I didn’t get around to writing the blog that I intended this week. My excuses being the continuation of the unfinished alterations to the canoe hampered, unusually, by the rain; unsuccessful experiments with various adherents and aluminium cans for the other boat; and the onset of what I can only assume is some sort of deep fatigue following a summer of irregular training coupled with very regular and often intense racing.

And then there was the film audition. Yesterday, with only a few minutes notice, I rushed over to the other side of the island to impersonate a heartless US army officer ordering the execution of some prisoners, and apparently, possibly not based on my acting ability, but more probably on the fact that they didn't audition many English speakers, I stand a reasonable chance of being called back!

Other good news is that the canoe is now very close to completion for the second time; I know of two glues that I can’t use to stick cans together and have a third ready for trial; and I have officially (again) put aside any formal training and racing programmes for a while so that I can get back to surfing and boat building.  

The first of the proper winter rains has passed through, I now have to sleep with a blanket, sometimes, and with some projects nearing completion and others gaining momentum, I feel a change in the air and look forward with optimism.

So, whilst not what I intended, here is a weekly blog update, to be continued during the next few days...



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The winter winds have delayed our attempts to get the canoe into the sea, even  the local fishermen have been forced to stay dry. So, admitting our limitations, and realising that we'd spend far more time bailing out than paddling, we've postponed the planned 21km sea paddle until the seasons change and we have more chance of calm weather coinciding with a day off work.
In the meantime, it's back to the day job for me and a bit of painting/decorating on the side at a friend's restaurant. If you're in La Santa, Lanzarote, Verde Mar restaurant has just employed a couple of great new chefs and has a fantastic new menu! Great food, great value! I'm going to be working on their website next week too, so check here later for the new link.
There will possibly be some talk of earthship plans in the not to distant future too. Found a couple of friends who are also interested in sustainable living and getting stuck into a cool new project. Feeling the need for a big new project this year, now I've 'freed' myself from ironman for a while. That was definitely the right decision :-)

oh and there's less than two weeks until the big run!