Swimming with Dolphins

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It was another beautiful day in Hawaii. This was not an organised tour but a swim from one of the tenders only 100 meters from the anchorage. We put on fins and a mask and there we were amongst it all! Each of us lost in our own worlds, I was diving down, staying below in the quiet blue until my lungs would scream for air and I would reluctantly come back gasping to the surface. These beautiful creatures gliding along amongst us checking us out but not caring. This was a very good day!

Christmas week in pictures

On the paddle board with dolphins two days before Christmas on my way back from the grocery store.
Up close and personal with the molten rock and boiling sea on Christmas eve.
Fishing for the day on boxing day and whale watching on the 27th. It is hard to say that it was hard work but it actually was a bit. Not in the day down the coal mine sort of a way but it was certainly busy.
I hope all are well at home and looking forward to new years celebrations

The rough with the smooth

Just as it seems, the whole rest of the world is about to finish work and spend Christmas with friends and family we have gone into full on work mode. We spent a night at sea relocating. I had elected to stand watch most of the night so that more folks were fresh to prepare the boat when we arrived. This morning I felt really tired as I checked my e mails. It was a surprise to see that the hotmail people had chosen a nice picture of Brighton beach, under 6 inches of snow. I looked out the window at the tropical paradise before me and decided to take an early morning swim... Wish you were all here..

Pleasant sailing

After being waved off by Mrs P Junior from a dark dock in San Diego we set out into a wintry night and a low pressure system off of the California coast. It is always unpleasant knowing that you are in for a bit of hectic weather but we had to leave and by leaving early we would miss the worst of the wind and rain that was expected. As we have made our way south and west over the past week we have finally found the sun and warmth of the tropical latitudes, the bridge doors can remain open day and night and the boy scout uniform of shorts and a tee shirt can once again be sported.

Green Flash

I have stared out over several sun sets in my life and it has always been suggested that there might be a green flash just as the sun dips the horizon. Bollocks! I have said, on many occasions. If there is a green flash I will eat my hat!
As my afternoon watch progressed it looked obvious that the sun set would be a nice clear one, so I took out my camera, set it to three frames a second and kept my finger on the button for the last stages of the beautiful sun set. No one was more surprised than me then to witness a green tinge to last nights dying sun. It was by no means a flash but it did go green for at least one third of a second..
Now I have to get down to the nasty business of eating my hat.

Christmas came early this year

It was a rare treat to have Claire visit me in San Diego for the weekend and as can usually be expected plans were cut short by work! However we managed to spend a lovely 48 hours together before a sad farewell at the dock side. The sun went down and we pushed off to sea leaving Claire waving to us on the dock.

All statistics can be manipulated.

I hear from the best wife that 13.2 of the miles discussed previously, were actually run by her when she completed a half marathon in London sometime in October!
If anyone else would like to borrow the watch for long distance running events this will help to make me look really tough in the coming months.

Boring Training Statistics

In my attempt to start climbing out of the lower levels of the SMFL* and to earn the right to wear tights without embarrassment, I have been in training. What usually happens when I do this is, the boys and girls at home start to step up a notch too so although I am fitter and stronger than before I still pale into insignificance and remain somewhere down in Division 3.

The 4th of December will mark 2 months since I foolishly entered the silly French running thing and also the start of my campaign to be fit enough for it. To impress you with my nerdy enthusiasm for my new gadget here are my statistics for the period.

Calories Burned..37,587
Calories eaten today about 30,000 (food on board is very good!)
Average heart rate in beats per minute.. 141. According to Dai this is not enough and I must surely be close to death. However my maximum was 193 beats per minute. (You should have seen that carrot**!)
Total Ascent 31,866 feet
Total descent 32,209 feet
Total number of miles run 234.05
All of that in 44 hrs of training. Gosh I am tough aren't I!! No actually but I am making a good effort and it feels good to have a focus while I am away.

* SMFL or Sussex Men's Fitness League, a fictitious league comprising of most of my friends and a select bunch of local girl guides all of whom can beat me in sporting prowess. Your level in the league is pretty much just decided on by me. Seems fair

** Carrot. This is a fit young woman, normally with a very nice arse, wearing something to compliment it, while also running. A joy for any man to follow in any event or on any day of any week for that matter. Usually known as a carrot for it's ability to motivate the male runner into keeping up, (so to speak) at a respectable distance behind anyway.