So Greg and I spent much of Saturday exercising our shoulders while sanding the bottom of 680. Messy work.

Ross jokingly asked “Heh Niilo, I think I’m done. How many hours do I have left to go?” Funny thing is that I’m headed back for another round of sanding tonight.

This Wednesday the LIT group are going to selling smoothies to help raise some money for the Mini campaign. We will be hanging out in the front hall of the Boys and Girls Club selling strawberry and banana smoothies from 3:00pm to 5:00pm.

Members of the public are welcome to drop by for a quick beverage and see what’s happening at the club and chat about sailing with some really cool kids.

Here’s a map to the club. Hope to see you there!

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I’ve been spending most weekends out at Boat Service Kingston’s shop and it is nice to finally see some progress!

More photos in the my Flickr stream.

During the winter months I’ve been really focused on getting myself in shape for the sailing season. So far my physical training has been pretty focused around my gym routine. I’ve been pretty happy with the results from the gym so far (I’ve put on 10 pounds!) but it often leaves me with sore and tight muscles and that is just no good when you are confined to the tiny cabin of a mini.

So I was delighted when my friend Perri emailed to offer me a spot in one of her beginner yoga classes. Perri’s business, Yoga with Perri, is an awesome little yoga studio. The actual studio is in an addition off of the back of her house and is a really warm and welcoming space. The other thing that I like about it is the smaller class sizes. (Many of the big gyms offer yoga classes, but I hate the big groups and lack of personal attention. This is way more my style.)

I had my first session there last night and really enjoyed it. Yoga is such a different workout, but I felt it just as much as if I were in the weight room. I’ve done yoga before, but it was nice to return back to the basic postures and to start to remember all of the stuff I have forgotten. Nice to be doing the course with newbies too, way less pressure.

I’ll be sailing the Bermuda Ocean Race with Perri’s husband Greg this June, so I’m sure I’ll get a chance to practice some stretching while we are on board. (I can just see Greg and I doing sun salutations between sail changes. hehe.)

So if you are looking to get into yoga without the pressure of those big classes be sure to check Perri out on the web.

This is either the first or second question that people ask me when I bump into them when I haven’t seen them for a while. “It’s going OK” is my usual answer. Not great, not bad, but ok.

Brown’s Fine Foods here in Kingston have made a generous donation that will get us through the winter. This money will buy stuff like epoxy, solar panels, and miscellaneous bits and pieces to help get the boat ready to sail in the spring. This has taken a bunch of pressure off us, BUT we will definitely need more money to get through the sailing season.

When I combine all of the in-kind, cash donations, and services that people have provided, it adds up to something just short of $50,000. That sounds impressive, but this is just the start. In the next few months we will have a LOT of expenses like race fees, generator, life raft, flares and emergency gear etc. etc. etc.

It’s funny how the little expenses always turn out to be way more than you thought they would be. For instance, I just ordered all of the charts that I will need for the coming year (Chesapeake River, US North East coast, and Bermuda) as well as the list of lights, tide tables, and nautical almanac. The total bill was around $800 USD. Wow.

I don’t like pimping for donations. I’m bad at it and it generally makes me feel uncomfortable. But when I look at the race schedule, the work list and the 3 year plan, I just can help but make the humble request for help….

Back in January the sailing team quietly announced a partnership with the Boys and Girls Club of Kingston. It has taken a little time to see the details of this relationship develop, but we are now in full swing and I am just dying to tell you about all the good stuff we have planned.

I will be working with a small group from the club called Leaders in Training, a group of kids that are 10 years old or older and who have been identified by the staff of the club as being great candidates to be strong leaders in the future.

Over the next few months, and hopefully to the end of the campaign, I will be working with this group and talking about my sailing and what it is like to lead a team to the Mini Transat.

The LIT group are going to be a busy bunch over the next few months. We have a great program put together for the group, where they will learn about sailing, the mini, and what it is like to live in a tiny boat all by your self. They will also get to see the inner workings of the team as we prepare the boat, get ready for racing and make plans for the coming years and follow the races that we have this year.

For me, the chance to work with the Boys and Girls club is a real joy. My friend Jim Brown introduced me to the club, and from my first visit to the club I realized what an amazing service they offer to the community. All ages of kids can get help with their homework, play sports in the gym, have a hearty meal and generally hang out in a warm and caring environment. They certainly live up to their tag line: “A good place to be”.

I’m delighted to be working with this group of kids and the club in general. I’m sure that I will be writing more about the B&GC so stay tuned! In the mean time check out their site to learn more and get involved!

The worst thing about having a blog like this is that everyone knows when you are not writing!

Over the past couple of months we have been extremely busy doing all kinds of cool stuff, and it is often hard to get it written down before I loose the moment, thus all of the recaps and catch up sessions on this blog.

There is a tonne to talk about though, so please bear with me as I try and catch up again!

Happy New Year!

This edition of my status report seems to be in line with the themes of the season: resolutions, new initiatives and new beginnings.

The Boat:

Well we finally have the boat out of the water and into the shed for a winter of fixes, upgrades and performance enhancement.

I am very pleased to let you know that Boat Services Kingston have come on board as an in-kind sponsor and will be looking after the boat this winter. Ross Cameron and Niilo Armano will be keeping 680 in their shop just outside of Kingston and will be working on bottom, doing some minor repairs to the keel and rudders, and will be generally getting 680 ready for racing in the spring. It is a huge relief to have the boat in such capable hands, and I am sure that we will be ready to get sailing as soon as the ice is out of the harbour in the spring.

Fund Raising:

The next big event for the team is the Toronto International Boat Show, and this week we are trying to get everything ready for the show. I will be doing two seminars, January 13 at 1400 and January 14 at 1400. This will be a great opportunity to get the word out a little further about the campaign and with any luck draw in some more individual donations.

We will also be talking to a variety of vendors at the show about equipment and supplies for the coming year, and I hope that we will be able to set up some more in-kind sponsorships at the show.

Training:

This has been a big focus of mine over the holidays and Alison and I are finally getting back into our gym routine. Our goal is to get into the gym at least 3 times a week, and do a mix of cardio and weight training. I think it will take me a little while to get the new program sorted out, as my past training programs have been geared toward round the buoys racing, and now I need to alter these gym routines to fit long distance, single handed sailing. I’m enjoying the time in the gym and am looking forward to getting back into shape for the coming season.

The other bit of news is that I finally kicked the nasty smoking habit. I gave it up on the 29th of December, and have been sticking it out ever since. Smoking has been a constant battle for me, and as I get into this new phase of training it was the perfect time to give it up. It has not been easy, and I have had my good days and bad, but on the whole I’m winning the battle. (Just want to send out a huge thanks to Paul and Alison and made this one happen.)

Education:

In my big “masta” plan I have set a bunch of learning and education goals for myself, and I am now starting to get into that program. Over the winter I need to learn a pile of stuff: celestial navigation, studying the COLREGS, buoy systems, ship’s lights at night and many other things. I’ve set my self a schedule where I can pick away at individual topics and hopefully get through everything by the time we get sailing again. (Learning this stuff is a life long process, so I’ll do what I can as go along.)

What’s Next:

After we get back from the boat show, I am hoping to work on some local fund raising events. Everywhere I go I come across people with some great ideas for fund raising and events that we can run, and I think it’s time to start putting those ideas into a plan of attack.

It’s also time to start working on the modifications to the boat that we have been planning over the past few months, and I am looking forward to diving in and getting my hands dirty in the shop, installing new equipment, working on the wiring and knocking off as many items from the task list as possible.

The other big upcoming task is to take a look at the website and do some updating and upgrades. We have an awful lot going on and we need to make sure that let people what is going on and how they can help. I’ll be sure to let everyone know what’s happening with the website, but be sure to stay tuned to my blog for latest updates.

Thats it for now. I hope you have an awesome start to the year and that you are trucking along with your own “masta” plan.

This past weekend I had my last trip out into the lake and it was a really great trip! The purpose of this training run was two fold, first I sailed up to Port Credit Yacht Club to attend the Lake Ontario Shorthanded Sailing Racing Series Awards Banquet, and the second purpose of the trip was to put a few more, really tough, miles under my keel.

I left on Friday morning after doing final inspections and a few minor fixes. Paul Davis helped me get the final things sorted out and I headed off into a really nice 10-15 SE breeze and temperatures around 5 degrees. The sun was shining and I had a really nice afternoon headed out into the open lake.

Over the night the breeze built to a nice 20-25 and the waves continued to build to around 6-8 feet. We surfed almost all night under full main and jib and speeds were averaging 7.5 to 8 knots with a high speed of 10.5.

I banged the US shoreline around Olcott, and around 0400 gybed for the final leg into Toronto. As the sun rose, the wind shifted to the NE and built further so I had to put a reef in the main. The temperature dropped when the wind shifted and I have to admit that it was pretty darn cold. The auto pilot was working well, so I was able to go below and make a cup off coffee and have a little sleep.

I got into Toronto around 1200 and after cleaning up a bit grabbed lunch in the club and had a great afternoon nap. I awoke to a soft tap on the hull and I poked my sleepy head out the companionway to see that it was now dark and there were two very well dress men in jackets and ties. “Damn! I overslept” was the first thought that jumped to my mind. Brian Townsend and John Vinden, greeted me warmly and I quickly dug through one of my dry bags looking my jacket and tie.

We had a fantastic dinner and I met a tonne of cool sailors. It was great to talk about the project with people who could fully understand what it is like to manage a boat by yourself over extended periods. People were so interested in checking out the boat, and learning a little more about the mini class.

Ian McAllister, Brian Townsend and John Vinden were very gracious hosts, and they presented me with some Lake Ontario 300 schwag and kindly paid for my dinner. (Prime rib and Yorkshire pudding was a REALLY nice change from the freeze dried gump I had been eating.) It was an early night for me, as I knew I had another long sail ahead of me.

When I awoke in the morning, there was an eighth of an inch of frost on the deck, and clear cool sky to greet me as I poked my head out of the companionway. A truly beautiful, crisp morning. I had coffee and hot oatmeal on deck while I let the frost burn off and I eventually started to get things in order for departure.

I left PCYC around noon on Sunday and had an upwind buck for the first 2/3 of the trip; wind ESE, 10-15. I hugged the Canadian shore as it was the favoured tack, and I kept taking little hitches out into the lake to clear land. I was in good spirits and the boat was rocking. Every once in a while the boat would get so dialed in, and I had her going 6.5 knots with a fair good wind angle. Had my headphones in for a few hours, and found that music makes a huge difference to take my mind off the cold.

The breeze eventually backed to SE and rose to 15-20, and I had to switch down to the jib. The sail change went pretty well all things considered. Changing sails requires that I go up on the foredeck, leaving “Auto” to drive. It’s kind of like trying to ride a bucking bronco with no hands while having a fire hose trained on you. To change the sail, I have to take the old sail off the forestay and untie the sheets, shove the sail below, drag the new sail up onto the front of the boat and hank and tie it on. Then you have to head back to the cockpit to pull the sail up to the top of the mast. It’s an exhausting exercise which takes about 10-20 minutes, but the boat is so much more under control when it is done.

It was really nice to be able to ease the sheets, and head below for a three, 20 minute naps. Auto performed like a champ for these, and as I was north of the shipping channel, I was way less worried about freighters. The current was on the nose still, which was really frustrating as my boat speed was averaging over 7 knots and I was making only 5.5-6 over ground.

I rounded Point Petre around 0700 and it was really nice sailing heading north toward the Ducks. It continued to build and it was on the beam. I opted to stick with the jib and full main as the wind was getting gusts over 20 and was not in the mood to fight with the kite on a beam reach on the home stretch. As I passed Psyche Shoal I had even more wind, 25-30 and really broad.

Approaching the entrance to Kingston harbour I had my first taste of what debilitating mental fatigue is like. I wanted to take the Simcoe Island entrance instead of the “K route” along the north shore. Gusts were over 35 now and I put in a reef, as I wanted this to be super controlled. On the final approach the wind was almost dead aft and I was worried about the shoal extension from the tip of Simcoe Island. I couldn’t bear off and I didn’t have time for two gybes. I bailed, and headed up, and put a second reef in the main. I was so indecisive about what to do. I just couldn’t figure out the easiest way in Kingston Harbour. I finally made the decision to take the K route, as it was a better wind angle heading into the harbour.

After getting around K9 buoy, I was over powered and pulled down and lashed the jib, so I was sailing in with just the double reefed main on a beam reach. (Going 7 knots sometimes…) It was now dark and pouring rain. I got the mooring lines, fenders, engine and sails sorted out on the approach to the club. Thankfully this all went smoothly. I was really nervous about something going wrong at this stage. I somehow managed to get the boat into the dock with too much incident and thankfully Alison was waiting for me in the car. After a very gross clean up, we headed home to a nice beef stew and a warm bed.

I have to say that the end of this trip was some of the most challenging sailing I have ever done. Exhausted, cold and soaked (not just me, but everything on the boat) there was a real possibility of things going very wrong. I’m happy to say that I was able to keep both the boat and myself safe and under control, but just barely. It was a good indication of what we have to work on in the spring when we get out for early training sessions.

Getting back into the swing of things at home and work is really tough after this trip. With just 90 minutes of sleep in 32 hours, I had to get up and go to work as usual. I made it through the work week, but more than one person commented on the horrible bags under my eyes. It generally takes a few days to recover. (Which is what has delayed this post.)

I think this was my last sail for year and it was a great way to end the season. It was nice to meet some new friends at PCYC, it was good to challenge the boat and myself, and it was great to take advantage of these awesome “November Gales” that we get here on Lake Ontario.

I’m already looking forward to spring training!

Yesterday afternoon I got back from practice out in the lake and it was a pretty crazy 24 hours! I went out to the Ontario Buoy and back to practice, and as usual Lake Ontario served as a great training ground.

I had been watching the weather carefully for few days before I left, so I knew that I would be in for some intense weather. We started out on Friday night in a fairly sedate NW 10 knots that built to a pretty solid W 20 knots. I was barely able to make it close hauled on starboard tack once I was out in the open lake.

There is absolutely nothing that can describe how uncomfortable a mini can be bashing upwind in 20+ knots and 1-2 metre swell. The noise and jerky motion of the boat falling off of the tops of waves is so violent. I drove the boat for the first 8 hours and then let “Auto” do a lot of the work after Psyche Shoal so I could nap a little. Same schedule as before, trying to sleep for 20 min and then getting up to check the heading, speed and look for traffic. Did a lot of changing gears, reefing and un-reefing as the wind speed changed.

I met with two freighters on this leg, dealt with between naps. It’s always scary when you encounter freighters. You must determine their heading and speed and alter course accordingly, and both times we passed I had to alter course and we passed quite close. These things are huge, like floating cities on the water, and they are almost always coming straight at you.

I rounded around 0200 and then bore off for the ride home. I un-reefed the main and kept the jib as gusts were up to 25 knots and I didn’t want to blow out the kite. The breeze was up and down and shifting between W to NW. As I got to passed Point Petre and headed toward Psyche Shoal, I had a nice 12-15 knot breeze that let me get the kite up for a bit. The breeze built as I past the Ducks and I had to take the kite down for fear of it exploding.

Passing into the outer harbour, I had a beautiful rainbow on one side, and scary dark wet clouds on the other side with blue sky and 30-35 knots on the beam in between. What could be more perfect! It was fast and furious sailing, with the boat lifting up and surfing down the 1-2 m swell. I was averaging 9-10 knots (12 knots was the high speed, the fastest 680 has ever gone!) and I have to admit that I was a little nervous about this, as my pilot had finally given up because the batteries were on their way out. Without the pilot, I had to completely stop the boat to make any sail changes, and with the big breeze and waves, changing sails is a rough job.

I had to put in a couple of reefs on the final approach to the harbour so I could gybe safely down to the club. It built even further as I was approaching the club and I could have turned around and gone out again, but I was totally done and ready for a beer and some sleep.

When I got home, Alison had a hearty meal of spaghetti (sauce done on the slow cooker, so the house smelled awesome!) and we had a great dinner together. I fell asleep on the couch and Alison got me into bed around 2200.

(Aside: It’s Alison’s birthday today, Sunday, so be sure to wish her a happy belated.)

I think these training runs have tonnes of value and I am really enjoying the sailing. This practice was about heavy weather and I definitely learned a lot about handling in relatively heavy air. (I’m sure I will be sailing in a lot heavier than 35 sometimes…) I hope to keep the boat in the water for as long as I can, and continue testing both the boat and myself.

I know, I know: Pics or it didn’t happen. Well I was too busy to take any pictures, but here is a video of a figaro training in similar conditions with the same sail combination as I had. Like I said, fast and furious sailing!