode Island.

I hitched up the boat trailer and drove to Bristol.

I rigged my Laser.

I was just about to get changed into my sailing gear when I looked closely at my gooseneck.

Hmmm. That's not good.

There was a crack in the gooseneck fitting on the mast that extended about two thirds up its length.

Hmmm. I wonder if that's why I have been hearing ominous cracking sounds from the mast area recently?

If the gooseneck broke off completely while I was two miles upwind from my launch area, it would definitely ruin my day.

So I derigged my boat.

I took the photo above.

I called our local Laser shop to see if they had a gooseneck fitting in stock. They didn't but they might be able to get one from the factory next door, but the factory was closed for the day, so I will have to check back in the morning. If they don't have one I can always buy one online, or even reuse the old one that is on the mast that I broke three years ago, that I still have.

I drove back home.

Good job I wasn't planning to race anywhere this weekend.

Youngest grandchild, amazing, awesome, beautiful Isabel is coming to visit.

She can help me drilling out the rivets and putting on the new gooseneck.

Life is good.

A Good Friday

Forty is the Magic Number

Forty years ago today, on November 4th 1972, I took my girlfriend out to dinner at the same restaurant that we had been to on our first date almost a year earlier. Then we went to a bonfire and fireworks party. It was the closest Saturday to November 5th, Guy Fawkes Day, after all.

Later that evening we went for a walk by the River Thames and I asked her to marry me.

She said yes.

Little did we know that on the other side of the Atlantic at the New York Boat Show earlier that year a little fiberglass sailboat called a Laser had been unveiled, and that the little boats had been selling like hot cakes. Why would we know? As she often reminds me, I wasn't a sailor when she agreed to marry me.

Fast forward ten years. We took a trip to Minorca Sailing. We learned to sail. I tried out a Laser for the first time. She decided she didn't like sailing after all. I came home and bought a Laser. It changed my life. Our lives I suppose.

In the next thirty years she has tolerated my disappearing at least one day most weekends to go Laser sailing. And she has let me drag her to various places all over the world to satisfy my sailing addiction. Florida, Australia, Canada, South America, Europe, various Caribbean islands. Life is hard for the wife of a Laser sailor.

Today on our anniversary we will celebrate by....

No. Wait. I'm going Laser sailing.

But she doesn't mind. When I haven't been sailing for a while and on some chilly winter morning I am debating with myself whether to sail or not, she will always encourage me to go sailing. I don't think it's because she just wants me out of the house; in reality she knows that I will be happier and easier to live with if I've had my fix.

Later this month we will celebrate the first birthday of our fourth grandchild, Isabel.

Life is very good.

Forty is the magic number.

I think I'll go sailing now.

Ladybug

Granddaughter Isabel.

First Halloween.

She was walking at 10 months old.

All my grandchildren are above average (of course.)

Tiller Extensions

Tiller Extensions

7 Reasons Why Human Beings Love The Beach

Why do human beings like going to the beach so much?


I've been asking myself this question because the whole Tillerman family, myself and all nine Tiller extensions, have been making plans over the last few days to spend a week together at a rented beach house this summer. We all like the beach. Well, we don't quite know whether Isabel (four months old) likes the beach. She hasn't expressed an opinion on the matter yet. But the rest of us do. Most human being do, don't they? But why?


On Sunday, seven of us drove down to Cape Cod to check out the house where we will be staying and, most important of all, to check out the beach. We all loved it, although perhaps for somewhat different reasons. My son's wife seemed to be the most enthusiastic. Her love of the beach seems to be almost visceral. I just looked up the meaning of "visceral" to see if I had the right word there. "Related to deep inward feelings... instinctive... felt in or as if in the internal organs of the body... deep." Yes, that's the right word. But why do human beings have such a visceral attachment to beaches?

This is a beach. Indeed it is the beach where we will be spending a week this summer. It is wide. It is flat. Those little dots on the left are some of the Tiller extensions. Why do we love places like this so much?


1. One theory, proposed by the zoologist Desmond Morris in his book The Naked Ape (and by others), is that homo sapiens is descended from apes who lived on the shore. We spent a lot of time in the water. We dived for shellfish. As a result we started to adapt to life in the water and this explains a number of features that are unique to our species among the apes, such as our lack of body hair, our poor sense of smell, and our ability to swim underwater. Hence our visceral attraction to spending time on the beach and frolicking in the water. It's what we were made for. It's more than visceral. It's in our genes.


2. Another theory, advanced by Christian Lander the author of the blog Stuff White People Like, is that white people like living by the water for a number of reasons including that it enables us to pursue many of the activities that we like such as "swimming, kayaking, canoeing, sailing, and it’s a perfect place to read next to." He also points out that "on the East Coast, many white people dream of owning ocean front property in New England, where they can make their lives as close as possible to a J. Crew catalog." Can it just be a coincidence that, after our visit to the beach yesterday, my daughter-in-law is now dreaming of saving up to buy a house on that very beach? Perhaps I should buy her a J. Crew gift card for her birthday?


3. In search of more expert opinions on this question, I asked my 6-year-old granddaughter Emily why she enjoyed the beach. She answered that she liked searching for hermit crabs and other sea creatures in all the tidal pools.


4. To the same question, my 3-year-old grandson Aidan said that he liked building sandcastles.

5. My 20-month-old grandson Owen (that's him in the photo above) seemed to be having a grand old time on the beach yesterday. When asked what he liked about it he replied, "Granddad... water... bucket... digger... more water... Grandma." I think this is the best answer yet. Then he sat down, fully clothed, in a little pool.


6. Speaking purely for myself, I like beaches for long runs by myself, long walks with Tillerwoman, playing with my grandchildren, flying a kite and, of course, launching my Laser. (Although I will not be taking my Laser on our beach vacation this summer.)


7. Sometimes the ultimate wisdom on the great questions of life can be found in poetry and music. The question of why human beings love the beach so much is addressed by the famous beach expert, Zac Brown, in his composition Toes.

I got my toes in the water, ass in the sand

Not a worry in the world, a cold beer in my hand

Life is good today, life is good today

I think that about sums it up.

Funny Old Year

It's been a funny old year...

In January I didn't do any Laser sailing but I was blogging up a storm. The month started with a post about my friend Antolin sitting on a toilet holding a toilet plunger and ended up with some nonsense about how I would like to be a jellyfish. In between I did write one or two serious post about the state of Laser sailing in the world including a much commented post on the topic of Fairness.

In February I didn't do any Laser sailing but was blogging away like crazy on such diverse topics as Coarse Sailing and debating the pros and cons of whether I should go to the 2011 Laser Masters Worlds in San Francisco. We also had fun with one of our most popular group writing projects ever, this time on the topic of Navigation. You can see all 25 entries here. You the readers voted the entry by Bonnie of Frogma as the one you liked the most. As we all know she is Buoy Crazy.

In March I didn't do any Laser sailing, and you can see from my blogging that month that the deprivation was beginning to affect my mind. I went on a wild spree of writing over twenty consecutive posts inspired by titles and lyrics of Simon and Garfunkel songs. What was I thinking? One of the few serious posts that month was about a major issue facing the Laser Class that might force us to split into Three Laser Classes. In spite of the best efforts by our class leadership, this issue is still unresolved today.

For the first three weeks of April I didn't go Laser sailing. By this time my Laser sailing withdrawal symptoms were getting serious and I was even crabby to one of my dear online friends, who kindly recommended a dinghy fix as treatment for my crabbiness. God it was good to get back in the boat again, even if I was pretty Rusty. One of the most popular posts in April was a post about Safety in which I discussed all manner of possible safety equipment that might be carried by anyone who is crazy enough to go off sailing his Laser alone on the ocean wide.

I only sailed my Laser once in May and my blog suffered even more from the mental distress this lack of dinghy fixes was causing. I rambled on about extinct Olympic sports and Pippa Middleton's bottom, until in the middle of the month I turned the blog post writing function over to my readers by starting a group writing project, challenging participants to write boating related posts inspired by the titles or lyrics of Beatles' songs. This time there were 34 inventive, amazing entries - 28 here and 6 more here.

In June I blogged less and sailed my Laser more. About bloody time! With the Laser Masters Atlantic Coasts coming up at the end of month I got in several days of practice sailing, including my famous (well it will be one day) cameo appearance in the movie Moonrise Kingdom. The Masters regatta turned out to be a bit of an anticlimax for me after an attack of the dreaded finger cramps. Damn! Damn! Damn!

In July I went Laser sailing on 13 days. Woo hoo! Life is back to normal. Or what I wish "normal" was. I practiced a different technique aimed at avoiding the dreaded finger cramps as recommended by the wise old man of Lake Eustis. I played in the waves off Little Compton. I did the Newport Regatta and found my groove (well I did in one race!) I sailed in the Lipton Cup in Quincy and discovered the joys of not playing the Red Sox. I played Lake Sailing Roulette at Lake Massapoag.  Sometimes I went for a bit of a yot on Tuesday evenings in Bristol, including the evening we went searching for the mythical Red Can. And then at the end of the month I sailed the three day Hyannis Regatta, perhaps the most rewarding regatta of the year.

After Hyannis, I enjoyed a few days with my grandkids on the beach on Cape Cod, and then the first weekend of August I did the three day Buzzards Bay Regatta. There was a frustrating light wind day when you had to remember to Always Look on the Bright Side of Life, a classic Buzzards Bay hikefest day, and a day that was a washout. That's sailing for you. After Buzzards Bay, I took it easy in August with a bit of local sailing and some Tuesday evenings in Bristol, while some of my buddies were off in San Francisco performing all sorts of heroics.

In September I went off to Europe and had a couple of marvelous weeks at Minorca Sailing. I had one very productive week working with an excellent Laser coach who helped me fix various flaws in my technique, and in the second week I got to play in some of my  dream boats such as the Laser SB3 and the RS100. I could have blogged a lot more than I did about the whole experience... but I didn't.

The first weekend in October I sailed in the Last Blast Regatta at Quannapowitt YC and surprised all my buddies and myself by winning the first race! Woo hoo! I guess that coach in Menorca knew what he was talking about? Later that month I ran the Newport Half Marathon.

In November I went out racing with the Newport Frostbite Fleet on the first week of the season, and made a lot of my male readers very happy because that was my 43rd day of Laser sailing this year. The next weekend I ran in the inaugural Citizens Bank Newport Pell Bridge Run, and a few days later celebrated the happiest event of the year. After a few posts stirring up some debate about helmets for sailors, I wrote a Thank You post to all my readers and decided to stop blogging.

In December, Tillerwoman and I had a wonderful vacation at the Bitter End Yacht Club in the BVI. There was Laser sailing. There was racing. There was rum when I won. There was lots of sailing and kayaking with Tillerwoman. There was beer can racing, and there was beer even when we didn't win. I didn't blog about any of it.

It's been a funny old year.

Dreaming About Laser Sailing

I have been searching for a while for a photo to illustrate what I was talking about a few days ago in my post about how to hold your hands when sailing a Laser upwind. The recommendation from my instructor in Menorca was to keep your hands in front of you, with the sheet hand high so that you can easily dump the sheet in a puff by straightening then arm while still holding the sheet.

My friend Antolin pointed out that this picture of my new granddaughter Isabel Grace (born on Wednesday) illustrates it perfectly. She is a natural! She must be dreaming about Laser sailing!

If the Laser Class doesn't self destruct in the next 20 years I see a bright future for her on the Laser Radial scene.

New Tiller Extension

The suspense is over. A new tiller extension was delivered just after midnight. Heading down to Connecticut this morning to check her out. Details and photos will be posted later.

Update: Isabel Grace. Born 12:18am 11/16/11. 8lbs 3oz. Mother and baby doing fine. My second granddaughter and fourth grandchild.