Solo Ventures

The breeze from SE is offshore and flattens the Pittwater Scend making life aboard less alarming.  Going onboard was still exciting, standing too far aft on the ski, with too heavy a backpack, the ski shoots away and gives me a partial funking. It was more amusing, than dangerous in hindsight.  Getting work underway, the Boarding adder 2.0 will benefit from a deck pad to raise it off the scupper rail.  Mucking about with the sails, I noticed the main working jib again ripped to the touch. Although the bulk of the cloth is on good condition, the last 300mm of leech is rotten. This is obviously the same area that was sun exposed when it was a furling sail.  Plan B, the other jib. Fortunately, although it had been used as a furling sail, it was in much better shaped. The new hanks were hastily fitted, she was hoisted and looks great.  Meanwhile the luff was measured with a view to buying some more secondhand sails.  Mainsail next. With the old style boom cover, andcties off, she hoisted w

How fortunate & thankful am I to be rewarded with this view today from my bedroom balcony.  Also to be feeling spritely after a day of light eating. Just one meal of chicken & vegetables.  Today's gospel urges me to not judge others, & only after having walked a mile* in their shoes. How liberating!  " In Ancient Roman times this meant " a thousand steps ".  Bless your bliss! 

Swinging on a mooring some 200k away my Folkie has more of a mental presence than a real one. Although I think of her daily, my efforts to reach my goal are directed in roundabout ways. Some are more obvious, like today, a large package adorned with Rolly Tasked Sails packing tape arrived - a brand new suit of storm sails now sits in my loungeroom. That's a very sailorly act. But some are a bit "oh yeah sure". One of these is improving my fitness. Every morning I rise early to meditate and exercise. The exercises are typically just stretching, actual yoga, resistance exercises or walking. And although I have to actually guard against stressing myself too much, I also need to push on gently. Lately, I've noticed that my morning exercises and sensible eating are providing good results. I feel muscularly firm in my core and have good energy levels. So I decided to test myself in the surf, not just swimming, real surfing. Being midweek and with a forecast of an early afte

As my daughter goes off to her new job for a Central West shire council, it reminds me of the pressures of a new relationship that impact on your health.  Mia is challenged by her partner's late sleeping routine, love of meat and snacking on lollies. In my case, some thirty years ago I too had to accommodate a late sleeper and a lazy eater. She went on to have an affair, develop obesity and diabetes. While I was drawn in to that unhealthy lifestyle and social isolation, I did maintain a reasonably positive attitude and keen interest in surfing and sailing. My abiding appreciation of the benefits of journalling,  meditation and yoga kept my head just above water. I now realise too that my losely Christian beliefs kept my spirit in a good place. With those negative pressures removed, and some psychological healing, I've been building my yoga practice, surfing regularly and focussing on a future afloat has allowed me to follow a lifestyle pretty much to my ideal. Each

Its possible that I did not do a single thing to prepare for my life afloat this week. And, I am annoyed.  I put it down to my owning an old Land Rover and having just completed a trip of a thousand kilometres while towing a horse float full of furniture, tack and showjumping gear. I was out of  clutch fluid the following day and chamgedcout the most obvious part only to learn it was a hose got pfft. That's a job still underway.  Then I found every bolt on the drive train was lose, some nuts missing too. And a steering joint blew out.  This, and the fact that we're still in early autumn, its still warm and with frequent rain, so my day job is keeping me busy and exhausted.  Coming to terms with my daughter and best friend leaving home and having to tend her horses until she gets sorted, and its been dragging emotionally with extra work. The one thing I have done to help my future self is yoga. This past week I've pushed into new ground really developing power and flexibilit

Where I live in the most populated state of Australia, we are up against rising costs, "fees" and taxes that ate probably the highest in the world.  Whether its fuel tax or gouging on traffic infringement fines, state and federal governments are raking cash from what little the poorest dwellers have in their pockets.   Today, the headlines in the Australian do the bidding for the NSW government, whining over the rough deal they get from national tax revenue redistribution. The feds take a cut of everything we purchase and at times divy up this smong the various states and territories. And apparently, (depending on how you look at it), NSW's income was cut.  Of course every thinking human jellybean would quickly see that this will see the people of this state raked over for more state revenues. The higher income "earners" who profit from government scams, or schemes, to encourage private investment in housing development and land degradation, will hav

This week has been hectic, emotionally & physically  largely because my daughter left home. It was planned weeks in advance so there was no shock per se, but the act of separating has been upsetting, she isy confidante. I can talk to her like no other & she is caring & kind. So I've been finding the lack of casual support has been tough.   By no means did this outweigh the burden of carting a fully laden truck & float a cross the state. Man it was a tough drive, the Land Rover is one noisy, rattly, jostling bitch! Apart from the actual drive bring tiring, the behicle made it worse. Then I had to drive back with little sleep.  At my age a big effort like that leaves you feeling flat for most of the next week. While I haven't made progress on the Hebridean build, by having my daughter move out, my domestic workload has greatly reduced. Perhaps this all I can chalk up to boat work this week.