Veronica

We often laugh at the misinterpretations of translators between Chinese and English. It is commonly revered to as being "lost in translation", however personally I believe it is more about that which is "gained" in translation. Of course for the most part we tend to forget this and so it was when I met Ran Chan, a Chinese lady. Ran’s English was not the best, something I established when she was about to climb into the car dressed in her wet-suit and it took almost 30 minutes for me to convince her to get into something more comfortable like slops, shorts and T-shirt! But her English was still good enough for us to have a meaningful conversation.

She introduced herself as “Ran” which of course wasn’t pronounced anywhere near what one would think. Seeing the frown form on my face, which must have been a common thing to her when introducing herself, she quickly added, “But you can call me Veronica”.

Veronica is her English name – a common practice among the Chinese given the Wests inability to cope with Chinese pronunciation and for a while we bemused this strange affair.

“What do your friends call you?” I asked.

“Vivi” She said with a smile. I could not help add to my amusement by pondering the strange results and intricacies of the cultural exchanges – not just in the habit of claiming an English name and the ability to choose it but also in not allowing the opportunity of losing out on getting that all important “nick name” with it! Later on I wrote her name on the observer spot of our recording sheet as “Vivy” by mistake. Scratching out the “y” and replace it with an “i” I smiled at her and asked if that was correct. Saying something I could not quite understand she quickly but politely added, “It’s ok. It’s ok.”, with a generous hand gesture.

Veronica must have been in her late twenties or early thirties – I admit to never asking and that I could be completely wrong. From personal experience I have found the Chinese to be notoriously challenging to assign an age to, their cultural eating practices often making them look far younger than they actually are - well, that’s my opinion anyway. But Veronica was an absolute pleasure to be with. She had an easy mannerism around her and laughed a lot, often at slight nuances of things that required a deft sense of humour to appreciate. Given her lack of knowing the full English language it was pleasantly surprising!

Soon we were engaged in conversation, much around the basis of love I have to admit, but covering a range of spin-off topics including China’s one child policy, of which Veronica is a result.

“I take my hat off to China for introducing such a policy.” I said. “It addresses not only their own lack in resources but they are also contributing to what I see as the only solution to the current world crises which we commonly refer to as ‘overcrowding’. So you are part of the solution.” I added with a smile.

“Yes” she replied tentatively, “but very lonely…”

Her simple comment was profound. Hidden in those three words were allusions to the immeasurable effects of what it means to be human. The simple act of a one child policy will alter the basis of relational behaviour in humans with unknown and far reaching implications. The fact that Veronica grew up without siblings and deprived of the opportunity to share intimate space in a living environment, she admits, could have been a great contributing factor to why she is now divorced.

Of course I could not help share in the use of God’s greatest commandment, to love Him with everything we have – body, soul, mind, every fiber of our being – but that this love be carried over to our neighbours. To love others in the same profound way and that if that was the basis for all humans would she still have found herself divorced? Of course she seemed to have loved our conversation and I could not help but see the notion of Christ-like-love being pondered deeply.

“I have never thought of it that way…” She said.

Later on, while driving her home I asked quite suddenly, “So then tell me, how do you spell ‘vivi’?”, my smile making it known that I have not forgotten her gracious acceptance of my spelling rendition when I wrote her name on the recording sheet.

“V and V” she said while finger writing two V’s next to each other in the air before adding, “Easy. Like ‘doubleyou’!”

Hehe… Its true! ;)

Veronica, knees tucked up behind me and sporting my yellow socks to help with the wind chill.

Are we there already!?

“Are we there yet?” Parents know that question all too well. As a kid I remember the internal frustrations and angst stirred up with those words, not just in the anticipation of the end f the journey but sometimes in fear of the reprisal from your parents. Still, as a kid one could not help ask that question. Some of my fondest memories are of those long journeys to the ocean - the peering over the hills the closer you got in the hopes of being the first to see the sea. Oh the anticipation as a kid was almost too much to bear and asking “Are we there yet?” just the most natural thing in the world to do, regardless of the emotional consequences (or those that might end up on your backside! ;)

Full dinner table!

Coming and going emotions – if I can call them that – are part of life for everyone. “Oh I hate goodbyes...”, and whether you say it out loud or keep it to yourself, you are of course experiencing those come and go emotions. And though many hate and ovoid the “saying goodbye” moments, I have learned to embrace them. Embracing these emotions is akin of emotional maturity even if one does not quite understand them they do remind of life and living.

Our season is just about at an end. We have had our farewell dinner, said our goodbye’s and some have already gone their separate ways. We are all left with our memories, making of them whatever we want – good or bad, happy or sad.

The 2013 Interns!

One thing is certain, time brings change and “Are we there yet?” has changed to “Are we there already!?” and how subtle but mature that change and shift in life is!

Wish I could stay just a little bit longer…

:)

The 2013 Team Leaders!

Storming action

Quick update...

Francis and I scanning the water while keeping an eye on the weather

Today was not for sissies. Francis, flying his Gyro and I got chased back to the airport after spending as much time with the boats as we could. He was just doing it for the fun so sneaked back a few minutes earlier than I did. As he said, “I don’t want to get too wet…” :)

With rain coming in on the right it was a run over those clouds and the island back to the airport.

It was a hard and fast run to make it back - even if it was 20 k's away. I still got somewhat soaked. The storm actually moved past the airport to the south but our survey area was flooded. The interns said they took the boat passengers to snorkel at the Four Season but they refused to get in the water since it was pouring with rain. Hehe… :)

Even with two aircraft patrolling the oceans we didn't see any sharks which was a bit disappointing but certainly there was no lack in action.

Wish you were here!

;)

No, its not a hangover!

Squeaking tires...

Wings and Whale Sharks!

Dirk was beaming from ear to ear. He had just walked through the door after his afternoon flight. As usual he had a bag with some snacks and groceries but I could not help notice the two empty beer bottles in his hand.

“We got 5 sharks this afternoon!” He said. OK, so perhaps the empty beer bottle weren't the reason for his happiness – or at least all of it. “It was amazing!” He continued. “This morning I got 1 shark but this afternoon we got 5.” He was shaking his head in a kind of elated disbelief. “Five!” he said again, this time with more emphases. Of course given the recent drought of whale sharks this was good news.

“Awesome!” I answered enthusiastically before settling in to listening to Dirk.

According to him the interns and clients are going to sleep well tonight, some most probably were going to be sore too – they had a lot of encounters so were clambering in and out of the boat all the time. It was great to hear – nothing like a good bunch of encounters to lift the spirits of everyone.  What made the day even more special was the fact that the wind was just 5 knots. In these light wind conditions flying becomes more a pleasure than work and Dirk made full use of it.

“Jis!” He says with boyish enthusiasm, “I have forgotten how fast the micro-light lands when there is no wind. The wheels made the same noise as a Boeing!” and Dirk whistles his rendition of tires hitting the runway. I of course have a good chuckle. It is so good to share in his happy state.

Wish you were here!

:)

PS: Savvi just popped in inviting us to the bazaar. He too is in a happy state and sure is looking sun-burnt!

Pretty woman and chocolate éclairs...

“Does it have a chocolate filling?” I asked while pointing to one of the long bread-thingies covered in a layer of chocolate.

“Oui” she said. I had to admire the perfect French accent.

“Great! Can I have one please?” I smiled being all warm and friendly. Her mannerism and dress was more akin to a secretary rather than working the bakery till. My admiration came with a slight tinge of sadness too as I remembered that once, some time ago, someone had told me too that I was a “lucky ‘bastard’”.

She sure was pretty.

It was lunchtime and I was doing my usual routine but for the discovery of the new bakery that had just opened next to my favourite take away shop. Moments ago I called Sam with the news that once again there were no sharks. (Dirk and I actually feel quite guilty to call Sam with the news of no sharks – her disappointment is rather disheartening!) Of course it is not just Sam that was being effected, the interns too were feeling frustrated. After starting on such a high, the lack of sharks over the last week and half have put a slight damper on things.

“That will be 30 rupees” she said while her eyes locked on mine. They were emerald green and exquisite, the beauty not lost on me while I fumbled through my pocket for some money.

“Thank you” I said before adding, “and I wish you all the success with the new shop.”

“Mercy” came her reply. Ah, there was that perfect French accent again. Taking my chocolate éclair in its pretty box I walked out of the shop.

Later on, back in the hangar I shared lunch with Donn – he was a Captain in the Seychelles Air-force. We often have a good chat and over the years have built up a good friendship. Of course he could not help admire the tempting and enticing look of the chocolate éclair and what a rare find that was on the island.

“Talk about tempting” I mentioned. “I have to tell you about the pretty lady working at the bakery…” Soon we were discussing the merits of admiring a beautiful lady. Suddenly Donn looked at me with a grin before adding, “Well, at least you could take the chocolate éclair home with you…”

Wish you were here!

:)

Aware are you Romeo?

Savvi and I

The other day Savvi and I was driving home after a day’s flying and I tuned into BBC. I think Savvi was perhaps not as pleased about the BBC thing but I think he was being very polite about it. They were talking about the distinguishing emotions between animals and humans. One guy mentioned his sense of nostalgia was what made him different to animals. That there were a few different kinds of nostalgia but in essence, an animal can’t become nostalgic. Another said it was the degree of love or the degree of hate that makes us different. It of course was my cup of tea and could not help but go along with the train of though. The fact that we are very different to any other animal on this planet is unmistakable – of course many arguing that we are the worst of the animals on the planet, with good reason too. However the fact that we are different was not the debate but rather the range of difference that separated us from all other animals.

“I can sit and think. I know that I am a human being. I know I have a choice to act accordingly.” I asked while looking at Savvi. Personally I thought it was being aware or knowing about the sense of Self that made us so different. And as I said being able to exercise a choice – this choice is the very thing with the potential to makes us the worst – or the very best, kind of beings.

Savvi was being quite unresponsive so I continued, “Does a dog sit and think, ‘I am a dog. That’s why I act like a dog.’, or, ‘I like being a dog but I’m going to act differently!?’” This time with a bit more persuasion in my voice.

“I guess” Savvi mentioned with his typical loud and dry American accent.

“Or another way of looking at it Savvi,” I continued, “I can act very civil towards another person while inside I might be plotting to kill them.”

“I suppose…” he ventured, slightly uncertain and unwilling.

I had a bit of a mischievous glint in my eye. (OK, maybe it wasn’t that obvious!) But I was trying to entice him into the conversation which was a bit of a heavy topic for any young man. It was an old habit of mine and perhaps Savvi was used to me ‘pushing’ him along many of these ‘heavy’ topics whenever we go flying.

“This sense of Self, and the ability to reason about that awareness and control it, is what separates us from animals. Of course that is my humble opinion. Did I miss something you think?” I looked at him, kind of forcing him to answer and take part.

“Makes sense…” He said, while once again I detected an underlying hint of an unwillingness to commit to the conversation. I mean, who can blame the man? He was still high from spending time above the clouds.

Pic taken by Savvi

The next day I was sitting at 7500’ cruising above the rain and dismal weather falling on the Northern point of the island. At that moment, I was struck by an overwhelming sense of Self. It was magical. I was floating through a land of cloud-castles, akin to Jack and the bean stork; mysterious and enchanting, surreal yet certain, weightless yet seated, unencumbered yet limited. It brought to me a sense of freedom and love and blessings that becomes hard to put into words. Over and above my reasoning and navigating skills to safely move through the clouds, I have the ability to be aware of having this capability. And to top it off, I could recall my conversation with Savvi in the car the previous day. I suddenly realized that he was being civil and polite while disliking our conversation.

All too human!

Wish you were here!

:)

Short and to the point

Today was an interesting day. Savvi accompanied me on the flight as an extra set of eyes. (Four is so much better than two! ;) The winds had gone east and the west coast was thus off shore. If you were low you would get bumped around by the rotor turbulence and if you were too high you couldn't see much. It was kind of a toss-up between the two and we just made it up as we went along. I managed great navigation on the morning flight to stay clear of the bumpy stuff but on the afternoon things changed a bit and in one area we got hammered. For all the work we only got one shark – the boats did not go out.

Here is a pic of some of the action.

“Savvi and I still on the east coast passing “the point” – half way between the Airport (just off the pic on the right) and South point (off to the left).

Tomorrow they predict rain. We will just wait and see…

Wish you were here!

:)

PS: Would you believe that all the interns have turned down to fly with me tomorrow morning? Are they insane!? Who would turn down the chance of flying around a beautiful tropical island in a micro-light?

Should I take it personally?

Hhhmm…. No. Perhaps they all have seen the weather forecast! ;)

Time and the speed of light not constant?

Just a reminder that my new book - Wings and Whale Sharks - is now available. In fact, why not check out my web, put and entry into my guest book and you can stand a chance of winning the book for free.

Makes sense to me.. ;)

What a cliché to say that “time sure flies when you are having fun!” But every now and then I get glimpses of the hidden truth behind these often quoted but seldom fully understood idioms. The amount of time I spend up in the sky, looking down on the earth provides a very different perspective on life. It is very much a matter of being hoisted above our usual two dimensional living while being afforded a three dimensional glimpse of the life we live. Looking down and “into” our world really opens the mind to contemplating the meaning of it all. Of course it is no secret that this perspective has convinced me of the existence of a Master Creator and even now, after thousands of hours and many years of being offered this “three dimensional glimpse” of life I honestly just don’t get how people can miss that.

It is a mystery to me.

Of course I know too that we live in a four dimensional world but few are aware of that – mostly it is exactly as I described it.

But coming back to the idea of “time flies when you have fun” concept. I managed to get an interesting little video clip of the Seychelles barred-ground-dove. These little doves are actually really cute and found everywhere around these islands. They have the sweetest call, though personally I think they do not possess much between the eyes if you get my meaning. ;) Look at this interesting photograph I lifted off from the video clip. Notice the view of the wings versus the shadow of the wings. Is this an optical illusion? Does it point to the differences between the speed of light – that the light reaching the camera from the bird is slightly different to that reaching the camera from the shadow of the bird? Or is there another explanation?

To me it certainly puts me even more in awe of how our world operates – down to the most intricate but perfectly designed complexities!

Wish you were here!

:)

Vienna...

We have been having a bit of a blow for the last few days but today the strength pattern broke. The sharks were still there and the boats went out! Apparently there was a mellow shark around again – one of those that hanged around and hanged around. Everybody had a good time, according to Dirk.

His mom and her friend Bettie are here so he has been giving them a bit of a tour – making sure that every night they go to bed totally exhausted!

Having Dirk here is heaven sent. Not only does he help with the flying duties but he is also a very good friend, one with whom I have shared many an adventure with. Dirk is actually as Afrikaans as they get and I have been enjoying his conversations in the evenings immensely. He has that typical thick, drawn out Afrikaans accent, something that the ladies find attractive – according to Dirk. Of course nothing quite beats that feeling of comfort when one recounts homely stories in your mother tongue, especially if they are of “Spyker” and “Vienna”, Dirk’s two trusted dogs. Yes Dirk is very much a dog lover – something I observed too while watching him with our adopted cat, Lilly. Lilly is a small cat and she is quite the treat, often showing-off to us boys while jumping from curtain to couch and doing wild scrambles around the slippery tiled floor of our flat. On occasion she has graced us with the odd gecko and even a tiny little mouse. But when Dirk grabs hold of Lilly, he typically hoists her high over his head with just his one hand, the other hand casually hanging by his side while he talks to her. There is no scratch or tickle – just a kind man with a wide grin of pleasure peering up at Lilly while she hangs like a sack of potatoes draped across a man’s arm wondering ‘what the?’ It become very easy to sea Dirk is used to handling only dogs but Lilly loves him none the less.

Lilly in a more dignified pose...

As I was saying, Dirk has been reminiscing about his dogs: “Spyker” a bull terrier (“Spyker” is Afrikaans for “Nail” but the name has other connotations too which I will refrain from mentioning here), and “Vienna” a Dachshund, with a name that needs no translation but in this case needs to be pronounced with that wonderful Afrikaans accent. I have long ago learned too that unlike one would imagine, “Spyker” is the timid one while “Vienna” is the terror, apparently with no fear what so ever and with a pet love for cats.

“Johan,” Dirk says, “His eyes glaze over when he sees a cat.”
I of course chuckle at the though. Even Dirk, who rules with a stern hand (I can vouch seeing him with Lilly), admits that when Vienna sets his eyes on a cat he becomes unstoppable. Apparently he gets tunnel vision to such an extent that he would often charge right past his quarry, having worked up such frenzy in thought alone that he seemingly loses sight of the actual feline during the charge. With a growl and huff Vienna would grind to a stop, sniff the air, look around in a daze, before setting eyes on the unfortunate cat to follow through, if the cat has not used this opportunity to make its escape. Though he has not killed any cat, none apparently have stood up to Vienna’s challenges – even the ones who rule the house, supposedly in charge of large dogs such as Rottweiler’s and the lot. It seems no one has ever told Vienna what the rules are.

So Dirk starts to chuckle as he gleefully recounts the tale when once again Vienna set sight on a feline and before Dirk could stop (shouting does absolutely nothing), Vienna was off in full charge – this time towards the neighbour’s cat who was blissfully sitting next to their pool. Vienna apparently got just the slightest of glimpses of the cat since they are surrounded by a thick hedge with the swimming pool trellis around the pool. Well, Vienna flies through the hedge, through the trellis and surprises the cat that it cartwheeled into the pool. By this stage Dirk is having a good laugh at the recollection of the event.

Vienna and Spyker...

“He goes into such a state, like he ran through that fence so hard during the chase that he could not get back out. There was no way he could fit. I don’t know how he did it but we had to go fetch him out of the neighbour’s yard to get him home.”

And while I had a good hearted chuckle about Vienna it was even more meaningful listening to Dirk in our home language. It’s a bit of ‘home away from home…’

Wish you were here!

:)

PS: Later Dirk added, “I felt quite sorry for the cat since it was the middle of winter…”

Wisdom without experience

Savvi and I before the morning flight.

It’s raining cats and dogs. Our little flat sure is cosy at times like these. And the sense of familiarity is welcomed too – how else after 11 seasons on the Islands of Seychelles. I am reminded of a quote from General Chuck Yeager – the best pilots are the most experienced pilots – or something to that effect, which brings me to my point: the correlation between wisdom and experience. The famous idiom expresses it quite well – experience is the mother of wisdom – and it is no wonder that we are sold on the idea that age and wisdom goes hand in hand. But does it? Is it possible to gain experience without wisdom or wisdom without experience? Is it at all possible to separate these two concepts? Though I am sure some of you will probably swear you know someone old without wisdom, (and personally I believe being young and foolish is actually cool compared to just being an old fool! :)

Of course with all the rain one can hardly help from being a bit philosophical. ;)

The boat doing a plankton tow. (You can just see the little drag net behind the boat)

Two days ago we had a fantastic run. The afternoon encounter trip was one of those memorable ones where interns, team leaders and the tourists (some Chinese) went home having lived a dream.  The boat crew was completely worn out even before my air support time was up – they had a record number of 23 encounters in less than 1:45 minutes. That is what Seychelles whale sharking is all about; that is why dive tourists come visit these islands – loads of encounters with whale sharks. It turned out a relaxing day for me as the boat was constantly busy with sharks with my just occasionally guiding them along. (Many times there were 4-5 sharks visible within a 50m radius of the boat.) In the morning Savvi and I saw 6 whale sharks in the south. This is Savvi’s second year with the MCSS though last year his whale shark experiences were a bit on the slim side – the six whale sharks were also his first from the air. In the afternoon he was one of the spotters in the boat so his day was full of experiences!

With all the sharks around I too was allowed to enjoy something sweet.

Back to the experience/wisdom concepts… The best way to learn is from others mistakes. This is something that is a wise mantra in my chosen sport! Though I found a nice variation of that on the net:

“A smart person learns from their mistakes.
A wise person learns from others. (mistakes)”

Did the writer mean it is possibly a mistake to learn from other’s mistakes? :))) Hehe…

And is it possible that you are gaining valuable experience just by reading this without even putting a foot in the water or setting a bum in the air?

Hhhmm…

Perhaps one can become wise without experience after all...

Wish you  were here!

:)

Shark news - 15 Sep

15 Sep. 13

There is a whale shark in the bottom left of the pic with swimmers chasing hard. A rare light wind day at the beginning of the season.

Well, my turn to fly turned out to be pretty good, even if the winds were very strong. Both days yielded plenty sharks - Friday afternoon we spotted 11 individuals – but like I said the down side was the strong winds which made for very rough seas limiting the boat to access the shark infested waters. (He he, that does sound pretty sinister doesn't it? “Shark infested waters…” ;)

Our basic daily routine is a survey flight in the morning – collecting data on all sorts of things and of course where the sharks are. After the flight a decision is made; do we run the boats for a shark encounter trip or not? This season we have an abundance of sharks but rather ironically the winds have been playing havoc with the sea conditions – open water conditions for inexperienced tourists being rather on the rough side. Most days have been tottering on the just doable scale of things and David has had to do some tough calls – sometimes getting it right but rather frustratingly on other occasions the encounter trip cancelled while the weather suddenly turns peachy, like on Friday afternoon, contrary to weather forecasts. Jo and I spotted 11 sharks while the boat remained in the bay. We find solace in that we are only human – we can’t predict the future and at least decisions were made erring on the safe side.

Dirks is up flying again. Conditions are strong. Def not for the faint hearted but I believe the boat went out and they had something like 19 encounters. No doubt a couple of very weary divers are going to have a good night’s sleep tonight.

Wish you were here!

:)

Dirks first flight after a two year lay-off. We are heading out over Beau-Vallon bay with a large threatening cloud near the island. I had to accompany him in the back seat to make sure he did not get lost! ;) 

Shark news...

12 Sep. 13

I have a good feeling about this year. So far the season has been great. We have seen sharks on almost every flight we have done and every time the boat has gone out they have had good encounters. The last three days the weather has been a bit disappointing though. Flying has been difficult and Dirk has managed to pick up some good decision making experience along the way. Unfortunately the seas have been too rough for the boats to go out. Today the wind averaged around 22

knots with gusts close to 30 – the very limits of our operating weather window – but Dirk did excellent. He saw 6 whale sharks even if the weather limited him to survey only the southern parts of the island. He did mention that he had a thorough workout in keeping the wings level while on the ground. ;)

Tomorrow is my turn to fly and as I write the rain is pouring down. I do see some hope in the Windguru reports. Time will tell…

Wish you were here!

:)

This is Mat in the back seat - one of the interns for the year. He is very good at voice impressions and keen to get going in the journalist and broadcasting careers and did not do too bad at piloting our little orange plane! ;)

Slow punctures and purple blades…

“What is a ‘slow-puncture’?”

Freya was leaning out of the passenger window while I was busy pumping the left front tire. Looking up at her I realised she was being quite sincere so I could not help a good hearted chuckle. Perhaps it was a case of a difference in cultures or probably just a lack of experience I thought while returning the air hose to its rack. Freya is a beautiful young British lady – tall and slender with black curly hair and a super smile that makes every young man’s head turn. (Besides the fact that my head is not young or that my neck does not turn so well any more, Freya reminds me a lot of my niece!)

“It is exactly as the word describes. There is a slow leak in the tire and it goes flat after a few days so every second day we need to pump the tire…” I explained as I got back into the car while not being able to help myself fall into a light-hearted and happy mood – not that I wasn't in a similar kind of mood before but her question just seemed to fine tune our happy state. Our conversation on the way to the airport, though quite serious as far as topics are concerned – conservation and saving the planet kind of stuff – the overtones was always humorous.

Of course the fact that we have been blessed with good flying days with whale sharks to boot, just added to our lifted spirits. The whole MCSS whale shark team has been on a high and unlike the previous two years which has seen slow starts. (Last year it would not be far off to say we did not really have a start at all). Already the team has managed to do 3 whale shark dives, spending hours in the water with these amazing fish – one encounter was for almost an hour with a seemingly very happy whale shark. This year our team consists of 5 interns and three team leaders. (See the pic). So far I have had the great privilege of taking each of our interns for their first flight in a micro-light – Freya being one of them.

From back left, Sam and Jo who are team leaders. Ali and James - Interns. Front row is Sarah, Freya and Mat - Interns. Savvi, an intern from last year is enjoying a lie-down.

“Would you believe those wind turbines actually look cool?” I said as we drove down the hill into Victoria. Before us as part of the magnificent tropical island scenery, eight brand new wind turbines adorn the seaward side of Victoria bay. These wind turbines are a step in the right direction for Seychelles in becoming more energy efficient. The wind farm is a 6MW facility with each wind turbine generating 750kw of electricity. When considering that the islands sole energy source is from diesel generators that consumes almost 40% of the country’s gross fuel imports, the importance of this step becomes even more apparent. Of course, given that we considered ourselves nature conservation activists, we had to chat about the negative side of these wind turbines too, which are not always as green as one at first would imagine. Strangely enough in the wrong area the large blades have a tendency to kill birds, the seemingly slow turning blades going fast enough to strike a bird in mid-flight. Even if the large length of the blades create the illusion that they are slow turning, on a really windy day it is not uncommon for the tips to be traveling at more than 100 miles per hour! Later studies found that the blades actually create some subsonic wave patterns that disorientate birds causing the high number of strikes. If a wind farm is set in or near a migratory route it could be disastrous.

“Oh and they strike a lot of bats too.” Freya added.

“Bats?” I asked while my mind could not help imagine these tiny flying creatures with their super acoustic sensors becoming blade victims, at a time when no one is watching.

“Yes” she replied before adding, “…and they found that if they painted the blades purple then it would strike fewer bats but the people didn't like the idea of purple blades. I guess it would make them more of an eye sore, so they voted against that.”

“Purple!” I said in disbelief, while having a good chuckle. “How on earth did they discover that!?” I added while we both laughed at the crazy idea that the colour purple has an effect on the navigational abilities of bats. How ironic too that people would care more about the colour of the blades than saving bats.

“So these two bats where hanging in a cave and the one says to the other, ‘listen, I have had it, I’m starvin’, I’m going out there to get me a nice juicy cow.’ You can’t do that’, the other one says, ‘it is broad daylight out there and you won’t be able to see a thing’. ‘Well, I don’t care, I’m starving and I’m going’. So off he flaps and disappears out of the cave.

At this stage Freya had caught onto the fact that I was telling a joke and already was giggling about the funny bat hunting cow story.

“Ten minutes later the bat comes flapping back into the cave, blood dripping from his face.

‘Wow!’, says his buddy, ‘That looks awesome. I want some too. Where did you get that?’ ‘Come’, says his friend, ‘I’ll show you’. So off the two flap to the mouth of the cave where the blood dripping bat says, ‘see that tree over there?’ ‘No’, replied the other. ‘Well, neither did I’.”

Wish you were here!

;)

Freya doing a bit of piloting - a sure way of forgetting about slow punctures, purple blades or saving bats!

Shark news 2013

Nothing fancy - just a quick update. We are off and running. The sharks are here and we had a very successful afternoon of diving on the sharks to day. One shark remained for near an hour with the boat until they got tired of it and called it a day. So lots of happy customers on the boat and a smiling crew. I am of course a bit flying unfit so the 12 or 13 hours I have spent in the air the last few days is taking its toll. Dirk, the pilot who is helping me this season is only arriving on Thursday evening so my first break realistically speaking will be Saturday only. Oh well... We just better suck it up! (Well, that's the mind part, but as we all know the body we have less control over! ;)

Wish you where here to help!
:)

Whale Shark season 2013

Fourty days...

I guess after months of inactivity on my blog it is time to restart the creative writing machine - not that I see myself as a creative writing machine - heavens no! Just that I liken my writing prows to that of an old mechanical machine - the old nuts and bolts type - that needs to be thoroughly warmed up before it can function. As to how well it functions I relegate to just that; functioning by producing some words on paper. It certainly does not compare to today's modern gizmos of electronic gadgetry, sprouting forth beautiful poetry, grammatical correct and content rich essays and stories at the push of a button. Heavens no, it has taken me some time to push these mechanical buttons of mine, which I have noticed definitely do have a mechanical nature - I had to push really hard to get it going! But that I got it going of some sorts as the sight of these letter proof, I did.

All I wanted to say is: Our whale shark season 2013 has dawned. The count down has begun (Even if its a bit late!)
;)

Ordinary...

My little dictionary defines ordinary as “not exceptional in any way, especially in quality or ability or size or degree”. And then, in addition, as if to emphasize the point, it mentions the words “ordinary bicycle’ and first off a bland looking bike comes to mind, probably black with silvery bits, and backpedal brakes, just plain with nothing odd or fancy about it, but then the little dictionary goes further and describes its idea of “ordinary bicycle”.

“An early bicycle with a very large front wheel and small back wheel…” Of course I had a good chuckle.

We are heading home on Friday. Ordinarily at a time like this one would go on about what it has been like and say something profound. Instead of doing the usual write-up of our last few days – which has been brilliant to say the least; the weather has been fantastic (no doubt as those who have followed the ‘weather where I’m at’ little project have noticed), we have had a few lucky shark sightings and many people saw these magnificent fish for the first time, and there is still a day to go – I am going to leave you with some ordinary photographs.

And normally one would not compare photographs to bicycles, unless it is one of those with the very large front wheel and the very small back wheel, which of course in my opinion, makes it anything but ordinary.

Stretching on an ordinary sky-cycle...

Just an ordinary island...

An ordinary rainbow...

An ordinary fish...

And an ordinary smile...

Wish you where here!

:)

PS: The shark photo is courtesy of my friend Luke Riley. :)

Slow sweet fools and end times...

The other end of the runway...

Time they say is a healer. It is money too. And a dimension. They say that time is one directional and irreversible. That it is a commodity and precious. It is invisible, invincible and inevitable. And yet, Albert Einstein said that time is nothing but a persistent illusion. Of course, I am sure you can forgive my indulgence in some philosophical banter given that time is running out for us – there can be no illusion that the MCSS official whale sharks season 2012 is coming to an end.

It has not been the best of seasons. In fact from an economic point of view it has been disastrous to say the least. Throw in the devastating fire and we are all left with our own thoughts and interpretations of past events. The only winning side appears to be science, which given the data seemed to indicate that whale shark numbers are declining and that climates are changing. No surprise.

Yesterday, for the first time this week, Neil got into the air. Remarkably he managed to do a complete survey of the whole of Mahe, even if there were threatening rain storms in the vicinity – his descriptions are quite vivid! But the highlight was being routed over the town harbour by Air Traffic Control. While orbiting and waiting his turn to land he spotted a large black square that seemed to be moving – of course we are very familiar with the shape of Manta Rays. Neil was intrigued that this guy was right inside one of the ports, among all the boating and shipping action. The harbour is not just a safe place for boats but for fish too. Many small fry hide in large schools amongst the harbour walls, boats and other kinds of flotsam often found in these areas. Naturally (no pun intended!), predators are not stupid either and it has also been well recorded that sharks hang around these areas more often than not. It was not completely surprising to see the Manta in the harbour but it was a first.

Talking about firsts, I have come to the conclusion that the only thing certain this season has been change. To illustrate my point I would like to invite you to join me in a little project that is bound to prove fun. Click on the link, “weather where I’m at” and follow the weather forecasts as predicted for our little island over the next few days. (I have handily put in the correct link for you :) I encourage you to do so every few hours too. Without a doubt it will change while at the same time and very appropriately I might add, illustrate the volatile characteristics of the whale shark season thus far. (To be honest it was a particular dismal forecast which prompted me to write this blog entry in the first place. Now it seems to have lost some of that point I’m trying to make! :)

The other day, by no co-coincidence I might add, I was listening to music from Diane Krall. With the music in the background I was lost in thought when quite suddenly, these words just leapt at me.

“Time is made of honey slow and sweet...”

Given that my thoughts and emotions were pondering the notion of end times, perhaps it is not so unrealistic that these particular words grabbed my attention, though the fact that I was certainly not listening intently says a lot about the ability of the subconscious. Suddenly I was enthralled by the depth of imagination of not only likening time to the viscous flow of honey, but that you could actually taste it. My mind started to consider that honey could actually be slow and just as I recognized the magnificence of such a super personification, the very next line quite literally made me burst out in a chuckle.

“Only a fool knows what that means.”! (The song is ‘Temptation’ sung by Diane Krall)

I chuckled for a long time after while the ideas of slow honey, sweet times and fools danced in my head. It struck me the foolishness lies in the thought that time could be only slow and sweet – that given our season events only a fool would deny that sometimes time is swift and bitter too.

Wish you were here!

;)

PS: Could I be so cheese to say, Einstein, 'lick' your heart out!? :))))

The other end of the runway...

Chinese lanterns, buttered bread and double edged swords.

Do you know what a rain drop feels like at 60mph? The white streak on my arm is a little bullet of a drop...

I recall one Christmas when Chinese lanterns were the rage. In fact it proved to be a rather memorable one but not for what you may think. While we spend some time gazing at the night skies lit up with glowing paper bags, we ended up having way more fun reading the direct translations from the instruction leaflets – this had us rolling in laughter for the better part of Christmas. Though amusing, it illustrated perfectly the notoriety of direct translations involving languages from the Far East. Of course for translations to make sense, what is needed is an understanding of the meaning or intent of the subject matter, in this case operating instructions. 

When it comes to popular phrases though, especially when one is dealing with a particular culture that is, say, emotionally rich in expression, chances are that they will have an existing or equivalent saying already. Take for example, “having your bread buttered on both sides”. I stumbled upon a particularly humorous translation of this the other day. It is easy to imagine big burly Russians – perhaps it is all the fur they wear in those freezing temperatures – but would you believe the Russian equivalent is, “it’s hard to have a seat on two chairs at once”? And what about my all-time favourite, an expression that strikes at the heart of those exuberant pasta and wine lovers, the Italians? “To have the barrel full and the wife drunk!”  :) Hehe..!

At the end of the day we all have our own idea of having it all, of having your cake and eating it. (And some have really ruminated the meaning of this expression tiresomely!) Take for example my circle of friends – all lovers of flying, in particular hang gliders, the very best kind of flying one can do – who work long hours to feed this flying passion. They mistakenly think that being paid to fly is the equivalent of having your bread buttered on both sides.

Consider for a moment sitting in a little open cockpit micro-light. Your only landing option is covered by a large dark cloud, streaks of rain falling from its belly. And as the cloud grows and spreads you are ever so more flying further out to sea, putting your faith and trust entirely into God’s hands and a metal machine to keep you aloft and alive. Inevitably you ponder the wisdom of flying and your initial weather assessment that sooner rather than later this cloud will dissipate and the rain will stop. And even though you desperately try not to, because your reason knows it is futile to do so, you worry. You hope. You fret. And while your smile, your voice and your demeanor remains calm, there might just be a reason to visit the Doctor when you land, just to check up on those pesky stomach ulcers.

The startling reality is that if you weren't being paid you would never be up there in the first place – and how quickly having your bread buttered on both sides can turn into a double edged sword.

Rain over the air port while we wait out to sea...

Still wish you were here!

:)

R.I.P

Sailing is one of those gentleman sports. It is man against the elements and there is something noble about that. When the wind fills the sails and you can feel her mast and hull taking the strain before there is a steady surge forward, man is somehow made more alive. Perhaps there is some spiritual connection between man and that which fills his sail, somehow when those sails bulge full it strikes at the core of being man. In our modern era we have many variants of sailing. Even though in my younger years I was an avid sailor, today I practice sailing of a different kind. I have wings allowing me to sail, not on water, but on air. There is something ancestral and deeply satisfying in that. And I have had the privilege of sharing that with others, which have resulted in close and cherished friendships.

One of the most clichéd sayings I know goes something like this, “it’s blah blah blah… what matters is how you get back up” – oddly it reminds me of Muhammad Ali, the famous boxer – but given the dramatic events of late; the complete lack of sharks during the most booked part of our season and the devastating fire, the recovery of the Underwater Centre has bordered on nothing short of the miraculous – in no great part due to the organising skills of Glynis and David. Within two days they had set up a kind of field dive centre right outside the hotel on the grass and it was business as usual. It has been so effective that guests were none the wiser about the recent tragedy – which gets me to my point.

Tragedy.

I have recently received an email about the death of a friend and I am astounded about how deeply it has affected me. Tragedy seems much more appropriate here. In part, it is the reason for me not keeping up with my blogging – not that I am making excuses but as far as excuses go… Well, let’s just say I have not been in the mood for much lately.

Todd Stuntzner and I met in Seychelles some 7 or 8 years ago. He was working for Helicopter Seychelles back then and as is so often the case, over time got enchanted with this little micro-light – how else when Todd was sitting in a comfy helicopter cockpit at 1000ft while hearing the radio transmissions from a tiny-micro-light flying at 6000ft. If this does not stir your interest as a pilot you just do not have flying at heart. It was inevitable that Todd called me to go for a flight in the micro-light. We became friends to such an extent that he ended up visiting me in Wilderness the year after. Todd also learned to hang glide and as so often happens, the intimate time one spends with students on a training slope when learning to fly like a bird establishes connections and builds bonds way out of the norm. Todd was an awesome guy, a gentleman, a fellow hang glider pilot, aviation enthusiast – someone whom I with great honour ended up calling my friend.

After his stint in Seychelles, Todd moved back to the US and he took up hang gliding as a sport, often keeping me updated on his new found flying exploits as a hang glider pilot. I enjoyed his emails, picking up on the excitement of experienced gained and the satisfaction Todd got from sharing them with me, the instructor, the man whom he perceived as having given him some great gift. In this day and age of bits and bytes Todd would send postcards, finding clever ways to express his joy and appreciation of having learnt to hang glide. All those times it was I in fact, who realised it was me who had been given the great gift.

The email from his parents came as a shock. They had only recently gained access to his email friends list – but Todd had passed away in the end of May of this year, along with three of his friends when their light aircraft went down while on their way to a fishing weekend.

Oh, I guess I have to mention that the sharks have finally decided to make an appearance. Of course, whilst our change in whale shark luck might have come as a result of prayer, or the appearance of carnivorous plankton, and that it was perfectly timed to lift our spirits, especially after the dive centre went up in flames, I could not fully share in the joy of this. We have had sharks for the whole week. The afternoon shark dives have been so successful with as many as 11 sharks dived on by happy customers, all in just one after noon. It was like old times and not. The interns too have finally seen what these enchanting islands can really be like, while tourists, fresh off the plane and totally ignorant of our last month’s ordeal were totally mesmerized by the sharking experiences. And while it was something to behold when these islands decide to turn on, I could not fully share in it. It was strangely surreal to think that someone who had experienced the islands joy with me was no longer alive.

Given the state of my mood it is impossible not to reminisce about past good times and of course friendships. Friendships that, like the wind filling the sail of a yacht, momentarily send you on an exhilarating broad reach and then quite suddenly, leave – the wind taken out of your sail, quite literally. One is left pondering the memories while it is inevitable that you realise you have been moved, physically and spiritually. You are changed forever.

It seems good friends have a way of doing that. RIP my friend.

Wish you were here…

Fire…

Of course there is always a lot that happens during whale shark season but this year, well, this year is one for the record books and will go down in history for more than just the lack of whale sharks.

As you should be aware of, for the last months we have sighted not one whale shark around the island of Mahe. It is a first since the start of the monitoring program – 1997. Though it has its scientific value it has been really bad for all parties concerned. No whale sharks, no eco-tourism tours. No eco-tourism tours, no research funds. As if things couldn't get worse, yesterday morning we hear the dreadful news – the Underwater Centre has burned down! Yes. Right down to the ground – there is absolutely nothing left. We are talking diving equipment, dive computers, BC’s, weight belts, tanks, compressors, paper records, personal gear from customers (Not to mention the whole of the Aqua-firma’ dive group who is here for a week of whale sharking and diving – all personal gear gone, up in smoke – if I can use such a cheesy metaphor at a time like this.) I believe there are two dive tanks that did not explode – the only things that survived the furnace. The cause, would you believe, the pizza joint next door. They left the electric pizza oven on all night and with the building consisting of thatch roofing, well…

As you can all imagine things are a bit rough and out of joint at the moment. The paperwork and insurances set to probably play on for many months if not years. And in the meantime people’s livelihoods are on the line.

For now, the MCSS is continuing with the monitoring program and have arranged gear to do eco whale shark encounters, in the event we get these elusive spotty creatures. Of course, we are all pretty down considering. Fire can be a destructive force of more than materialistic things…

For our comfort, wish you where here!