Welcome to the Year of the Tiger

Akemaste Omedeto Gozaimasu

Happy New Year!!  May you have fair winds and following sea…and love, and a job! (^_^)

Today I had planned on going down to s/v Zen and getting a getting New Years sail in. The wind gods laughed.

Sigh, oh well.

Today was the annual New Year sail around the island of Alameda day. I forgot, not that I had planned on going myself, but I could have taken some pictures  from the dock. However I spent most of the morning sleeping of the aches and pains from shooting 108 Kyudo Arrows for New Year purification and ceremony. Today I had 108 pains, that training is no joke. Anyway I woke up on the sofa after I had gotten up at 6:00am for Zazen and taken a nap. LZ ran the lunch bell and while sitting at the table I recalled the Island circumnavigaion. I caught somewhere near the last of the trekkers off in the distance from our Lanai.

After LZ’s Oishii New Years lunch I headed off to the marina. I figured sailing was out with no wind, the little rain was nothing, but no winds is a stopper.

Instead I spent the afternoon, organizing and getting things ship shape for the New Year. It is a Japanese custom to have things clean and organized for the New Year, it bring good luck.  I could use some this year, last year sucked. Perhaps being born in the year of the Tiger, will help. I am a metal Tiger this is a Metal Tiger year. If I was wood it would not be good. However at least I will not the cards stacked against me…If you believe in that kind of thing. I hear we sailors are a superstitious lot. There is that no setting out on a journey on Friday thing…

Anyway, I put up my unbreakable drinking vessels, cleaned off the table and put some things away. It was a cloudy day, with no wind, but it was a good day. I said a little prayer of gratitude, things could be lot worse.

May your sails of life be filled with fair winds in 2010.

Happy New Year from the Zen crew. See you on the water.

_/)