30 Knots Of Awesomeness
written at Friday, November 13, 2009
The sky was overcast today, I joined my Dad and his Friday group of fellow sailors out for the race. The winds reached 30 knots and with the coming of the tide at that time, the waters became extremely choppy. The sea water sprayed against my face, I got wet the moment I got on-board, the crew were desperately handling the winches and the ropes, the howling winds crashed against the mainsail. These were one of the times I actually feared for my life...You have to be there to experience it. I asked myself, how many people would have experienced this? At most, going to Changi Sailing Club on a little toy boat scooting around, most race competitions in Singapore would have called off the race if the sky got dark and when the drizzle starts.
The New Zealand people are not called the best sailors on this planet for nothing, they produce the worlds best and they train under the toughest conditions. They are probably one of the world's craziest too, I would have pissed in my pants sailing in that kind of weather. So all of you who claim all there is in New Zealand is sheep, fresh air and scenery please think again, we produce the world's best rugby players, sailors, entrepreneurs and scientists.
I mean which country will have a 14yo girl preparing to sail around the world alone, and without any help or stopover? Do you know what the conditions are like in the middle of the ocean? Waves can swell up to 5 metres, it is pitch black at night, you don't see a mass of land around you, you are alone, by yourself. What was I doing when I was 14, playing computer games? If you fell into the ocean in stormy weather, you can be sure that you're dead! You will experience sleepless nights because you don't know if you'll live through the storm. There's no one to talk to, a helicopter can't possibly reach you because you are 2000kms away from land. I have to say though, her parents are nuts for letting her do such a thing...
Anyway, it was great fun today. Did not bring my camera on the boat, I'm glad I didn't because it would've been totally wet and I would have risked it dropping into the water.
30 Knots Of Awesomeness
written at Friday, November 13, 2009
The sky was overcast today, I joined my Dad and his Friday group of fellow sailors out for the race. The winds reached 30 knots and with the coming of the tide at that time, the waters became extremely choppy. The sea water sprayed against my face, I got wet the moment I got on-board, the crew were desperately handling the winches and the ropes, the howling winds crashed against the mainsail. These were one of the times I actually feared for my life...You have to be there to experience it. I asked myself, how many people would have experienced this? At most, going to Changi Sailing Club on a little toy boat scooting around, most race competitions in Singapore would have called off the race if the sky got dark and when the drizzle starts.
The New Zealand people are not called the best sailors on this planet for nothing, they produce the worlds best and they train under the toughest conditions. They are probably one of the world's craziest too, I would have pissed in my pants sailing in that kind of weather. So all of you who claim all there is in New Zealand is sheep, fresh air and scenery please think again, we produce the world's best rugby players, sailors, entrepreneurs and scientists.
I mean which country will have a 14yo girl preparing to sail around the world alone, and without any help or stopover? Do you know what the conditions are like in the middle of the ocean? Waves can swell up to 5 metres, it is pitch black at night, you don't see a mass of land around you, you are alone, by yourself. What was I doing when I was 14, playing computer games? If you fell into the ocean in stormy weather, you can be sure that you're dead! You will experience sleepless nights because you don't know if you'll live through the storm. There's no one to talk to, a helicopter can't possibly reach you because you are 2000kms away from land. I have to say though, her parents are nuts for letting her do such a thing...
Anyway, it was great fun today. Did not bring my camera on the boat, I'm glad I didn't because it would've been totally wet and I would have risked it dropping into the water.
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Knowing
What matters supremely, therefore, is not
in the last analysis, the fact that I know God,
but the larger fact which underlies it --
the fact that He knows me.
J. I. Packer
