All the leaves are brown

and the sky is gray

I went for a sail

on a winter’s day…

Sometimes words are not needed.

 

Wow, yesterday at the Berkelgate there was serious winds. SO much that the Big OC cancelled classes. They had to send a rescue boat out for one boat that was out on charter that was overwelmed with the winds. It was wild windy. I ended up giving lectures all afternoon since my class on the water was cancelled. Today, Sunday, it was about 5 knots of wind in the morning, quiet and peaceful.

Barley enough for even the J24’s to move. So Peaceful almost too peaceful. We had an easy class in the morning then had lunch. Mine was the only BKII class running this weekend, It was kind of weird it was so quiet. There was some other things happening, private classes, some review that sort of thing, but over all quiet…so different from the summer.

I had noticed that the Berkeley marina has indeed replaced the docks they took out aka the floating ghetto. The former homeslip place of the former great ocean crossing super blogger polka dot racing team captain dude turn swimmer Dad. They have filled in the vacant space now with all nice new shiny clean docks, I think they are cement. Can you say raise in slip fees…

Meanwhile over at O dock…

The rest of the afternoon with my class pretty easy. We motored out far enough into the slot to pickup some winds. Some where around 12-15 knots, enough for a nice sail and some MOB drill which they catch on to fairly quick. I tried to steer clear of the racers that were out for the afternoon, and did pretty well over all.

It was a good day to be out of the water, warm enough to be comfortable, later enough wind to be fun, but not stressful for newbe sailors. We headed back to the Marina on the late side since the guys wanted to get a little bit more practice time in.

On our way back in we have to go by O -dock…the only movement were the seagulls catching dinner…

Just after we came back to our dock, the winds calmed again it was good timing. The winds calmed and it got chilly, the fire they had earlier in the day in the club house would have been great, but it had burned out by that time, so we settled for hot ccoco to end a good day on the water.

Menawhile back at O-Dock…

I’m not sure how much many more boating post I’ll have before the end of the …maybe one, maybe none.  Ether way have a great holiday…peace out… remember be grateful

Even if you just have a little, some have less… _/|\_

In the world of Chan/Zen, Kyudo, Kung Fu and other related arts we have the thought, life, as we know it exists on three levels, Mental, Physical and Spiritual. I suppose relationships, love, many things can be broken into those realms, including sailing as well, since everything from the Chan thought is one, we are everything, everything is us, we are all each other. So like Kyudo, Kung fu, Tai Chi, Yoga can be broken into three levels,  Sailing, ca be as well, which I’m sure I have touched on in other post, such as inner sailing, and others.

A few days, well weeks now ago , I was reading an article from the site of John Vigor on Sex and small boats. He said that small boats were not built for that, the v-berth was too uncomfortble as was the rest of the boat. I got a good laugh from that. I thought back on my single days when I had a floating pad, the love boat…However I will not go there with this post as my wife and other friends and family read this…as they say ,… that is another story.

Recently the Blogfather commanded, that our new task was a story on Love and Sailing. Sex and Sailing in some cases is not about Love, and some cases it is. Once again that is another story and i’m not going there with this post. I was somewhat reluctant on doing this project as I did not think I could do it justice. I still do not, however this is not a competition, it is just sharing thoughts on a topic…and whatever it means, whatever it brings to mind for you.

With that in mind, I will go there… it has been shown on some studies that couples that sail together have a better relationship. Of course that depends on the couple, but in some cases, it makes/helps  them communicate better. An ex girl friend and I use to fight a lot on land, who’s the boss, but on the boat, it was clearly Zen is in charge… yeah baby.   We had our roles, tasks, and both of us carried them out and were respectful of the other. No conflict, no problems, no crossing of roles, no bickering. It is said that part of the problem with modern relationships is there is no clearly defined  roles, too many cross role jumping. In the old days men did this, women did that, things were clear and define. Now men are suppose to sensitive, strong, nuturing, considerate, help with the housework,  yet manly. Which is fine… Women on the other hand want to join the boys scouts, not be told they are pretty, not have the doors held for them, and still be thought of as sexy, soft, yet, man equal. The gender issues, misunderstanding, complexities have risen to a new level. Both sexs are unsure what their roles are. On a Boat, it is clear, who does what. It is not about gender ( ok sometimes) it is about clearness of function, of sailing the boat, captain does this and that, the crew does that and this. yeah yeah, there are cross overs, but the ultimate responsibility is on the captain, who could be man or woman. Things are defined, unlike relationships on land, the relationships on a boat are defined and like a land relationship, the sail will fail if not in harmony. In the case of a land relationship, divorce , in the case of a ship, a crash, sinking, or the like.

So all this means is, in the case of Love and Sailing it can be helpful, if done correctly, in the right spirit, in saving a marriage. Love and Sailing can go together, Love and Sailing can bind a couple together better than a land bound couple’s bowling on Tues interest, or bingo on Friday.

When LZ and I were dating and even now after marriage, it was/is part of the quality time we share, working on the boat, making it our boat. Sharing adventures together, weekends trips, little luncheon forays. She was not all that into the thought of being on the ocean alone for all that time making a cross to Japan. That is until it came to her that, she would have a captive listener all that time

It would be our time together, sharing and adventure and travel unlike we would have on land with my other tasks and projects…Kyudo, Kung Fu, Music, Ceramics, Graphics, Facebook

Some of those would still be in the mix , but more time would be just us…sharing Love and Sailing.

It was a chilly Sat morning, It was a full day of teaching for me. I had a Tai Chi/Kung Fu class in the early am 7:30, from there off to The Big OC Berkeley. I was feeling something weird… not physically, but that “zen sense’ thing I get when something is not going to go that smooth.

The Tai Chi class went well, only one student, no biggie, there is only two, so half the class was there

Afterward I head to Berkeley. Things are very quiet at the OC. very quiet, I am the only one teaching BKII, there are a few others doing misc charters, private class, review, BKI. Still even with those it was slow. The weather called for 11 knots of winds, picking up to 13 knots. Not bad. For the slot comfortable sailing.

I have only two students another sign it is a slow day. I give them a briefing , tide instruction, etc, etc. and we head out. I’m noticing the wind picking up. I have one guy do a couple of docking and casting off for some practice. now it is the second re-docking and the wind has pickedup more, I did not want the docking tried with a new coming under this wind. So I say, let just go out, head down the fairway. Today the wind is coming from the north, which is different, so we head down the side channel to raise the sail facing the wind as it it too strong to do it from the main fairway, which would put the wind across our beam. There are also several others there trying to raise their sails. I’m not liking it! I have the crew do several circles to see how the traffic is going to settle. Finally I say now and they try to raise the sail. It goes only about 1/4 of the way up, but the guy is pulling pulling pulling. OK belay that something is wrong. I check and the halyard has come loose and is caught in the spreaders. Sigh, ok, I take over and head back to dock. It was a very unpleasant docking with a boat on our lee getting into the slip was hairy! I made it with no damage, a small bump but no damage.

One of the staff comes by I tell him about the halyard, he gets help. In short time it is repaired. Turns out the student did not close the shackle tight enough. Ok, no damage, no problem. One of the students asks me how much do you think the wind speed is now. I say about 15-18 knots. just before we are ready to re-launch, which I was having concerns about.  The office guy comes by and says, all the boats here are suspended. We are reading 30 knots of wind in the office. Wow, does not seems as bad in the valley of the boats, but out of the bay, serious winds.

So I shift gears, I do a demo on reefing then we head for lunch. The rest of the afternoon, I give a lecture and discussion on Rules of the road, and navigation, which is not what I do there, so I had to wing a lot since i did not know how they run that part. We watch the winds increase from the comfort of the classroom overlooking the boat yard. I breathe a sigh of relief I do not have to deal with 30 plus knots of wind on the water with new students on those little J24’s. It was a different kind of day.

I wonder what is up in the cosmos for tomorrow…

Time moves on with the voyage preparations. Part of that Prep work is preparing my library, not only for afloat but for the final landing. I love books. I will be building a book shelf on s/v zen, or perhaps installing a bookshelf is a better phrase. I guess it does not matter the 5 or so who read this will know what I’m saying. My yachting reference collection is almost done. I think I have gathered a great selection of resource reference books and just reading novels for the passage.

I have one more sailing book I want to complete my technical library: Storm Tactics Handbook: by Sailing’s Royal couple the Pardey’s

My tech books for on-board are:

Chapman’s Piloting

Sensible Cruising – The Thoreau Approach

The Sailing Handbook

This OLD boat

Landfalls of the Paradise

Celestial Navigation

Voyaging on a Small Income

Sailing Directions : Pub 158, 159, 120 ( The Pacific and Asia)

The Pacific Crossing guide

World Cruising Routes

Sailboat Electrics Simplified

100 Fast & Easy Boat Improvements

Desirable and Undesirable  Characteristics of Offshore Yachts

The Tao Of Sailing ( not really a tech/ref book, but…)

One hand for yourself , One for the Ship,

Wind and Tide

The 12 volt Doctors’s Practical Handbook

First aid afloat

Celestial Navigation for Yachtsmen

Where there is no Doctor

The Floating Harpsichord ( a novel plus medical advise by a doctor)

Sailing the Farm

Self-Steering for the sailing craft

Cost Conscious Cruiser

The Self-Sufficient Sailor

The Care and Feeding of the Offshore Crew

Practical Seamanship

Offshore Cruising Encyclopedia

The Marlinspike Sailor

The Time -Life Library of Boating:

- Cruising Grounds

- Seamanship

- Navigation

- Offshore

Any other suggestions? However, I do not want to overdue it and get weighed down, I need to save space for ohhhhh , let see … water and food.

Okkkk, The Blogfather started something Pottery Tues, which became officially recognized on Weds, by the Prophet of O-Dock on Weds. as Pottery on Weds. So to honor the movement. Here is my humble contribution which expands things to the Universal realms of Art. In this case ceramic marine art.

As an artist I notice that there are many representations of marine art in Paintings and Photos, even song. However in the Pottery or in the more general artist form know as Ceramics, there is only a small amount. Once upon a time, not so long ago when I was working in Clay I felt the need to express the marine dimension of Boats and water. There were some works of boat hulls in wood, some models of course in plywood, even a couple in ceramics but not a lot. Rarely a full boat even more rarely a sailboat.

I undertook one on a whim and worked on an abstract ceramic yacht.

Some people liked it, I laughed, I was not that pleased, but it was something. It was a challenge and MESSY!! It looks heavy , but it is not, it is all hollow. Which made it hard to do. Formed by covering some shaped foam with a slip soaked gaze. It was messy! Let me stress that MESSY. It was my first and last piece in that medium, it was too messy! Ceramics are messy anyway, but a fun kind of messy getting ones hands in the soft wet clay, but this was Messy, slip and drips everywhere, yuk.

My next pieces of marine expression came not in the form of something on the water but the water itself. I was much more pleased with the results.

The Sea Dragon.

Water and the moon

The wave

Not yacht  or boat art, but where would a boat be without water. Water is the source of life. No water, a yacht is just another abandoned vehicle on the land, same as a car, tractor, trailer on blocks.  Without water, there would be no boats, there would be no us since we are mostly made of water. As made of water, we are an extension of water, a boat is an extension of water and ourselves. Perhaps this is the draw, the real connection, the lure of boats. Boats are an expression of our oneness with water,  a Yang to the Yin of our water nature.

Now that that is done…who the heck is Glen Beck… and why is the Blogfather saying those things about him..er her?

LIt was a long day for me, Up at 6:00 am, I had a Tai Chi/Kung Fu class to teach at 7:30. My small Sat. class, however due to having a sailing class over at the big OC to teach I needed to leave early. So after going through a few things with my students I took off for Berkeley. It is nice it only took me 15 or so minutes to get there. Nice! Nice nice. The weather report said weak winds , however as I went down the access, the flags over at Cal sailing were blowing strong. I thought ok, There will be wind today after all.

I arrived and got my boat assignments and checked out the students cards. They all had good remarks from the BK 1 instructors, Sweet! This should be good. I went down to check out the boat, it was setup and ready to go, an excellent sign. While up at the club house I came across a guy I knew from earlier this yr who was out on one of the big OC boats, “Knots Squared” , a beautiful Yacht. LZ and I went sailing briefly with him to do a Photo shoot of the 3 Bridge Fiasco Race. I had not seen him since then. He says when he see me, Oh, I guess you really do work here pointing to my instructor shirt and laughs. Chit chat cit chat…

I round-up my group and after intros, boat check out, Questions & Answers, I take them to a spot overlooking the bay and give them a quick lecture about sailing mindfulness and sailing is more than just knowing the parts of the boat and technical stuff.  We call it awareness in Kung Fu and Mindfulness in Zen, no matter the name one needs to be connected to the environment. Down in the valley of the boats, you can not really see what is out there, from here you can check-out what you will face, look at the waves, trees, other boats, feel the wind on your face, neck ears blah blah blah…then we were off.

The morning wind was disappointing. After a couple of the students got a turn at the helm, really just one with wind. I took the group in to the dock, where we practiced docking skills. Afterwards lunch…

We head back out after lunch there is better wind, enough to get the Bottle Over Board drills done. about half way through the drills, I hear some girls yelling. I look around there is a boat with some little people waving and yelling. I wave back, I could not hear what was being said, but I had a feeling it was for me. As the boat got closer, I find out it is my friend EVK4 the Ocean Crossing Super Blogger People’s Republic of Berkeley Polka Dot Racing team Captain guy and his mini crew.  He is running The Polka Dot Racing Team Lady Bug Sailing Camp for Munchkins. It was cool to see them out there…

Too bad I did not get this picture to him sooner he could have used it on his blog post today… anyway, we give each other the “Zen sign”, wave and they head off to the marina. I quickly grab my camera and snap a few shots. It was my first time seeing him on the water there even though his boat is docked there in Berkeley. I think,to myself  if my Philly homie the prophet of O-Dock, O-Dude was out, it would have been the perfect encounters for the day. Alas he is in the grip of an evil demon bug and does battle for his very being…

My group continues their assigned drills. They all handle them well. everyone only complaint, there is not much wind. After completing several rounds of drills , I explain to them briefly the Tao of reefing. Then we head back in. Once we enter the marina runway. The students prepare the boat for docking doing this n that dodging the traffic  that has pickup, including some Baka, in a large power boat backing across the fairway. Meanwhile  I notice for the first time a sign marking the infamous “O” Dock, home of the prophet.

It is quietly marking the “WAY” for those who know the wisdom of the Tao of O-Docker…even though my Homie the Prophet is not there…

Anyway, it was still a good day

at a primo gig.

I was invited by my friends over at  “Sacred of the Water” to go for a sail on their new Sailing Vessel Oli Kai. They had been looking for a CAT for a L- O-N-G  T-I-M-E they finally found one in budget and the other stuff one needs to make the leap. Yay! A bunch of happy boaters. At first the plan was to take the family on a world trip to Okinawa, where the “M-chan” could do her graduate paper and is the home place of her Oka-san. I think that plan is still there but moved to after the Sea of Cortez or something. Anyway. They found their boat, whooohoo, Yay!!

I was invited to go out on the bay for a little wind and water action. This was my first CAT ride, so I was up for Catting around for the afternoon. heheheha get it catting around… ok, never mind. I digress. There was not much wind, so the going was slow, but still enjoyable to get a sense the boat in light air. Toward the end of the sail the wind picked up and I got to get a better feel for the Speed of a CaT under sail.

A different feel, motion of the boat. Takes a little getting used to at slow speed, but once the wind got her sails full, she shined. One could enjoy cooking on the sea with no heel, or doing whatever with no heel. One still got the bounce, but no heel was kind of cool. I could go for a CAT.. A small one , like 28 or 29 ft. perfect.

There is the dark side of course to everything. Docking space, Haul out and bottom cost ( you have two ), if it ever flips, your toast, soggy toast at that (^_^)

On the other hand, if you are single It would be a chick magnet, most females love that no heel thing.  It is also easy to move around on deck and do stuff. Another thing it is nice to set in the salon and have a good view of what is going on around you. No running up stairs from dinner to look around…In the rain.

Speaking of rain, it rain whilst we were out, It was cool though, I had my foul weather gear and got to try it out on a boat in foul  ( ok just a light shower really) weather instead of walking to the Post office in a typhoon. It was a good investment. It was kind of fun sailing in the rain… warm( fairly) and dry. I need to invest in a pair of foul weather bibs for LZ. The Blue pelican has some but not in her size, I have to wait and keep and eye out. Which is ok, since I do not have the money for some anyway. See how good the Universe is watching out for me… sweet (^_^)

Was that a major Digression or what.

Anyway, stay turned for another adventure with the Okinacubano clan in the future. mata ne!

Some days it is just good to hang out on the boat and mess around. This was one of those days. We had High Winds here on the island and around the bay. EVK4 reported 15-25 knots most of the day in the Berkeley zone.

I had it in my mind to spend the day on the boat. The plan was Motorcycle ride to the marina, spend the day on the boat, cleaning, fixing, internet job search, reading, Japanese study, meditation, drinking green tea…

I did most of that , I did not make green tea, I had a few hits of Rum instead after which I took a nap…

However I jump ahead of the story. I rode the cycle down to the marina, and took a bunch pictures of Halloween decorations from the hoods on the way. You can see them here:

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2041784&id=1318695816&l=2b3ce7333b

Once I go into the marina I took a little walk around the corner to the Blue Pelican, the marine consignment  store. I had seen a picture of a bronze hand pump in a book great book I picked up last week called This Old Boat, by Don Casey. I found it at half Price books saved some money over buying it used from Amazon. anyway I digress…

There was a hand pump for changing oil. The junk elec pump I had worked once, then it stopped. I thought I would check over at the Blue Pelican.I had this feeling they had one, the Zen sense was tingling…

Sure enough they had one behind the door.

I got it, and figured I’d look around since I was there… I ended up with that pump, a book on solar powering a boat, and a chart case. The chart case I really got for my Kyudo Ya’s but that is another story. Anyway  perfect stuff at a cheap price. I was content.

After my walk back to the marina, I did some computer stuff, had some rum, took a nap. After waking up, I needed to get the blood moving and clear my head before reading. I recalled there was a catamaran at the marina once upon a time. Cat have been on my mind lately.  A friend of mine, who blogs and also who at one time also wanted to sail to Japan, she and her husband just purchased one, a Seawind 1000. Nice! I also had been conversing with another couple currently in Japan who live in Hong Kong and just sailed from Florida to Korea in their Cat. named Jade. Adding to that I read this morning the finally adventure of another couple who sailed from Vancouver, Canada to Hawaii and back via Mexico on their 28 ft Cat. named Light Wave LZ and I would love to have a CAT.

I would this one which is docked at the marina. I walked over and took a look at it. I do not know if it is Ocean worthy, but I still lusted after it a while, dreaming. Nice size, maybe not sea worthy for a long haul like to Japan, but one can dream.

Then I went back to reality. I figured out how to use the sewing Awl I have had for a while, I need to do some sail cover repairs also some repair on the dodger. Now I know how to work it. I need to buy more thread though.

Some more time was spent on non-boat stuff, like reading the Zen and Art of making a Living. After some reading I figured out all of this book is not for me. It tells me things I already know. I know the things I like, my talents and what I want to do. However… there are some of the later chapters that maybe helpful and seem interesting.

Meanwhile the winds blew most of the day around 25 knots. On and off I recall thinking. I’m sooo glad I do not have to teach over in Berkeley today in this wind or any where for that matter. In truth though the powers that be at the Big O, leave it up to the instructor to use his judgment on seriously windy days.

So I ended up doing some misc stuff, around the boat. organized, put some things away from the last trip, made some plans and figured out what needs to be done my next trip down to spend the day….just messing around on the boat.

This weekend it was on! I had been apprehensive of teaching a class at the Big O. Although I placed myself on the selection list, I always breathed a sigh of relief when I was not needed, and went “Yokatta” to myself.  There were several reasons for my secret joy .  Besides my lack of confidence since the incident of the student’s vengeful slanderous attack to the CEO, being the sensitive artist that I am. There is also the fact of if I work, I have to report that money to EDD, where they in their heartfelt kindness of not letting me make any extra money and therefore losing my motivation for life and get weak from the challenge of being behind in bills, subtract that from my unemployment benefits. Also, the boats used are REALLY uncomfortable to ride being bounced around sitting on the stern pulpits, in 17 plus knots of wind  & chop most times. Adding to that wondering if I “fit” in with the super friendly out going, all smiley types that work there and how easily they make small talk with the clients . So I never felt the least bit of sorrow when I was not needed for a class, doing the slow period of this economic adventure. This concern was to the point of me having made a draft of my resignation. However LZ reminded me of Budo training, how these things are what make one get better. How sitting in Zazen and being uncomfortable improves one’s spirit, reveals one true nature. This was the same…, You are Shaolin, this is your Tao…Ganbatte!

This weekend I was one of the chosen ones. I was to go to the sea and face the monster, stand in the hot most breath of the demon. I studied the handbook, I read and reread, then made notes on the instructor syllabus. I meditated, I worked on my Zen mind. I was still somewhat nervous, but determined to be mindful, clear and Ganbarimas ( do my best). When I arrived at the clubhouse there were many new faces, but the ones I knew were very welcoming and helpful on getting me back in the swing of things. Some even went out of their way to greet me….long time no see, nice to see you, how you been…that helped. I asked a few questions about procedures I did not recall and soon got my groove on.

I got my assigned students and we were off. I did a small lecture at the boat, and we got down to business, it was a good group, two guys and one woman. They were all relaxed and we fit well. I went through stuff easily and they all got it most of it quick. What they did not I went through again. We were the last to leave the dock in the morning and the last to get back for lunch even running a little late, no matter. I did not want to rush them. I felt much better when I over heard the woman being asked how was it for her by another student and she said, good, he is a good instructor…whew!

In the afternoon after a morning of light winds, the wind spirits had enough rest, awoke and came out to play. Things were brisk but not uncomfortable. The ride got a little wet, but they still had a good time and handled things well.

Sunday was more of the same, but less official lecturing other than my not by the book lecture on being one with the sailing Tao, connecting with the environment, sailing being more than just techniques on handling the boat. One needed to be “mindful” of the environment, balance the boat with the water, the wind and self. I felt more comfortable as well after reading the class ratings from the day before from the students, all excellent!…Yatta

The winds on Sunday were light for the most part through-out the day and we had an enjoyable day on the water. Other than my “Bum” being rail sore, it was a good sail and a good weekend on the water. The students make a difference and the Force was with me.

I was pleased to see a large section of docks gone form the marina, one section of which was the former home to the once great ocean crossing sailing guy blogger. I think I saw the flag-ship of the once well know PolkaDot racing team, Lady Bug sitting forlorned in the distance, but I was not close enough to tell for sure. I also looked here and there, but saw no sign of someone in a horned Viking hat, so it is unknown if the prophet of O-dock was around.