Blog's 5th Birthday

INT: RECEPTION ROOM. Balloons etc everywhere, tables with white cloth covered in used plates and half drunk wine glasses. At the top is a stage with mic and spot light, into which comes the familiar form of Buff Staysail.

BUFF STAYSAIL

Howdy folks, Buff Staysail here! Buff by name and Buff by nature!

We're here to celebrate a very special occasion! No it's not that ol' Buff has got that opening as Aqua Stigg on Top Yacht - or at least not yet!

We're here for a special party for JP to celebrate the 5th anniversary of his blog! And what an exciting five years its been - well for me at least. Probably rather boring for poor old JP who didn't get to go to Valencia for the AC33 like yours truly.

But anyhow, good to see so many of you here today for this party and prize giving bash. So without further ado,  come on up JP, you've a cut to cake!

JP (off stage)

Er... cake to cut?

BUFF STAYSAIL

Whatever, just get up here

JP (joining BS)

Gosh, this so unexpected. I'd like to thank you the readers for making this all worth while and off course blogger.com for making all this possible.....err....hmm.. I'd also like to thank my agent but alas don't have one...err...hmm.. think that's it

BUFF STAYSAIL

Gee, couldn't think of more to say than that? Anyway, don't go away JP because we have arranged a special prize for you!

What can it be? What prize can ol' Buff be thinking of? Stay tuned for more.....

Picture Quiz

Can anyone guess what these white dots are?

It is in focus and taken around the same time as the Moon photo with similar settings.

Rowers Reflected

Some rowers for Chris.

Another Moon

Another clear night so another Moon photo. But this is no quick and easy post as there were many trials before took this one.

The moon is rising very far to the North at the moment - an explanation at the Natural Navigator site here, though to be honest I can't quite get my head around it so will email Tristan for more.

The Swan

Season of mists and mellow fruitfulness

Olympic Rower killed by Weil's Disease

Shocking news today that Britain's double Olympic rower Andy Holmes has died after contracting Weil's disease. This is a water borne bug that can go from infected animal urine into the system if you drink polluted water or have a cut.

According to the BBC it kills 2 to 3 people a year and infects 60 - 70, more than I expected. I've heard warnings of Weil's disease so many times without hearing anyone who suffered from it that began to take a relaxed view on it: clearly that was wrong.

One reason I probably haven't encountered it is that the bug likes stagnant water, not flowing tidal ways like the Thames. According to the Guardian he died after sculling in Boston.

Lets be careful out there.

Shooting the Moon

In a post at the start of this year I showed my failed attempt at photographing the Moon. Using the default settings the exposure was ludicrously long, leaving the heavenly sphere little more than a white circle.

However knowing that this evening the Moon would be both visible and the skies clear I did a bit of Googling and came up with this great article on top tips, first of course to manually set the exposure.

And after a couple of cycles of go-out-get-cold-come-in-check-pic I ended up with the above, which is a lot better!

For those wanting technical details it was my venerable and soon to be replaced Canon 350D together with Sigma 70 - 300 mm lens, 400 ASA, 1/1250 sec exposure F/5.6.

Sailing away for the right reasons

Yesterday's post was a sad story of what happens when the dream of sailing away to a new life in the sun goes wrong. A combination of escapism and lack of skills combined to push a family to the brink of bankruptcy and divorce before they had even left the shores of England.

However the series, called "My Family's Crazy Gap Year" had another episode, and its instructive to look at that to see what went right, for the Lawrence family did manage to sail all the way from Cowes to Sydney.

Maybe that word Cowes gives a clue: this family had done a lot of homework and were very well prepared. It wasn't explained in the program but the web site gave some history, and they had sailed as a family for over a year, starting with the inter-coastal waterways of the American east coast, and then sailing back to Britain.

So when they set out they knew the ropes, knew their boat and knew what to expect. Interestingly they didn't have exactly the same motivation: for Jason the skipper it was about achieving the goal of sailing around the world, while for his wife Amanda it was more about the experience, the cultures they meet and the beauty of the Pacific islands.

Of course even with preparation there were hard times. The first few days crossing Biscay were bumpy and the skipper was worn down by a combination of responsibility, worry and lack of sleep. The latter wasn't helped by having two youngish boys on board, and one of the key skills to learn was how to manage their energy and occupy the time. One mechanism to control bad behaviour was the ability was the good and bad mark board:

What was interesting was the program included clips they took of their journey after the documentary crew stepped off and so you got a chance to see how they evolved.

For me it was striking how Jason was able to relax as his knowledge and experience of the boat deepened, and this changed his motivation. Maybe this was something I could relate to: at the start of a voyage the worry about what can go wrong dominates and it is only later that the tension eases. And as it did his motivation aligned more with those of Amanda and it strengthened the family unit.

It could be argued the boys would have benefited more if they had been a little bit older, but they certainly grew into it:

It does sound like a great experience, warts and all. In journeys like that some of the bad days can lead to good stories, though the one about them misidentifying a fish they'd caught as edible doesn't sound that great even in re-telling.

I wasn't sure about their choice of catamaran as always felt a mono-hull would be more secure in a blow. But then looking at this picture its hard to argue:

That for me captures what sailing away should be about, and its good to hear it can be done.

Just remember to do your homework.

Sailing away for the wrong reasons

There's many a sailor that's dreamed of sailing off to warm tropical waters. But its not a decision to take lightly, as was shown in a TV documentary broadcast on C4 this evening.

Gary Fisher (below) dreamed of exchanging his welding job in the run down and depressing (his word) north west of England for life on a boat in the Caribbean, beer in hand. First step was to buy his yacht, but after that his plans weren't so clear.

It wasn't sea worthy enough to cross the Atlantic, and there was an awful lot of work to be done plus a new rig and set of sails. He didn't have much money, couldn't sell the house - oh, and lets not forget (for he seems to at times) he had a wife and two children.

I felt for his long suffering wife Anne Marie (at top, having seen the "almost ready" boat) who was left with the children as Gary took the family to the brink not of adventure but bankruptcy and divorce. For he didn't have enough time and money to do the job, nor from what one can gather the planning and self-awareness skills that is so necessary for such a large task.

After two years the yacht only made it as far as Plymouth - and then only on the back of a lorry. His mates in the marina refused to sail the yacht down there and as Gary admitted - on a local radio show at that - he had no offshore sailing experience.

While doing the boat up in Plymouth Gary vanished for five days and later admitted to having an affair, leaving the marriage, let alone the voyage, on the rocks.

For at the end of the day Gary didn't want to sail to somewhere, he just wanted to get away from somewhere: away from being squeezed into a terraced house with two small kids and a job he didn't enjoy, and away from the grey skies of Liverpool.

It was a sorry tale of how the sail away dream can be all wrong: for balance another story tomorrow, but with a happier ending.

Red all over

Three photos of the Serpentine Gallery Pavilion, which is indeed very red.

Group Writing Project - Fiction!

I am not doing NaNoWriMo - that's National November Writing Month for the uninitiated. For one thing that is far too many mixed caps for this touch typer.

The thing is 50k words seems an awful lot for a month that will no doubt also contain four and a bit weeks - that's 22 days - of work plus three nephew and niece birthdays plus visits to some of the relatives I've failed to keep in touch with due to ....er... work plus.... well, you get the idea. That leaves about 3 days free, within which I'd realistically expect to be able to ponding, dream, structure, write and then review 5k words, an order of magnitude too low.

But to join in the likes of Carol Anne how about we all try our hand and write a bit of fiction. It doesn't have to be long and can be done any time in November, so this is a laid back anyone can contribute group writing project.

It's just got to have something involving sailing or kayaking and be made up, that's it, any format that takes your fancy.

Any takers?

More Round Britain Kayakers

I'm looking forward to hearing from Bonnie about a kayaking circumnavigation of Britain earlier this year by Marcus Demuth. Amazingly he managed all 2,468 miles in just 80 days.

Co-coincidently when I opened the paper on the way to work yesterday I read about another circumnavigation of Britain planned for the new year, also by kayak, this time a tandem. The duo are raising money for the Motor Neurone Disease Association.

Even though they plan to use kites to speed their way, the projected completion time is higher, at 90 days. However unlike Marcus, who did his journey in May they will leave in February, when waters are cold and the storms fierce.

Good luck to them anyhow!

"Sailing absolutely changed my life"

So said Morgan Freeman, who I read in today's Observer magazine is into sailing. A great actor - and I now know what to talk to him about in the unlikely event our paths cross.

I wonder what other celebs are sailors - or should that be sailors who are celebs?

They'll be bluebirds...

A pic for Tillerman.

This was taken on the 50th anniversary of VE Day and if you look really closely you can spot the Queen and Queen Mum out on the balcony. Just before they came out for a bit of flag waving entertainment Dame Vera Lynn sang, her last public concert.

I'm chocking up just remembering it.....

Olympic sailing for £55

Sailing is an expensive sport, we all know that. Just look at how many zillions it costs to win the America's Cup - or indeed find enough goodies to tempt the winner to hold it in your city.

But to see the Olympic 2012 Sailing Final will cost you the punter merely £55 and you can get a view of the preliminaries for just £20!

Actually slightly puzzled by the concept here of final - surely there will be multiple races with points and discards and stuff - this isn't like the 100m. Maybe they mean last race, though that could indeed be the decider for medals.

Rowers will have to have deeper pockets - up to £ 150, but that's what you get hosting them in Eton.

However to put things in context the athletics "super-finals" (they mean the 100m) will be a whopping £750, though that is nothing compared to a ticket for the opening ceremonies of up to £ 2012 (geddit!)

Full list here, so register now as the tickets go on sale in March 2011.

The Serpentine Pavilion

The "Turning the world upside down" installation in Kensington Gardens was organised by the Serpentine Gallery, which is to be found in that park.

Each year the Gallery organises an architectural commission for a Pavilion, and this year's design, a wonderfully vivid red construction shown in the photo above, is the work of Jean Nouvel.

A stunning series of buildings have been on the site - as can be seen here. But at the same time as welcoming the creativity there is also a feeling of loss at all that effort (and money) being spent for something that only lasts a few months.

I suppose the answer is to see it while you can in order to maximise its "value" - if so hurry as you only have until this Sunday.

The winning Thames

I have in my hand the envelope with the name of the winner of the International Theiss River Prize 2010 and without further ado, ladies and gentlemen I will open it [scuffling sound]

And the winner is (drum roll please) ......

THE THAMES

Yup, old Father Thames is alive and flourishing with "125 species of fish swim beneath its surface while more than 400 species of invertebrates live in the mud, water and river banks" according to the Telegraph here. And of course lots and lots of birds, including the one above that had just popped up after hunting for a spot of lunch.

Hurray! Another bit of good news (along with the rescue of those miners in Chile).

Turning the World Upside Down

Yesterday's photo was taken from the "Turning the World Upside Down" installations by Anish Kapoor in Kensington Gardens, in the heart of London.

Doing a tour of them was a very nice way to spend Sunday, especially as the weather was brilliant and all the better for biking there.  The "C curve" above was for me the star, turning you upside down and stretched on one side and compressed the right way up on the other.

It had one of those do not get too close signs that usually is there to protect the art work but here was to protect you from the art work. The concave mirror concentrated the sun's rays so much it actually caused the concrete to explode.

This one is meant to be a red mirror, but looked just rusty to me:

This one, though described as a "Non object (spire)", was a rather good object to me:

The final one was the biggest, called "Sky Mirror". However on a perfectly sunny day the side pointing at the sky was featureless.

Anyhow very big and impressive, as can be seen from the side pointing at the ground.

They'll be in the park until next March so plenty of time to see them - indeed you could go many times to see how they reflect the changing seasons. An interesting video can be found here.

Though on a sunny day remember to not get too close to the "C-Curve"!

Sky Mirror Trees

What's this?