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.

So in my “spare time” I’ve been studying all kinds of cool stuff like celestial navigation, tides and currents, the international buoy system, etc. etc.

Recently there has been an Australian guy gal on Sailing Anarchy who is taking an Royal Yachting Association Course, and is posting his thoughts and studies in the forums for discussion and to help others learn. There is some great discussion and explanations on various topics which is totally worth a visit.

Week 1 was about variation and deviation. Week 2 was on the international buoy system. Week 3 is on tides.

Definetly worth reading if you are a geeky wannabe skipper who is looking to expand your knowledge. The usual SA warning applies: These threads may contain: violence, nudity and language that may be offensive to some readers. Reader discretion is STRONGLY advised.

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….

The mighty ship 680 is into the shop for a refit and whole bunch of work.

As I mentioned below, Boat Services Kingston have come on board as a sponsor and I am very happy with 680’s home for the winter. The shop out on Highway 38 is heated and has tonnes of space for us to work. I’m also very happy to have the guidance and knowledge of Niilo Avarmaa as work on the boat over the winter.

Niilo is known to be a very talented man when it comes to working on boats and fibreglass, and I am lucky to be getting a chance to see him in action and learn from him. I think what makes Niilo stand out is that he always does things properly, looking for the root cause of a problem and then working meticulously to fix it for good. It gives me great confidence that he is working on my boat.

680 will be getting a proper bottom job over the winter, and we have a whole bunch of little fixes, things to install, and improvements to make to get her ready to go offshore in June. Right now I am getting in all of the experts in various areas to come in and offer help and advice.

I’ll try to post some photos soon of her in the shop.

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!