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.