Powerful Photos

There is a very powerful photo essay on the New York Times website called "A Mournful Month." It shows some very intense photos taken during funerals at Arlington National Cemetery over this past month. I have to say here, these pictures are not easy to look at yet they are something that I think we need to bear witness to. If you can just slow down and imagine these scenes with the pipes or the trumpets sounding in the background playing amazing grace or taps. These photos also evoke many very difficult and hard questions to ask and even harder to answer. The link to the website is listed below: http://www.nytimes.com/2006/10/30/us/30arlingtonblurb.html?_r=1&ref=multimedia&oref=slogin

Sailing on Splash Dance J-120

Most of the people who know me well know that I have been heavily involved in sailing over the last ten years or so. From 2003 -2005 I was part of the crew on the J-120 Splash Dance which was a 40 foot racing sloop homeported here in Seattle. This was a fantastic crew to be a part of, the boat was managed very well and the crew was a real who's who of Seattle sailing. We did most of the major races in the northwest including the south sound series, tri-island series, PSSC as well as some distance races such as the bi-annual Smith Island (one of my personal favorites.) Splash Dance had an outstanding record and we did really well in most races. My position was as Bowman and/or Mast-man. I would also grind/trim on the spinnaker during longer downwind legs. In 2005 the owner decided to sell the boat in order to pursue other things, because of this the "crew" has spread apart. Before the boat was sold, the owner stated that he would be looking to make a comeback in 2007 with a newer,sporty boat. If that should happen, I would be pretty excited. I would love to sail with that crew again- that were high performers and really fun to work with. You may be wondering why I am bringing this up now? Recently the local sailing magazine 48 Degrees North ran a special anniversary issue and highlighted the top boats of the last 25 years. Splash Dance was one of the top boats in 2002, 2003 and 2004, so needless to say they ran the picture above of her and a small article. It was exciting to see this as it brought back a lot of good memories. I am actually in this picture, you cannot see me, but my feet are hanging over the starboard side. I do believe it was taken at the up-wind mark rounding during the 2003 winter vashon race. It was right after we hoisted the chute. I am excited to see what the future holds, as I would love to sail with this crew again. Ah, so many boats to sail, so little time.....

The First Time Out

My latest obsession is fly-fishing. I have been spending a lot of time and money reading, researching and accumulating the necessary gear. There was a good ebb tide this morning so I got an early start and decided to give it a go at a local Puget Sound beach. It is a classic fall day here in Seattle, about 50, overcast skies and a light drizzle. Today was the 1st time that I have fly-fished in a very long time as well as the first time ever in salt water. I spent about a half-hour in a park area practicing my cast and then decided it was time to gear up and wade out there. There were about five other people out and I have to say it was a bit intimating to be the "new guy" on the scene. Anyway, I went for it and wadded out. I fished for about an hour in three different spots. My gear kept me really dry but I got pretty cold, to the point that I needed to get out of the water and stand up on the beach. In fact I am still trying to warm up as write this and sip a mug of hot coffee. Lesson learned there, I noticed that the other guys were all dressed with a lot of gear, there is a good reason for this. Needless to say that I did not catch any fish. Nor did I see anyone else catch any, so I did not feel so bad. I only saw two jump- but they were pretty far offshore, much longer than I could cast. My casting was mediocre at best, not bad for the first time. I could get it out in front of me without creating a mess and tangle of line so that was good. I just could not get the distance on the fly. Practice will help. Nonetheless, it was nice to be out there on a quiet Sunday morning in a beautiful spot. I know that there are a lot of great spots to fish out in the areas that I work so I am looking forward to trying it out in those spots in the near future, hopefully at somepoint I will even catch a fish. A guy on the beach told me that it is like learning to drive a "stick-shift" he said " you keep trying and trying and getting frustrated and then all of sudden you are fishing." Good advice. It is humbling to try and teach yourself a new and intricate activity, I live for challenges such as this.

On another note- Today is Canadian Thanksgiving. So here is too all my in-laws up in Ontario. Maybe someday we will all get to celebrate it together. Happy Canuck Turkey Day!

Outside Magazine

Pick up this months issue of Outside Magazine. There is a great story in there written by a fellow Outward Bounder named Mark Sundeen. Mark and I worked a great OB course together in Colorado in August of 05. The story is about a river trip and friendship. It is a good read and well worth the five bucks or so. Check it out!

Surfing the Great White North
Recently my wife and I got take a real vacation. I cannot remember the last time that we actually took a vacation in the traditional sense of the word. I do believe that it was over two years ago. Anyway, we went up to a fantastic place on the coast of Vancouver Island. The natural beauty there is out of this world and the people all very friendly. The whole town operates on a different sense of time- at least that's what it felt like for us while we were there. It was also great for Martha and I to spend some quality time together. The exact names and locations of where we went need to remain nameless, they could be revealed for a small price, but I would rather not go there. The average person might be able to figure it all out by doing some research and looking at a map, however I would be over-stepping my boundaries if I let it all out, so I wont. The picture up above is the sunset from our camp. This is what it looked like every night of the four that we were there, 'nuff said.

One of our primary reasons for going on this trip was to do some surfing. Surfing in the northwest is all about timing, location and exposure. One needs to have a good wetsuit as the water is COLD, one will not last long if not well equipped. Martha and I are novice surfers but when conditions are right, we can get up and get some good rides in. On the morning of our third day I happened to have a great session- despite the zipper on my old wetsuit completely blowing out! I got a lot of good rides in and I was just so stoked. It was early in the morning, we were practically the only people out on this beautiful pristine beach, the sun was shining etc, etc. Oh, and a brief word on surfing. I have climbed, snowboarded and sailed all across the country. These sports are all fantastic and all give you a great natural high at some-point or another. But there is nothing that feels the way that surfing does. When you stand up and ride the wave the "stoke" is just on. It feels like floating. The other thing is that the ride is different everytime, because no wave is ever the same. It just feels so amazing to be in the ocean- it is just you and the board. A very scaled down and simple way of being. When you are surfing you are in a part of an element that is much,much larger than you- the ocean. When I am out there, I feel very small- small in a good way, a way of wonder. I think that is part of where the "stoke"comes from, you feel child like again. Damn, life is good!

I am typically not the most crafty person in the world, however once in a while I get the bug. I decided as a token of appreciation for one of the cutter crews that I have been doing a lot of training with that I would build them a knot board. A knot board is a very a sailor type thing to do- it is a display of knots and there are lot of different styles out there. When done well, I think that they look really good and make a great nautical gift. With the expert help of my very crafty wife; Martha and about a $25 investment I was able to create the knot board in the picture at left. We did this over labor day weekend and I was able to present it to the cutter crew on the following week, they thought it was a great gift and it will now hang in the Coast Guard station office, hopefully for many years to come.