April Showers Bring May Flowers

This old saying is undoubtedly true!
I spent the last few days of this weeks trip in my foulies and pink boots half the time being smushed into a puddle on the deck after having my skipper and first mate discover that I have a rather ticklish neck and that if they jam their fingers in the back of it they get the delightful (or not-so-very-delightful depending on whose poing of view) result of my head cramping down and despite my constant plea or rather shreik of "stop, stop, stop!" they insist they cannot since I am pinching their fingers into the very spot!
This weekend however had brought warmth to the day and blue to the skies and a skip to my step.

Another Year

I realized that I haven't posted much in a while. So here I go, on the blog train again.
I head out on the boat again this week, 21 years of age, and will come back 22.
Birthday on Tuesday! Woo Hoo.
I am only slightly scared on what will come of me, considering in the past there has been plank walking, sending people out on the bosun's chair(just a plank, tied to a rope) or just plain throughing people over into the fridgid April water's of our West Coast Pacific Ocean.
I however smart of not so smart this may be, have convinced my crew that they should all voluntarily jump in on my birthday, so here's to hoping we don't all catch pneumonia...
I am looking forward though to another fun-filled week and am thankful everyday that I get to work with such amazing people celebrating the creation that surrouds us everyday.

Easter

Some Pictures from an Easter Weekend spent in Calgary.

Flight of The "Air Hog"

To update you: I neglected in earlier posts to mention the find of the season! The "Air Hog!" On the last day of a five day trip, which are so often characterized by these drifting sails, we were "sailing" off the Victoria waterfront, when the trainee's on bow watch, who were doing an unusually fantastic job sighted off in the distance a small floating red object, which on closer inspection turned out to be a poor child's lost airplane. This turned out to be the find of the season when we discovered that it was the infamous Air Hog! What is the Air Hog do you ask? Well essentially it is a toy airplane which runs on air. The fuselage is pumped full and then you toss it into the wind and it will continue to fly. I imagine it is meant to be used in fields where once thrown the thrower can then run after their prize and throught it again... oops. In any case, victory was ours as we steered the boat on a collision course with the tiny plane and the first mate hung off the side of the boat dipping down to retrieve it out of the fridgid ocean!
We contined to have much amusement with our flying machine, jerrying up a pump to fill it and finding out what the best angle and speed was to through it in the wind at. The decisioin was made that the Air Hog needed a gloriour flight off the top of Mt. Norman to brng itself out into the aviation world. So last week we hiked up to the top of this mountain located on Saturna Island and Antony, the first mate, readied the plane, pumping it full, assembling it's wings, taking position and throwing it... Failure! On first attempt the Air Hog took off and immediately nose dived into the cliff face. After retrieving it two more times the third flight was finally a success! That is until the Hog veered into the only tree in its path and lodged itself 80ft up, to be perpetually framed mid-flight in its branches.
Good Bye and Bon Voyage, Air Hog.

Exposing Truth

Off to a Photo Gallery tonight, put on by Jordan. It is the final culmination of a photo essay he did on the time he spent in Kenya with myself and Elske and SHERP.You can check out some of the photos here

Lets Go Fly A Kite

Last week was characterized by a failed attempt to fly a kite. All the kids were down below in lessons and Skipper John and I were on deck headed toward Sansum Narrows where the wind was funneling in giving us what we thought was definately enough wind to fly a kite!
So off Skipper went to get all the supplies we needed for our "storm kite" wooden dowel, heavy duty canvas, and marline of course (what could we really do without the marline?) In any case, we decide to go with the classic top heavy diamond shape and soon have a frame constructed, the canvas tied on and a swallow-tailed double tail. It was beautiful, and even though the wind was dying slightly we still through her up to let her fly. We were however, thoroughly dissapointed when she dived right down to the water... No matter, a few quick tweaks and some bridal adjustments and she would fly, we just knew it!
However, about 45 minutes later, and with little to no success we packed it in. Soon some trainees found the kite and decided to give it a try. But I guess it really did think it belonged in the water, because on their first toss it unleashed itself and dived into the water as we slowly watched it float away.
Lesson learned: Kites must be made of light weight materials, and have optimum flying winds to reach the desired altitude.

Presenting...

The Bilgey Bottom Boys!




Week two was the first five day trip of the season. Five day trips are always maxed out as we try and squish in: sailing, games and fun, eating, sleeping, 5 lessons and a written test and 6 oral tests, plus room for all the spontaneous visitors who might decide to show up! This week I would like to introduce the Bilgey Bottom Boys, who graced us with their presence during mug-up on the last night.

This past week we had a group on from Calgary, who we proceeded to get very muddy and very wet, but enjoyed every minute of their oceanic adventures. It was not only the kids though, I should add, that got muddy and wet, I too collided with some of the earth and ocean. We had launched the dories and were preparing to row ashore, and I, as a "seasoned sailor" had donned my foulies and rubber boots to avoid the cold water that I knew would freeze my toes as soon as the dory ran aground and it was time to jump out and pull it up the beach, and I was right. I jumped out in a few inches of water and proceeded to pull the dory up with dry feets thanks to the infamous pink boots. The mud came next as we ran around a more than slightly soggy field hurling frisbees at eachother as we played a game commonly referred to as "bean-the-guy-softly". I thought however, that despite my muddy knees, that through my intelligence I had escaped the fridgid water, but alas it came time to push the dories out again. This time, I didn't have the advantage of momentum to push the dories further than they would naturally float, considering the 10 people already weighing them down. So in I tread and with one step too far, my boot is filled! But the dory is still on the ground so I must go further before I jump in myself. Finally my little boat begins to float and I jump up and slide in, however doing so I must go head first and then right myselfonce aboard, and in doing so all the water that had collected in my boots found its way not back into the ocean, but up the leg of my foulies! This was quite amusing back onboard when once I had stripped of the rain gear, my pants were "mysteriously" wet up to my pockets!

Sometimes I love these trips the most because, despite the wet and cold of early March, it is when we get the trainees that find every shell, crab (dead or alive), bit of seaweed, starfish, anenome, porpoise, and sail absolutely fascinating! It reopens my eyes to the beauty in the creation around me and makes me realize how lucky I am to be doing what I do.

SALTS Pacific Odyssey on Global TV

interview that made the news last week!

Never Again...

Will you see my shoes this white.

After taking me through a few years of walking to school, and an few seasons on the boat including an offshore, my not-so-vey-white-anymore crew shoes finally bit the dust at the end of last season, and after a proper memorial service they were ceremoniously tossed in the dumpster.

What this means is that this year I bought new crew shoes! and while they are blinding right now, (the pristine condition perfect for last weeks AGM...), they soon will be christianed to boat life (first trip tomorrow!) and will start their not-so-very-white life.

Most people wouldn't find this worthy of a picture and much less a posting, but I feel it is a service to the shoes to remember them in all their brilliance.

My Celebrity Look-alikes

My cool celebrity look-alike collage from MyHeritage.com. Get one for yourself.

All In A Weeks Work

Week two is complete. It was only the first week of shipyard work, but I am exhausted. Could be because Tuesday actually felt like it should have been Thursday... All was made right in the end though, after two glorious days of sunshine and warm weather; plus as a bonus I was able to be up on deck all day both days bending on sails, lashing down deckboxes, and setting up some lines as we are busy prepping the boats for the upcoming season.



before and after the toque comes off



tools of the trade, my grimy hand, and my shiny new knife!

Bandidas

Back at work, and with all the boys off on the third annual "Bachelor Surf Trip", we girls decided to get together for dinner and a girly movie. Some of you might find the fact that I watched this film more entertaining than others (Ronelle!) But if anyone reading this is in the mood for a horrible (and "bly"), cheesy western staring Penelope Cruz and Salma Hayek (who I will add wear corsets the whole movie, even when they sleep!) then this is your movie!

And February comes again...

I realize that February has actually been upon us for 12 days now, but I am referring to the day in this chilly month that I will once again go back to work on a big beautiful boat. And that day would be tomorrow. I am officially back in Victoria and looking forward to (tomorrow) when I will be going back to work. Yes that is correct, I am EXCITED about going back to work. I think that I am one of the luckiest people in the world to have a job that I love and am excited to go to, and back to, every day and year. I won't say that it's not challenging or tiring, but its so rewarding and that makes up for everything.
In any case, here I go again, the start of another sailing season, always with the promise of being better than the one before it.
"So throw off the bowline. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover." Mark Twain

Pictures From France

And here they are, some pics from France.... I've narrowed it down to about 50, from over 300! oops. Anwyays, if you are interested, take a peek here,

France Pics

Nifty Nifty, Look Who's 50!

Well I made it back from Canada, and am currently relishing in the fact that I can take a shower (a hot one) without the shower turning off every 10 seconds, an canadian style keyboard, and coffee that comes in a size larger than a teacup!
After a weekend full of flights and travelling I made it home, just in time to go to "bootcamp" with my sister, and then my mother's 50th birthday party that same evening. All I can say is that I am lucky that the jet-lag is easier to deal with when you are coming back to Canada.

Snow Flakes and Sand Dunes

Hey Everyone,

Back in Paris again, and I have to say that the thing that I am most looking forward to is a Canadian keyboard! The letters are all funny over here and I keep putting in Q instead of A and it one of the most frustrating things in the entire world; that is at this moment when clearly the entire world is centred around me and other more frustrating could not possibly exist...

So here is the gist. From Nice I went to Carcassonne, with the intent of seeing Lastours, one of the Cathar Castles, but neglected to think of the possibility of snow in the mountains... oops! So instead had a beautiful but quiet, and extremely cold!, few days wandering around the completely deserted medieval city, thoroughly exploring the castle and ramparts, and trying out some of the local cuisine, such as cassoulet (which is like a stew, made with beans, and duck, and sausage). Brittany, being a braver carnivore than I, also ate blood sausage!

Next it was off to Bordeaux specifically to go wine tasting and hopefully to find some warmer weather on the coast, but alas, we brought the snow with us! Since we couldn't go no a tour until Saturday; and didn't particularly want to hang around a big city all day we hopped a train over to Arcachon! It was definitely a highlight of the trip. We initially just wanted to put our feet in the Atlantic ocean, but were tipped off to take a short bus ride over to the Dunes of Pyla, which were these amazing sand dunes and almost completely deserted (until we got to the top ans saw all the other people who probably thought it was completely deserted too). Arcachon was a lovely little break from everything, it was very quiet, but not in a deserted way. We decided to walk back along the beach, and it was so beautiful to be by the water, and the sun even managed to poke itself out for the day!

After seeing a few wine Chateau's and not really refining my taste at all, we took the train back down to the Mediterranean to a little spot called St. Raphael. This place kind of had a small town wants to be a big city vibe that was more than a little confusing at times. For example the church bells that rang repeatedly but not on any kind of schedule, or all the cars that never seemed to want to drive around the block, rather they would back up on some main street to go back to their turn... strange! The real treat was a day trip over to St. Tropez, and despite the tourist office saying we shouldn't walk 5km to the beach, we did, and again found ourselves on a white sandy (maybe seaweedy) beach with only one or two other people in sight. St. Tropez was an afterthought really, our initial plan was to head into the middle of France, but after facing so much cold and snow we wimped out and went back to the coast, but it turned out to be a fantastic detour.

Now I am back in Paris once more to finish the trip off with the fireworks finale of Sacre Cour, Versaille, Notre Dame, Arc de Triomph, and the Eiffel Tower. Today was spent wandering around Montmartre, Moulin Rouge, Les 2 Moulins, and, thanks to the flip a coin way of walking, seeing the Sacre Cour twice without even realizing we had done a circle... I am still in shock over this. Tonight I am going back to Moulin Rouge to compare the lights to the daytime blandness... it surprised me really how unglamorous it looked in the daytime.

In any case, back to Copenhagen on Saturday and then Canada on Sunday. See you all soon I hope!

p.s. Happy 50th Birthday Mom (I tried to call this morning but no one was home!)

St. Raphael & St. Tropez

After all day spent on the train we arrived in St. Raphael. This was exciting for two reasons, the first being that the train ride was so long, and the second is that we spent the last at least 30 minutes having to watch the lady ahead of us picking her nose, and I don't mean just picking, she was like digging for who knows what, but she made it bleed!!!!!!!! eeeew. Anyways, St. Raphael is cute, but kind of has this big city wannabe vibe, so we took the bus to St. Tropez where we walked (even though the tourist office said we definately needed a car) for about 5 km to a local beach, which was completely deserted, but beautiful to sit and relax and read on. I have noticed that being in places that are completely deserted, but you know would be busy in the right season, gives you this funny feeling, like you are one of the only people left on Earth.

The Dunes of Pyla

This to me sounds like the title of a fantasy book, however it is a real place and one that I visited yesterday. Currently stationed in Bordeaux, we took a day trip to put our feet in the fidgid waters of the North Atlantic, to a little town called Arcachon. It was beatiful, and a short bus ride away, but rather long, yet beautiful walk along hte beach back were the Sand Dunes of Pyla. They are massive and have been growing steadily over the years to reach their current hieght of 117m, 3km long, and over 300m wide. Possible one of the most amazing things was that we took the less populated route and it wasn't until we were at the top that we realized we were not alone on this beautiful creation, but that there were in fact at least 15 other peaple, who had climbed the cheater way to the top by taking the short side up, while we had climbed up the side facing the ocean. I will note that sand is most treacherous to climb up... But the view from the top was beautiful!
This afternoon we will be going wine tasting at Chateau Merdoc and Le Maison du Bordeaux.

Just So You Know...

IT SNOWED!

Is That Blood Sausage?

Currently in Carcassonne, the namesake of a well loved game. Was hoping to visit a site of one of the Cathat Castles called Lastours, but unfortunately discoereved another reason not to travel around France in the winter and that is snow? Apparently they have snow in the mountains so the castle is closed. After being on the beach in Nice, the thought had not even occured to me. Oh well, another adventure will present itself I am sure. Last night, when we arrived here in Carcassonne, we had to walk over a bridge and up into the medieval city and all three of the walls were beautifully lit, it really was like alking into a fairy tale. Amazing! After checking into our hostel we went to find some dinner, and being very brave Brittany order Bedouin... we asked the waiter what it was andwith my limited understanding of the language we got that it was sausage, but I did not cath him pointing to his arm, neaning blood... oops!

(I had chicken)