It’s the best work week of the year, IMHO. I’m zazzing my bike through deserted city streets and getting seated at schmantzy restaurants without a reservation: the rest of the world is at the beach!
Here’s something to keep you occupied, whether you’re blissfully away (miss ya!) or staffing the ghost workplace at home: the world’s longest Mad-Lib, built from the first four chapters of Moby-Dick.
See you in September!
Margaret Guroff is editor and publisher of Power Moby-Dick. (Image via.)
Shot this handsome fellow fishing for minnows on the boat ramp this morning.
Get the t-shirt ($19.95) at DespairWear “Clothes Make the Man, These Clothes Make the Man Sad.”
Here’s some shipping money put to good work. Check out this short Monocle video about a gift from A.P. Moeller and Chastine McKinney Moeller Foundation (Danish website) to the young people of Schleswig bordering Denmark and Germany. Looks like a nice place to learn.
The architect C.F. Moller website with additional pictures and info about the school.
John Falk wrote an amazing piece for National Geographic Adventure (August/September ‘09) titled One Rogue Wave: A Fishing Trip Goes Horribly Wrong. It’s part of National Geographic Adventure’s How to Survive Almost Anything ’09 series.
It’s long but it’s a powerful story of survival at sea that every mariner should read.
Hope you enjoyed Part 1 of the Top Gear Car Boat Challenge.
Just when you thought you’d seen it all…
I first sailed to Bermuda when I was 14 years old. It was a pretty significant milestone in my life. From what I can remember of it today, more three decades later, it was also a significant accomplishment, psychologically, emotionally and physically. Of course, I was on a 128′ tall ship with 20 other adolescents and there was also this other little factor that the ship was under the command of a master mariner.
This morning, Mike Perham, a 17 year old Briton, became the youngest person to solo circumnavigate the globe. Mike’s prior experience included crossing the Atlantic at the age of 14. Here’s a BBC video/audio report upon Mike’s arrival this morning.
In yesterday’s Los Angeles Times, Pete Thomas wrote an interesting article titled More Teens Choose High-Seas Journeys. A more accurate title for the article might have been Younger Teens Choose High-Seas Journeys as the race today is less about who will be the fastest around the globe but rather who will be the youngest.
While I find it difficult to make a definitive statement with an absolute age on this controversy, it does seem to be getting a little ridiculous. I guess there will always be 2 schools of thought about these types of things with freedom of choice on one side and youth competency and parental responsibility on the other. Mankind has always been designed to push the limits, whatever they might be.
There’s an interesting conversation over at the Free Range Kids blog that you should check out if you are at all interested in this controversy. And from a slightly different perspective, check out the comments on BoingBoing.
Here are the websites of the youth sailors so you can read their own words about their adventures.
There’s only one thing better than Top Gear and that’s when Top Gear does boats. And you thought the lobsterboats in this post were over the top!
Just over a month ago I wrote a post about the loss of an American sailing icon, Walter Cronkite, and tonight it’s sad to think about the loss of another, Senator Edward Kennedy.
The above photo was taken in 2004 aboard the schooner Aurora in Newport, RI when I was executive director of the American Sail Training Association. We arranged a morning sail for a youth group from the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Center and invited our local Congressman Patrick Kennedy to experience sail training first hand. Without advance notice Senator Edward “Ted” Kennedy showed up at the dock too. He came aboard to meet the young people and share his enthusiasm and passion for sailing. As we departed the harbor, he sailed passed us at the helm of his beautiful schooner Mya.
Over the years I had several occasions to meet with the Senator and every time impressed me more. They say this about all great leaders, but when you were in his presence you really felt that he was totally focused on you and what you had to say. Of course, our brief meetings were always about tall ships and sailing, topics that were very important to him. As a student of leadership, I often reflect back on my very short, yet impactful experiences with the Senator and am grateful that I had the opportunity to spend time with him.
Robert Tomsho wrote a great front page article for today’s Wall Street Journal (August 25, 2009) titled In Maine, a Rivalry Boils Up On the Lobster-Boat Racing Circuit (free content). From above and the video belows, you can see things have changed.
[YouTube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ioqv4yhsYZA]
YouTube – Crazy Boating in Maine
Here’s the current speed record holder. Now that’s an impressive powerplant.
Welcome aboard the Foolish Pleasure for wicked good, rip roaring ride.
[YouTube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f0DnPMvutSQ]
YouTube – 2009 pemaquid races
Sea-Fever blog 