Road conditions ..

Just checked RACQ website - there are cautions on some roads up north - but at the moment - all open, with care. Should be interesting!

1 sleep till I depart - but 1 workshop to be done first

What a way to spend the second last night - reading about tracheostomy suctioning!! Sail Brisbane are using a GPS tracker on each boat - Trac trac? No no - back to suctioning  :-)

Dropped Quicksand to Ian and Fran - trolley modifications so that the baby blue rides well on her trips.
Picked up the Falcon - with CB installed - should make the Adelaide trip more interesting.

Reading time at UQ Ipswich library yesterday confirmed my selection of oral health for the interprofessional research project - now I need to narrow my focus within that landscape. Received more info yesterday on all the extra bits to be done with the prac and translating research into practice unit.
I keep forgetting each of the two subjects is a double subject!!

No time for a haircut! Gifts still not wrapped! Mmm - still a lot to do.

3 sleeps till Kuranda departure

I have so much to write.

Yesterday I went to Pick n Pull - at the rear of Capalaba Wreckers to get a replacement passenger sunvisor for the Subaru - some Lancer visors are a close enough match. I found one. The chap held it - said it was a bit soft - and I agreed with him. I can only conclude that a 'girl' in very short shorts and white legs gets a good price :-)
Maybe that explains why the Repco guy was so keen to help me with my wiper blade replacement. It rains every second day in Cairns at the moment - nothing worse than not being able to see where you are driving in the rain!!

It's wierd - I am counting down to Kuranda departure - but  I only have 4 sleeps at home till I depart for Adelaide - I really should have done a Gantt chart for this - it would have been beautiful!! Ah well - I am saving my PM skills for the uni research project - in fact - I have found a freeware PM tool that is just sophisticated enough for the job - wonderful find - GanttProject.

Moviemaking is very time consuming!! I spent 5 hours making a 14 minute Qld nationals promo  - and then I should have spent another hour putting some captions into it - alas - time and sleep overcame me. Still - it should do the trick - the Qld host is two years away - so this promo is a mix of "showing off" the fact we have a decent number of Sabres in Qld and demonstrating the features of the RQYS venue.
The other movie I have done is 16 minutes of tacking !!! Limited distribution until I get feedback on it - I don't want to demonstrate the WRONG techniques.
NO more movie making till the end of Summer Semester.

Today - yard work, vehicle tidy up, then sorting books and papers for the two uni subjects.
Tomorrow - Falcon gets a CB installed while I am at Ipswich for uni workshop #1
Tuesday - uni workshop #2 at St Andrews, Spring Hill

5 days till Kuranda departure

The little jobs are starting to melt away and my resin skills are improving - a miracle. Final gym session this morning - feels a bit sad - I will miss them - the challenge will be to work doubly hard on pavement/non-gym workouts - not my strength. My theory is ... you sleep in the bedroom, you cook in the kitchen, you workout at the gym!!
Lucy just loves Bron's Christmas tree - sooo entertaining!!
Last sail tomorrow before the Nationals - not ideal preparation - best I can do.
Looking at the Vic States - they are aiming for 100 and its in February - how grand would that be - and it is between Semesters!!
Shopping and library in town today - where is Turbot Street?

Progress on the priorities ...

Aaarrgh - slow progress on the centreboard - my resin (from the same batch) doesn't go off at an even rate - why?
Good Susan - gym sessions doing fine and working on a plan for pavement / non-gym program
Slow - prep for workshops
Moderate progress on my research project - definite to be dental/oral health sphere - doing some reading on reserch process
Well I did clear some stuff from th Falcon so I could give Anne and Phil a lift to Hell - so I guess that was progress!!
NIL - spray the weeds
NIL - mow the grass (weeds!!)
Yes - good progress on a bit of Christmas shopping
In your dreams - tidy up the house a bit (low low low priority)

Priorities ...

... just a few days till I leave for Kuranda ... plus I have UNI workshops 29-30 Nov ... so I need a task list:

• fix centreboard
• keep up with gym sessions (sort out a non-gym program for the next 3 weeks)
• prep for workshops
• advance my research project
• clean out the cars
• spray the weeds
• mow the grass (weeds!!)
• do a bit of Christmas shopping
• maybe tidy up the house a bit (low low low priority)

... best start on ... breakfast!!

Qld Sabre States finished

Day 2 was quite windy - but we were able to sail east of Cleveland Point. The to placings were closely fought out - all he results are on the Qld Sabre website ... http://www.sabre.org.au/queensland/index.html including some pics opf me that make me look I have been throught the wash - if you can imagine that!

For the windy conditions I was pleased with my 5th - although if I can pull 4th, and a 2nd (due to another persons mistake) - why can't I sail that hard all the time? I think it is psychological!! I fear that is going to be my next area of weakness to work on!

I am repairing my centreboard!! WOW I sure did some damage with two groundings on the Saturday - each catapulting my forward in the boat - with subsequent bruising now coming throught to show for it. The repairs will be a further skills test.

UNI break is finished really - we have readings and prep for Monday and Tuesday workshops next week.

I have impoved my video skills and now able to put the ccamera footage onto DVDs - which makes them easier for folk to watch. Still much to learn - but not a priority - just a fun thing :-) and an added communication channel :-)

Day 1 - Qld Sabre States

WOW - strong winds - over 25k at Peel Island weather buoy - racing changed to western side of Cleveland Point in Raby Bay. Twelve Sabres launched, with eleven seeing out the three races. Here's a shot leaving shore.... just before I ran aground - flinging myself forward over the thwart - no damage to me - just the centreboard!!

Racing was close - top boats were John Campbell, John Nobbs, Peter Skinner and John Ludwig.
Four women went onto the water - Anne, Kathy, Peta and myself. Kathy swam and retired. Pete swam and kept going. Anne and I had some close tussles, especially at the gybe mark - what she was gaining upwind I had caught by about that point.

Here's me on a gybe ..

Forecast is 15-20k today, getting up to 25 in some areas. We'll be on our toes out there again.

the space around us ...

I have been pondering/reflecting on some of the theme ideas Adrienne has in her book.
She talks about planning to achieve new levels in her sport - I think that is quite a useful approach and may be useful for goal setting - something I find difficult in my own sailing experience.
I am concluding from her story that we each have a space around us - and we fill it - by choices we make - though some say they cannoy make choices - that in itself is a choice.
How we choose to fill our space is interesting - could it be that if the right events, people, relationships don't make their way into our space we fill it with something else ... do others then perceive us to have our space filled - when in fact we have made a temporary allocation?
Maybe I will never know.

38, 13 and 2 ....

Getting keyed up for the Sabre States this weekend - 2 days to go - finalised the Sailing Instructions last night so they are off to competitors today - learned a lot from that exercise - but I have no desire to move into that side of sailing - committees, protests, rules .... the little trophies I am preparing are much more fun! Only dampener on the weekend is the 20-25k wind forecast.

Cars booked for serviceing today and tomorrow - time consuming but worth the effort, and cost, hopefully. Minimise risk. Started reviewing the interprofessional subject for Summer - it's a double subject - a lot of the process is familiar - hard part will be to settle on a topic to research! Planning a trip to the library tomorrow with the aim of getting that side of it sorted early. Then I can plan to plan.

Nationals - seem a distant event at the moment with so much other activity - maintaining training - doing extra work on upper body for mainsheet trimming - hard work - such a range of muscles to coordinate. Should be worth the effort - no real signs of last years shoulder impingement - so I am pleased about that. Currently - injury free.

Read Adrienne Cahalan's book this week ... Around the Buoys .... it reconfirmed to me I am not a big boat girl ... I like to own my own boat - so own something affordable .. I like to travel with my boat - so it must be small and light ... and I do like having a shower and nice meal at the end of the day.  Regarding the boys in the book ... I think she left a lot out ... there is no mention of love, romance, emotion ... general girly stuff ... 

I best go check on my varnish and put those extra bolts in the chainplates before the weekend ...priorities ... no room for emotion? ..... or is there?

40 and 15 to go

Time is flying.
I have decided to follow the Cairns Fishing blog for a while - decided fishing would be a suitable and easy recreational activity to do while I am at Kuranda :-) So I will take my pink fishing rod!!
Sabre States this weekend - we might get to 16 entries - whoot whoot - I'm excited.
Will do some final boat preparation tomorrow.
But tonight ... delicious linguini for dinner with my fav pesto - and some delicious KING prawns as accompaniment. mmm...

42 days to Nationals departure and only 16 days till Kuranda departure

Countdown!! means activity.
Mainsheet needs some modifications - should I try the old one as well to see if grip is better? MMM!!
Quicksand seemed well balanced to winward yesterday in 15k - not had such an experience before in my Sabres - but it didn't result in more speed - so what am I doing wrong - what can I improve?
Learned a bit more yesterday about where to NOT place the camera in the boat :-)
Considering a sail at CYC today.

43 days to Nationals departure

Saturday - about to leave home to sail at RQYS this afternoon. Will add new mainsail halyard - vectran - to see if it is less stretch under tension for the afternoon - the existing rope was unsatisfactory last week - had to even alter my traveller height to accommodate the stretched halyard - bad!

Forecast is for 15k, with some gusts above - strategy - take risks - st 1/3 down the line - push my envelope.
:-)

Semester 2 nearly over and Quicksand prepares for Qld Sabre States

Semester 2 exams finished today - just have to do some more clinical skill assessment next week to finalise the semester - results due 1 Dec. Summer Semester starts 29 November - so just a 10 day break between semesters.

Summer Semester has two subjects - a research proposal and a placement. Mostly by distance, minimal face to face. My placement is at Kuranda Medical Centre, Kuranda (25k out of Cairns) - leave Brisbane 1 December to drive up. Start at the medical centre on 6 December.

Quicksand, the new Sabre is giving me a lot of pleasure - she travels well through the water, and the new mast/mainsail (Quantum) seems to be working well - yet to have her in a real blow or strong wind - should be interesting - I will at least be familiar with the footing etc by then.

Qld Sabre States are 20-21 November - so lots of effort to get the boat and me ready for that. The event is at Cleveland YC. Six races over the weekend. Should be a lot of fun.

A pic of me doing a NOT very good tack!!

More pictures to come :-)