This year the holidays seem to be a little more vivid for me than usual. It might be the amazingly white Christmas we are going to have. It could be the smell of baking at home or the gifts under the tree. It could be that Alison and I are planning to have all of our family over to our house for Christmas day for the first time ever. Whatever it is, there is something different this year.

If there is one thing that single handed sailing teaches you, it is the value of human contact. Whether departing or arriving, people are what you think about even more than good food and a stable bed. I’m headed off to sea again soon, and I am already thinking about solitude and loneliness, a stark contrast with the holidays here on the hard. So I have resolved myself to enjoy people this season. To enjoy cheerful conversation with friends. To appreciate the bustle of people in the streets, rushing to find last minute things for the big day. And to make sure that my co-workers, friends and team mates know just how special they are.

The generosity of the season always pulls on my heartstrings as well. Last week my team mates sent out an email to friends of the sailing team to request help for this qualification trip. It’s no secret that I have been barely holding it together financially, and the donations that came in following this email were enough to make sure that I am going to be able to leave. I want to thank the team for making that appeal, and all of you that were able to donate toward the campaign at this critical time. We have enough money to leave now, and that is a big deal in the grand scheme of things. (Now all we have to do is figure out how to get home…)

As we get older it is easy to become jaded about big crowds and the commercialism that comes with this season. But it doesn’t have to be that way. Once the gifts are bought and the turkey is in the oven, take a moment to just sit and look at the lights, your family and appreciate the laughter and good will of the season. It is a special time no matter how old you are. Whether you are the giver or the receiver. There is so much joy to be found in the people around us and I am so happy to have you all in my life.

So I just wanted to tell you, all of you, that I am so touched by your generosity and help over the past two years. I get all chocked up thinking of the little and big things that folks have done to help make all of these dreams come true.

So to all of you, I wish you a very happy holiday. Enjoy your families and make sure to drink a toast and send warm thoughts to those that are alone over the holiday. They are certainly thinking of you.

Warm Regards and best wishes,

n

My friend Perri VR passed on this email to some friends from her son Mack. I really like this and and Mack agreed to let me post it here.

So here you go…

n

Hey,

- Mack

I’ve been doing a lot of studying on coastal navigation lately, so I have been paying attention to the recent inquiry around the tragic sinking of the Queen of the North.

The Marine Services guys at MTO are paying attention to this stuff too, and a friend of mine just emailed me a link link to the media files on the inquest. This simulation video (windows media file) is especially interesting. Make sure you have the volume up on your computer so you can hear the radio transmissions.

I find it absolutely amazing that on a ship with chart plotters, radar and a whole bridge staff, that this kind of thing can happen.

I’m going sailing, but here is something to entertain you at work on a Friday…

The Chemical Brothers totally rock!!!

This afternoon, on the way home from work I was listening to Digital Planet, the BBC podcast on technology and they had a peice on new technology in air traffic control.  Listening to it I thought “wow what a cool occupation!”.

When I got home I thought I would look up air traffic control in wikipedia.  Great way to kill 10 minutes or so.

Things have been very busy these days.  After the worlds, I got back to a desk full of paperwork to catch up, project deadlines looming and a massive amount of house work (Update: Alison was a superstar with house work while I was gone, she always makes sure that things are clean when I get home from an event) and projects that had been neglected for quite a while.

But these are not reasons to stop writing.  Writing a blog entry usually takes me half an hour tops.  In reality, I’ve been feeling out of touch with things.  I read the news everyday, read my favorite bloggers every day, and try to keep up with all of the inputs that I have.  But I feel I have some kind of void in my intellectual life these days and it took me a while to figure out what it was.

Reading books.  I have a reading pile at home that is getting taller than I am and as we get to the dog days of summer, I am realizing that I haven’t been reading enough.  It’s amazing how you can read about current events and opinion everyday, and still feel starved for a new perspective; new (or old) words.

So over the past few weeks, I’ve taken a break from adding my opinion to the mix, and have tried to invest some time in developing myself.  The stack is a little smaller now, and I have a weekend at the cottage ahead of me.  I have at least two, maybe three, books to get through.  When I get back I promise not to be writing book reviews for weeks.  (Although I’m sure to have some interesting thoughts on my reading.)

I’ll be back soon, hopefully refreshed and hopefully a little more positive and lively. 

There is an article today on the BBC website about a sport that is emerging in the UK called Parkour.  The “field of play” is the urban landscape, and it is a mix of running, climbing, and gymnastic movement.  I checked out a couple of the links in the article and found that the culture arount Parkour is very similar to climbing, and the various aspects of training are very similar.

Back when I was a full time climber, I had a healthy appreciation for movement.  Everywhere we went we were practicing our art.  Whether we were at the gym, buildering around Kingston or out on the rock, we were obsessed with movement. 

My brother Eric and I, trained and trained and trained, and the more we trained the more we came to the realization that if you were strong enough you just had to figure out the moves and you could get through almost any problem.  Parkour seams to be similar in this respect.  Practice, mental training, and physical conditioning were the keys to success. 

I miss this type of movement.  Sailing has some of these moves; rolling the boat through tacks and gybes, moving weight to react to the wind, and occasionally monkeying around in the rig have the same sort of feeling.  But it lacks the dynamic movement and body tension of climbing and Parkour.

There is something very zen about it.  When you first start these sports you think too much, put too much effort into things.  When you slow down your brain, visualize how it is going to work, and then allow yourself to totally concentrate on what you are doing, you find the groove.  Sometimes you do a move and go “holy crap, did I just pull that off!?!”

I’m so sorry to be writing this post.  I will be cross posting on my other blog. 

I just heard from Paul Davis that Abbott Boats in Sarnia has been completely destroyed. Here is an article from the local paper.  A fire tore through the entire complex destroying finished boats, molds, tools, everything basically.   It also destroyed the soling that he was building for the next olympics. 

I don’t know Bill or his family that well, but anyone who has sailing in Canada for any amount of time has either met one of the Abbotts or sailing in one of there boats. 

This is a very serious loss for yachting in Canada and athletes around the world.  My deepest sympathies go the family.

I love getting around town.  Kingston is not a big place and you wouldn’t think of it as a traffic-ridden place, but at the right time of day, it gets pretty busy.  It sounds wierd, but I love my modes of transport.  Bike, walk, bus, to a ride with a friend.  I have started to make a sport out of how fast I can get from one place to another, without using cars.

Earlier this year I got my old bike fixed up and read up on riding in the city.  There are a tonne of great resources around for the urban cyclist.  (Pedestrians should also read some of these resources; I really hate watching people manoeuvre traffic in such an unskilled way.)

Yesterday I was on foot.  After dropping by home to feed, water and air out the beasts, I ran out the door to grab a bus on Princess Street.  Kingston is so bad for crappy light timing.  You get a good ten seconds of walk light, then five of flashing yellow, then the vehicles start flying and you’d better be out of the way.  Kingston is also bad for crappy, clueless drivers who are making a right turn at a light while your are in the cross walk and almost always curse you because they actually have to slow down during their turn.

Anyway, I’m moving fast trying to get to the bus stop which I know I am currently about a minute-thirty seconds late for.  (I have this fairly well timed from the house.)  I can see the bus coming down the hill.  Dodge right to avoid an inconsiderate “right turner” and break out into a full run. 

When I’m 20 feet from the stop, I hear a honk through my headphones, and with a quick glance right I see my friend Rob in the middle lane holding up traffic trying to get my attention.  Cool, wait for a hole, and make the dash.  (I spot a cop two cars back from Rob tapping the wheel impatiently.)  A nice lady slows down in the inside lane, and I make the dash.  I opened the door as Rob hit the gas, and all of a sudden I’m sitting in the leather interior, nicely air-conditioned space of his Accord.

 Who would want to own a car when you can surf traffic?

i’m sitting in my backyard after work and Kelly is rolling around in the shade, Rudy is hunting butterflys on the porch, and Jorge is basquing in the sun. I am sitting reading a wired and having a quiet moment before heading off to go sailing. wow. that’s good livin.

Nathan Baron,
Blogging from the Treo