Curry & Cheese Curds
Published August 14, 2008 | 
“Pubs and clubs, boozing and late-night curries: these are core elements of British culture.” – Time Magazine. Really? Now I understand why the Brits seem to fit in so well here in Wisconsin. Of course we tend to turn to cheese curds and Big Macs. On the other hand I have picked up a bit of an addiction to a good brown sauce which thankfully covers the taste of just about anything. Come to think about it, after a night on the town there’s somthing to be said about a good curry as well.
2 hour drill
Published August 13, 2008 | 
Ok, so there you are looking into the eyes of a complete stranger. You have two hours to teach them “kayaking”. What’s that? Good question. You ask. “What would you like to learn?”. Answer: “I don’t know.” Yeah, good answer. You don’t know what you don’t know. . do you!? So if you have 2 hours with someone who’s never been near a kayak before. . . what do you do with your time?
teaching today
Published August 12, 2008 | 
Off to Madison today for a morning class. Odd thing, I can’t remember the last class I have actually taught at Rutabaga. . seems it was back in June! Wow, summer is flying by!
the autumn mind wanders
Published August 11, 2008 | 
An early morning, late summer chill.
The autumn mind wanders.
Blankets and sweaters.
Football and fuel.
A feeling that there is work to be done.
Something to prepare for.
Genetic memories.
Hibernation.
The autumn mind wanders.
Computer screens.
Television.
War and election.
Pencils. Hoer frost.
Dew.
The autumn mind wanders.
Leaves in the street.
Lovemaking under down blankets.
Giggles.
Chocolate & wine.
The autumn mind wanders.
Cigarettes and café tables.
Dogs and plastic forks.
What was, is again.
Time passes.
The autumn mind wanders while all are asleep.
It anticipates the screams of alarm clocks.
It sees age spots in the morning mirror.
The autumn mind flies at sixty-thousand feet.
Gets lost in the clouds.
Chases the sun’s yellow reflection on the surface of the sea.
The autumn mind is stranded on an island.
Imprisoned with a stranger, lost with a friend.
The autumn mind is watercolor, vision and madness.
The loss of an ear.
The slow drip of candle wax.
The autumn mind is awakened by a change in the wind,
Then passes with the arrival of snow.
Hot Summer Sun
Published August 10, 2008 | 
You’re turning me on, you turn me around
You turn my whole world upside down
- 6 cycle mind
What is your annual summer tradition? Well, one of mine is turning my old Current Designs “Breeze” upside down, setting it on a brick and baking the warp back out of the hull. It works a treat too. . . well, other than the fact that I’ll be doing in again in a few months when the warp returns.
As I’ve said many times the Breeze, which Current Designs calls a “Transitional” kayak is one of those boats you just have to have. It’s a great learning boat and perfect for those friends and family members who occasionally may want to come along with you in the water but are not quite as skilled. The Breeze is 13’6 and 25″ wide. Perfect for someone who wants to feel stable on the water, yet still quick enough not to be left too far behind. It’s also the boat that ends up going down the rivers since I don’t care if it get’s run up over the rocks. The only bad bit is that constant “oil canning” that is really common with older plastic boats.
With the Breeze, the warp always seems to appear right under your legs which with this fish form hull is at about the widest spot. If left unattended for some time, the warp will create an area about one foot square that will dip in and inch or more. When paddling the water rolls up into the divot creating a nice gurgling sound and a bit of drag to go with it. When it finally bugs me enough to do something about it I drag out an old concrete block and set it on end. Then I flip the kayak over placing the cockpit over the brick, and the divot directly on the brick itself which pushes the dent out. After a couple days baking in the hot summer sun the dent will be gone. For awhile anyway. . .
Oh, a sailor’s life is
The life for me
How I love to sail o’er
The bounding sea
And I never, never,
Ever do a thing about the weather
For the weather never
Ever does a thing for me!
It’s sort of like back in those days when I was broke and homeless sleeping in my car in a posh little suburb of New York. Walking down the streets in the wee hours seeing all the stuff in the shop windows can be a real drag. Especially if you’ve not eaten in a couple days. . .
So they tell us that 1% of the population holds like 90% of the worlds wealth. Of course that’s a bit misleading. It depends on what you consider “wealth”. Paddling into yacht clubs around Puerto Rico certainly made you feel like there was a lot of wealth to go around. Paddling in we’d be surrounded by all these amazing and opulent craft. We’d wonder what the cost of owning one of these behemoths must be?! Leasing a dock, fuel, maintenance. . . Yikes! Well, the folks at Yacht Plus came up with a thing called “Fractional Ownership” that they say takes the hassle and costs out of owning a yacht. I might look into that. Well, if I’m ever closer to that 1% than I am now . . . which is just happy not to be homeless.