On-line Courses & Sailing - They Mix Well

At the start of this month I set a goal of trying to blog every day. As you can see, I didn't quite pull it off, but four in the past week isn't bad.

Truth be told, despite being on summer vacation, the past while has been extremely busy and not likely to get better in the next little bit.

Since March I've been taking a second Java course on-line through Athabasca University, but through preparing exams, marking, righting reports and getting an on-line course that I'm teaching ready, I had to put working on it on hold. I've got one assignment, one unit and then the final exam to complete before the summer. I finally had a day today to work on it (the first in weeks). I worked until a little after three. By then by brain was fried so I went for a sail (it is nice to have that release).

I'm writing this from my cottage on Georgian Bay (that's off Lake Huron in the Great Lakes, for anyone who doesn't know the area). I have an old Laser that I can take out. I stuck my head out and saw the white caps rolling past the island I'm on, and knew I had to get out to clear my head. We are on the lee side of a small group of islands. The wind was from the west, maybe even a touch north (usually its south-southwest) creating some unpredictable shifts around our cottage. Just getting out and beating past the islands into the more open water was trickier then I thought it was going to be. To add to the unusual direction, the wind was very gusty and shifting. I'd be hiked out (and even luffing a bit to keep the boat in a loose approximation of being flat), when the wind would shift head on and I'd have to get into the boat quick to keep from falling in backwards. One time I got in only to have the wind shift back even harder. These 44 year old bones don't react like they used to and I end up being projected into the water and onto the sail.

I thought it may get better out past the islands, but it didn't. I ripped back and fourth for fifteen or twenty minutes before admitting defeat and heading back in. One consolation, the water is extremely warm for early July.

Anyway, the summer course I'm teaching seems to be going well. We just finished our first week and the marking has been coming in. I'm getting into a routine of banging it off as it comes and staying on top. I'm also preped a week ahead, which feels good considering this is the first time for this course to be in the summer, so I'm doing it from scratch.

I think this is enough for today. I'll continue this tomorrow.

Mike