Skiving off early on a Friday - Black Isle and Cairngorms 16 April 2015

I’ve found a good way to skive off early on a Friday – offer to take your boss for a flight. 16 April 2015

(All photos in this post by Richard or Ros Gale)

I had planned to take a friend with me on an evening flight after work on Friday. Unfortunately he cancelled due to a last minute emergency. So with a spare seat I spoke to Richard my boss (and coincidentally also a friend) and asked if he wished to come. A keen photographer, he was delighted to get the chance to go over the Cairngorms in the fine weather we had been having of late and asked if Ros, his wife, could also come. Well there was plenty of room and as an aside it meant that Ros would arrive around 3 so we would be able to get away early

We got to the airport for 1600 and were airborne by 1630. My plan was to fly up to the Black Isle then to Beauly and return via Lochnagar to Montrose and Stonehaven. This would give Richard and Ros the chance to view and photograph a range of landscapes. Although Aberdeen was clear there was low cloud (base around 4000ft) over the Cairngorms and on the 1st part of our route out past Insch to Nairn. Staying at 3000ft for the 1st part of the trip we cleared the cloudy are as we reached the coast and transited with Inverness Approach over to the Black Isle which was in glorious sunshine. It was just a month since I was last here though I was then at Sea Level in my Kayak with Zoe Newsam. It was fun to see the same land/seascape from our now lofty position.

Airborne from Aberdeen

Tap O Noth Hill Fort Rhynie

Oh look Windfarm with nothing turning - how much is this costing?

Richard and Ros were a little quiet so I asked if they were OK to discover that they were thoroughly enjoying themselves snapping away. The reason for their lack of chatter simply being their absorption in the photographic opportunities. Earlier in the week Richard had been reading a photography magazine that recommended using manual rather than autofocus for the sharpest of shots. Throughout the flight he left the lens on autofocus and was now discovering that manual was indeed a better option as some of his shots were lost by the camera focusing on ZV’s window rather than the landscape below!

 

Rigs awaiting work - Cromarty Firth

 

Chanonry Point and Fort George - I was Kayaking here with Zoe just a month ago

We headed to Beauly from the black Isle and in order to clear the Cairngorms I climbed to 4500 ft before heading to Lochnagar. We transited to Lochnagar via Ben Avon but just as reached Lochnagar we entered cloud. I decided that certain terrain clearance being better than a good photo! Unsurprisingly Richard and Ros concurred. We were in cloud for only 30 seconds or so but we did mis the chance to get good views of Lochnagar. Having said that we did get plenty of other great views as we continued South East towards Glen Clova and Forfar.

Inverness

Loch Ness

Cairngorms - Low cloud becomes a problem

Leaving the Cairngorms, heading towards Forfar

Emerging from the mountains We headed to Montrose to rejoin the Aberdeen Zone via the Stonehaven lane rather than the more direct Loch of Skene route. I chose this route as it offers excellent views of the coast and Aberdeen Harbour and as our clearance was ‘not above 1000ft’ it would give Richard and Ros the chance to get some good shots.

Another one - stationary again!

Aberdeen Harbour

Ships off Aberdeen

Although there was a lot of commercial traffic inbound to Aberdeen we were fed into the visual circuit without delay and landed in glorious sunshine at 1840 hrs. This was a most enjoyable flight. It was a great pleasure to have along 2 passengers so thrilled by the journey that Richard said later it was ‘the perfect start to the weekend – just what I needed after a tough few days’. Indeed Richard has made it quite plain that they would both love to go up again. So at the next available opportunity I am planning on taking Richard and Ros for a flight along the Moray Coast.

 

Over the Cairngorms and then a 2nd Flight - Monday 6 April 2015

With unseasonably sunny weather arriving on Easter Sunday and forecast for the week ahead I decided to book G-BXXK, a flying school C172 (ZV is still at Dundee having a new Engine ftted) for Monday 6 April to do a NaveX over the Cairngorms AND TO GIVE Iain a trip at the same time (all photos were taken by Iain).

 

This would be the 1st of 2 flights I would do this evening as I also had G-CCTT booked from 1930 for a refresher session of Night and Instrument work (3 x ILS approaches)

 

Monday, like Sunday was blessed with excellent weather, even if it was a little hazy looking into sun. I arrived at the flying club after work at about 1630 and knew that Iain was on his way in via Scotrail. Whilst I waited for Iain to turn up I pre-flighted XK which was tucked away in the most inaccessible corner of the pan. I certainly wouldn’t risk moving her without assistance so checked the TAFs and filed my flight plan by phone as the terminal in Signature wasn’t accessing AFPEX. The weather looked a little problematical to the East for my planned route (which was Inverurie Lane – Ben Avon – Lochnagar – Montrose – Stonehaven Lane – Aberdeen) as there was quite a thick band of Haar over the coast South of Aberdeen. Given the wind direction (light but Westerly) I was pretty sure that we could change the inbound leg to route back to Aberdeen via the Loch of Skene rather than up the coast if required.

 

We got Airborne at 1705 just behind a student pilot under instruction in G-CCTT. As they were only just ahead of us on the Inverurie Lane I made sure I kept them in sight until we were clear of Insch. Routing out via the Inverurie lane we were given clearance to climb whilst still in controlled airspace as this being a holiday down south there was less traffic about. Our route to Ben Avon was clear with Iain able to see the roads we had driven on just the afternoon before as we had visited ‘The Old Fire Station’ at Tomintoul for a bacon roll. Approaching Lochnagar ATC warned us to look out for a SAR Helicopter on a reciprocal heading – we saw him I plenty of time about 1000 feet below.

 

At Lochnagar we circled to allow Iain to take photos before routing out over Glen Clova and Loch Brandy (sic) towards Montrose. As we approached the coast the Haar was obvious so we turned early to return via Loch Skenewhich was now becoming a veritable honey pot for returning light aircraft so we need to keep a good look out for Cessnas all around. Iain was shocked as we flew towards Aberdeen by the number of wind turbines visible.

 

On reaching Loch of Skene we were asked to orbit for separation from other returners and after 3 orbits cleared to join left hand for RW 34 (having changed over from 16). The landing was greased on at 1830 – made easier by almost a complete lack of wind.

 

Ninety minutes later we were airborne again. Iain was in the back this time as I was doing some refresher ILS approaches in the superbly well-equipped G-CCTT. These were all radar directed but as we got airborne there seemed to be a sudden increase in commercial traffic meaning I had to orbit again for separation – though this time under the hood with no external references. Alex (instructing) and Iain said the view outside, particularly the effect of the Haar was excellent.

 

My initial IF was a little inaccurate though within limits (lack of practice) though the ILS itself was pretty much crosshairs all the way down and on looking up I would have landed easily. As TT had just had an engine change I needed to keep the revs up and the speed higher than normal throughout the flight to help run-in the engine so our approaches were all faster than usual. Annoyingly ATC didn’t give go around instruction so I had to ask for it (increasing workload) and even more annoyingly they changed it when I was at about 700ft with just 200 ft to go until DH. Still I managed and with a low approach and go-around as directed was soon outbound on the 2nd approach.

 

This time the IF was more accurate and again the approach was crosshaired all the way down. Again I asked for go-around instructions and this time they were not changed. This approach was pretty much perfect though it was done on the approach frequency all the way down. The 3rd and final approach was reasonably high workload as the radar directions were very tight. I ended up turning sharply onto the localizer and starting on the descent with the glidepath at the same time as chopping to Tower frequency. Again I was keeping the revs up for Engine Management so bleeding of speed in the last 200ft having looked up meant even with flap we were coming in quicker than I liked but I did land OK though not greasing her this time around.

 

Afterwards I asked Iain how much he had enjoyed the flights he was beaming from ear to ear and said he had ‘loved it’.

 

 

Kayaking from the Black Isle

On Sunday 15 March I pitched up at Black Isle Berries Bunkhouse at Tore just north of Inverness from where I was planning to get in 4 days of 1 to 1 Sea Kayaking coaching from Zoe Newsam ( see web link below ). Thinking I was arriving at a run of the mill bunkhouse I was pleasantly surprised to find a state of the art self catering hotel rather than a bunkhouse.

Within a few minutes of arriving I met the 'Gentlemen Foresters' - Dai Roberts from Wales and Dave Smythe from Northern Ireland. Dai and Dave had been staying here for a few days whilst working for the Forestry Commission carrying out survey work. It was a great pleasure to meet these 2 fine gents who would be at the Bunkhouse throughout my stay. Throughout the week we would have a great craic over a few beers (though we were usually in bed by 9pm!) and Dai's cooking would be outstanding. Dai was to prove to have fantastic comic timing in telling jokes whilst Dave proved to be a DJ of some talent. All 3 of us had some great laughs over the next few nights.

Monday morning dawned still, cool and overcast and I met up with Zoe at 0900 for a chat over the aims for the week. Basically my aims were to stay dry and build confidence in the boat so that I would feel I could join a club without holding back other paddlers. So for day 1 Zoe suggested a trip to Loch Achilty - a small Loch surrounded by trees and containing a Crannog. Here we spent all day with a flat calm Loch throughout the morning that reflected the surrounding trees and sky perfectly. Zoe proved to be a patient and extremely effective coach and we covered a huge range of work - such that my brain was aching by the end of the day!

On Loch Achilty (copyright Zoe Newsam)

Day 1 Learnings:

Posture - forward ; connected Feet; Thighs; Bum

Low Brace - Box - practice

In Water - - chill ; 'feel the motion of the ocean'

Feet on Pedals and Pushing ; Straight Arms (beach ball) and Rotation and slow it down a bit to stay in control; no death grip - left loosey!

Exiting the boat - 1 thing at time

Forward sweep stroke - 12 - 9 ; low top hand ; wide lever

Edging No 1 Edge No 2 Edge sitting on secondary stability; Left leg for left turn right up for right turn

Draw Stroke - side ways; Stack Hands over the outside top hand still; Move along length of boat to turn.

At the end of the practical session , just as we were packing the Kayaks away I heard a shout form a passing 4x4 - 'Alan!' - the gentlemen foresters had been no more than a kilometre away all day! and had just been passing us on the way back to the bunkhouse. Zoe and I arrived back at the bunkhouse at around 1600 to review the learnings from the day and in addition to the practical work we also covered some tidal plannning - identifying the differences between Primary Ports - Direct Observation and Secondary Port - inferred tidal observation.

Resources reviewed today were:

Easy Tide and Windfinder. Tides are obviously important. It is better to plan to paddle with the tide rather than against it and tidal flow of 2 Kts or more against you, at least as a starter, you are unlikely to make any forward progress. Wind Direction is also important as the kayak will weathercock. Where possible a lee shore will provide shelter from wind and the sea is likely to be less choppy. In the UK a wind from the East can be cold so again look for a lee shore if possible. For a beginner it is easier to paddle into a wind than against but this will slow forward progress.

After 'work' we had a great night in with Dai cooking up a superb dinner of Potato Wedges with garlic and Bacon and fried onions. This was washed down by a few bottles of Old Speckled Hen and a couple of Drams. Conversation flowed with Dave in full flow. A great way to end a great day.

 

Day 2 - 17 March (St Patrick's Day - important later)

Meeting up at the Bunkhouse again in the morning Zoe went over number of things to think about when Sea Kayaking -Resources - DVDs - 'Sea Kayak Safety' Olly Sanders

Books - Sea Kayak Handling Doug Scott has videos for each stroke; Sea Kayak Navigation Franco Ferrero

North and East Coast of Scotland Doug Cooper by Pesda Press

Tides planning information is available from Charts; Tidal Stream Atlas; Pilot books plus Guidebooks

On your map use Arrow for Directions and SP rate you can plan ahead showing rates and then on the day of paddling add in the actual times based on that day's tides; Neep Rate = 1/2 SP rate; 7 day cycle so estimate in between

Rule of thirds is applied to the 6 hour tidal cycle Cycle see photo

 

We parked up at Fortrose Harbour and launched from next to the slipway into a glass calm sea. Today Route was Fortrose to Chanonry Point then across via Ferry Glide (aiming at Ardersier to let the tide carry us North to Fort George) to Fort George where we ate lunch under the walls of the fort. After lunch we returned aiming towards Rosemarkie. Although a slight wind would get up in the afternoon, this is was to be as calm a sea as its possible to get. It was a great pleasure at the end of the day as we were packing the kit away to find that, purely by chance, we had parked our cars next to a boat owned by Richard Jenner - my former Station Commander in the 1990s! Richard was doing some work on his 23ft Yacht 'Roundel' and I must say he looked the picture of contendedness. Is was great to have the chance to chat to him in the warm sunshine so untypical for this time of year.

Launching from Fortrose into a Glass Sea

Zoe with Fort George in the background

 

Me with Paddle To Low! (Copyright Zoe Newsam)

Key Lessons from the day - Chill Exercises before launch - Side to Side and Forward Lean.

Straight Arms use Torso for Stroke. (see above) Watch Power face of Blade to plant correctly.

Wind effect and Skeg use . Wind will push the rear of the boat so consider skeg but skeg will then hanper turning

Reminder turning strokes - paddle far forward; top hand low and lever.

Don't lean back

Spot tide flow using clues - sea weed under water and landmarks

Sideways Draw Stroke - Pull in and pause before moving away until more competent - Blade Awareness

As I mentioned above today was St paddys day which gave Dave the excuse to get in a few cans of Guinness and insist that I helped him to finish them. Gladly I was able to assist whilst Dai cooked up an excellent feast of Bangers and Mash, though not your normal Bangers - these were a mix of premium Cumberland and Chilli Bangers with roasted garlic - or Mash - this was Crushed Garlic Potatoes. Added to this was Beans and Onion Gravy. A fine feast indee that certainly left no room for pudding.

Day 3 Rosemarkie to Cromarty 18 March

Zoe had set me the task of doing the Tidal Planning for today's trip. It turns out that I overestimated the tidal flow (though I did get the directional timing correct) as I interpolated the flows for Cromarty and Chanonry Point from the Pilot as it had no textual information. Zoe pointed out that the lack of text actually meant that it was likely that the flow would be unremarkable and given that today we would be in a bigger expanse of sea we could expect a slower flow except for when we rounded the headland towards Cromarty where we would encounter the 1kt outgoing tidal flow.

We drove to Rosemarkie to drop off the Kayaks and then drove up to Cromarty where Zoe parked her Bongo which we would use to collect the Kayaks, and my car, at the end of the day's paddling. I then drove back to Rosemarkie where we launched from the beach. Zoe talked me through beach launches through breaking waves (small today but the theory is the same regardless of breaker size) . The trick is to watch the waves as they come in sets and once you know how the waves are set you pick the least strong to launch into. When you launch you need to keep the bow perpendicular to the waves.

18 March - Still trying to keep arms straight (Copyright Zoe Newsam)

Our route took us along the coast and Zoe pointed out how little we were being moved by the tide (contrary to my calculations) and also the effect of the landscape on the water in creating eddies. We stopped for lunch at an old Salmon Fishers Bothie near Eathie Mains. The bothie was in good condition and included a small display about Hugh Miller the famoust 18th Century geologist from Cromarty who had discovered fossils along this coast that led him to challenge then accepted 6000 yr age of the Earth (apparently still believed by some loonies)

Lunch Stop

After lunch the sea got a little rougher as we neared the headland that we need to turn to get into Cromarty. With a 1kt tide now agianst us, Zoe told me to stay close to the shore where we found very little tidal flow against us. I noticed quite a swell from the sea (though no chop) as we rounded the headland that eased as we came inshore. The beach at Cromarty was very shallow and we eventually grounded on a Mussel bed to finish a great day's paddling.

Homework for the night was to plan tomorrow's trip to Bowfiddle Rock near Cullen and to dry practice my forward paddling - keeping arms straight!

Tonight would be my last night with the Gentlemen Foresters and to mark the occasion Dave played a requests session of music including his own favourite - Elvis - whilst we shifted between Old Speckled Hen and Guinness. As Dave and I drank beer, Dai had a glass of red wine and slaved over a not so hot stove (these modern cookers have far too many controls!) to create an excellent fish pie from simple ingredients. Dai likes cooking monumental portions and had brought 2 packs of frozen fish for fish pie from Tesco which would feed 8 people - nevertheless we 3 would demolish the whole meal! Dai did have to borrow a large pie dish from Lyn but she was happy to oblige. The meal, as usual was outstanding and was followed by a joke telling session par excellance.

Fish pie/music by Dave

Day 4 - 19 March Bow Fiddle rock

I was up early this morning in order to say cheerio to my new mates Dave and Dai, having resolved to visit them each in ZV when she has a new engine. Dai had even cooked me a bacon breakfast! It had been a great pleasure to meet, chat and socialise with these 2 great fellows. I had had a great holiday kayaking but it was also made by 4 great evenings spending time with the 'Gentlemen Forresters'. I shall miss them.

Bow fiddle rock is near Cullen so Zoe and I resolved to meet in the car park of Elgin's Tesco at 1000. Here we had a coffee and Zoe showed me how to use the Tidal Stream Atlas in the back of the pilot to work out the expected tides for the day. From Elgin we drove to the start of our paddle a small car park near Findochty. Today we would paddle out and back from here to Cullen via Bow Fiddle Rock.

On launching I was somewhat unsettled at 1st by the chop (not great but the most we had all week) and tailwind and really struggled to point the kayak in the right direction. With encouragement and assistance form Zoe however I was under control after about 15 minutes and we were on our way rock hopping along the coast. Zoe reminded me on the key points of the forward sweep stroke - low top hand / 12 - 9 / turn the body - and the need to keep good posture. We made good progress and on the way into Cullen I paddled through the Bow Fiddle Rock.

Rockhopping on the way to Cullen (copyright Zoe Newsam)

Lunch was taken at Cullen beach, where Zoe also briefed me on beach landings in surf. Wait for the waves to pass, paddle back if necessary. Once fuel tanks were replenished it was back through Bow Fiddle Rock for the 2nd time and then into wind (which was an easier direction to maintain control though slower) back to Findochty, rock hopping as we went. At one point I went through a gap that proved too shallow to pass so required reversing strokes.

Going through Bow Fiddle Rock (copyright Zoe Newsam)

We finished the day and the excellent week's holiday at 1530 as we arrived back at the starting point. I had great fun and had stayed dry all week. Zoe proved an excellent teacher and I am already missing being on the water!

Links:

www.zoenewsamguiding.com - for Kayaking or Hill guiding I can heartily recommend Zoe as a patient, knowledgeable guide and instructor. As I write this Zoe is on a circumnavigation of Scotland (raising money for Scottish Mountain Rescue) to follow her progress on her blog or donate via her Justgiving page to Scottish Mountain Rescue her website provides the necessary links

www.traditionalbarnsandbeams.co.uk - this is Dave's website. If you want a traditional barn built then

either Dave or Dai arre worth looking up

www.blackislebunkhouse.co.uk - Excellent facility - give it a go

 

 

Wednesday 18 Feb 2015 - Summer's Coming!

Tonight for the first time this year I was home from work in time to go far a walk up Dunnydeer Hill before night fell. This is not a massive achievement as form the front door of my house to the top of the hill and back is a 40 minute walk at most and the climb is only 123 metres though its a great way to get some air in your lungs and on a sunny evening like this it gladdens the heart to get out and realise that Spring is taking over from Winter.

Approaching Dunnydeer Castle ; Flinder Hill is the rise on the left at similar height

 

The trip to the top is straightforward and at the top there is the ruin of Dunnydeer Castle a 13th century tower house (possibly the oldest in Scotland) that is built within and of the older prehistoric vitirified fort (one of several in the area which include Tap O Noth and the Mither Tap of Bennachie) in which it stands.

 

Flinder Hill from Dunnydeer - I suspect a 400ft Wind Turbine might be a tad noticeable!

Just 5 years ago you could see no wind Turbines from the top of this modest hill. Now, sadly there are at least 13 visible wind Turbine Sites (either multiple or single) easily visible and a planning application to put another approximately 400ft high on Hill of Flinder - itself the site of a possible prehistoric hill fort(see photo) - 400ft is the height of Dunnydeer itself above the surronding landscape so this planned eyesore will tower over this wonderful ancient Monument.

We already have some of these - at east these ones are low down

 

Posted with Blogsy

Book Review Faint Echoes, Distant Stars: The Science and Politics of Finding Life Beyond Earth by Ben Bova Pub 2005 – completed 30 January 2015

I bought this book having read a review in ‘The Economist’ however being a bit of a berk this book was not in fact the same one that had been reviewed - Doh!  Never mind.  It turns out Faint Echoes, Distant Stars: The Science and Politics of Finding Life Beyond Earth was written back in 2005 rather than 2014 so it is a little out of date – in particular with the number of extra solar planets that have been discovered since it was written – there now being more than 4 times as many as in 2005 and we now have direct evidence of much smaller extra solar planets than the ‘hot Jupiters’ that had been seen up to that date. So science has moved on since 2005, nevertheless this book is a good introduction to the subject of the search for and possibilities of finding life beyond Earth.

Bova starts with quick rattle through familiar history of how the realisation that the Earth was not the centre of the universe became accepted only relatively recently in human history.  Bruno’s execution for the heresy of pointing it out and Galileo’s forced recantation of the same assertion just a few years later are the starting points.  The book then canters through the formation of the Solar system and each of its planets and the important moons.  From here the move is made beyond the Solar System to the Comets and thence to extra solar planets which had been a new discovery as late as the 1990s before when some theories of solar system formation indicated that it was a very rare event indeed – of course this is no longer the dominant view. 

The book looks at the development and possible sources of life on Earth, though for me too much credibility is given to Hoyle’s theories of life (and diseases such as the Spanish Flu epidemic of 1918) being seeded from space.  The truth is far less prosaic.  From the available evidence (and so far we have only one practical laboratory – Earth itself – it seems likely that where the conditions for life (defined as chemistry able to reproduce itself from simpler materials) to exist i.e. the 3 Pre-requisites of – Carbon; Water (or other solvent); Energy – then life will develop it seems almost inevitably.  The development from Exo-biology which sought to understand what non Earth based life might look like from a narrow base to Astro Biology  a much more multidisciplinary approach that has taken learning from the very recent the discovery on Earth of extremophile life (that capable of living in extremes of temperature or acidity or even sterility) is discussed with clarity.  The discovery of extremophiles provides a good reasons to believe that life may   exist in places previously thought to be completely inhospitable such as deep underground say on Mars or  at the bottom of deep oceans, such as under the ice of Jupiter's moon, Europa.

There is good discussion around the search that is being made for Extra-Terrestrial intelligence from the Viking missions to Mars in the 1970s to the setting up and running of SETI (both Radio and Optical SETI).  Note that there needs to be a different test applied to extra-terrestrial life and extra-terrestrial intelligence.  There are many millions of species on Earth that clearly meet the definition of life but only one that can be defined as intelligent and technologically advanced enough to actively search for life beyond our planet.  It is worth noting that in the 4.5 billion years of the Earth’s existence, mankind has been living in cities for only around 4000 yrs and has developed modern scientific methods only in the last 400 years.  We have had radio for only 100 years and, though not mentioned in the book but now being realised, the human race, to an observer is now becoming quieter as radio becomes less common and fibre-optics and cable type transmission technologies replace radio.  It is possible that a radio civilisation will in its whole lifetime tranmsit to observers for only a tiny part of that lifetime.  For me Bova’s assertion that life is as much, and as widely distributed, a part of the Universe as the stars, is a given though proving intelligent life is widespread is likely to be a much harder task.

To those who wonder why, like Fermi, if there is so intelligent life out there why have we not seen any yet there some good ripostes are including the one that I have just made that even intelligent life may or may not be technologically advanced enough to be discovered given our own technology.  The fanciful ‘they might already be among us’ discussions that are recounted are superfluous given a complete lack of evidence and for me detract from the book’s seriousness. 

A large part of the book’s premise is the effect of politics on the search for life; the book I thought I was getting would have dealt with the effect on human political systems of discovering extra-terrestrial life but as I’ve said already I didn’t get that book!  Instead the politics this book deals with is the politics of the US government with its changing spending priorities dictated by ill-informed politicians playing to an audience.  The same political processes in other country’s space programmes is not covered in any meaningful way though US withdrawal from a French programme after 2003 (remember the ‘cheese eating surrender monkey’ rhetoric) is covered and blamed on French resistance to the Iraq War.  Changing priorities in ESA are also covered.  A big miss made more notable by the time since publication, is the arrival of China and India as space nations.  

Bova is a realist regarding politicians at least in the US system:

"Politicians make their decisions for political reasons, not scientific. The first question a politician asks when faced with a decision is, ‘How will this affect my chances for re-election?’"

Political interference in NASA plans is noted as far back as the 1960s.  The removal of exploration programmes between different NASA facilities (notably between JPL in California and Ames in Iowa) is shown to be driven by the search for Savings AND Pork!  Many politicians have been scornful of ‘expensive’ space exploration and in order to promote themselves as champions of the taxpayer examples highlighted Senator Proxmire who stupidly bestowed upon SETI one of his "Golden Fleece" awards (these were given monthly to projects Proxmire viewed as self-serving and wasteful of taxpayer dollars) and Nevada Senator Richard Bryan helped to persuade Congress to cut SETI projects from NASA's budget.  Fortunately SETI has been saved by private citizens and philanthropists such as Paul Allen.  Regardless of Bova’s criticism though the US taxpayer (followed by the private sector) has funded Space science far more than any other taxpayers and I do think the US should be thanked for the huge additions to the sum of human knowledge that has come about as a result.

The book finishes with a poignant tale of the death currently being observe of a distant main sequence star.  As an analogy for The Sun this star and its planet’s death is being watched and the same fate awaits us.

In sum, this book is a little too simple if you have knowledge of the subject but nevertheless is an easy read that links its concepts well.  It is certainly dated – many many more extra solar planets have been discovered since it was written some of which are close to Earth size and within their star’s habitable zones.  Cassini has discovered liquid lakes and a gaseous atmosphere on Titan where some Astrobiologists insist the pre-requisites for life are available though liquid nitrogen replaces water as the solvent liquid.  There are new players in the exploration field notable China and India.   Private sector space flight is a reality for mucking about in low earth orbit that will allow NASA to free up spare cash for deep space robotic missions.

 

Titan - Saturn's Atmospheric Moon

My favourite book

Flood Tide by John Ridgway – Completed (for the 6th time) 4 May 2015

This is undoubtedly my favourite book bar none. I have now read it 6 times (though its 16 years since I last read it on a 16 hour flight aboard an RAF Tristar from Mount Pleasant Falkland Islands to Brize Norton). It is this book (along with the Ridgway’s later ‘Then We Sailed Away’) that has inspired the 2nd part of my life including my decision to leave the RAF in 2001 in order to follow my own path. Though my life possesses little of the adventure that is recorded here some key concepts that I have taken from this book are Self-Reliance; Positive Thinking; ‘Being is better than having ‘ and don’t be afraid to borrow from the future.
Written in 1988, during a then record breaking 203 day non-stop circumnavigation (beating the previous record by 30 days), the book tells the story of how the Ridgway’s settled in Ardmore and of the first 20 years the John Ridgeway School of Adventure. This however is not simply an autobiographical work as it is Ardmore itself and the dwindling community of crofters then living there that are the real stars. This cast changes as the older generations of crofters die or move away but life is brought to the community by the new influx of people to support the Adventure School in particular Lance and Ada Bell and the various instructors on the annual courses. The book has a wide cast of characters.

Ridgway tells of how the Adventure school s set up with the help of Rod Liddon and his wife in 1968/9 from where it moves to the early courses that are run and the Liddon’s departure. In addition to the running of the Adventure School a living was extracted from the land by Ridgway and his neighbours crofting activities ranging from peat-cutting to fishing to setting up one of the earliest Salmon farms in the Highlands and eventually to the acquisition of a flock of sheep.

The story of the adventure school courses and of the crofting life is complemented by the stories of the winter adventures that Ridgway carried out in order to ‘recharge the batteries’. These trips are covered in other books by the author however sufficient details are here to provide a taster for each of the trips recounted which are:

1970 First expedition to the furthest source to mouth of Amazon. On this expedition John met Elvin Berg (who would be burned alive by Shining Path terrorists in 1985)
1972 First crossing Gran Campo Nevado Ice-cap, Patagonia, Southern Chile.
1973 English Rose V, 32-foot sloop. Winter family sailing voyage Ardmore to the Spanish Sahara to give Rebecca Ridgway an adventure prior to leaving for boarding school
1977/78 English Rose VI, 57-foot ketch Whitbread Round World Race.
1979 John and Marie Christine’s Himalayan journey in Nepal
1980 John and Marie Christine’s preparation for and running of the New York Marathon
1983/4 With Andy Briggs, in English Rose VI, a then record 203-day non-stop sailing circumnavigation of World
1985 Peruvian expedition into the Shining Path infested Apurimac Valley. Planned to celebrate Rebecca's completion of school on this expedition led to the discovery of Elvin Berg's fate and the discovery of his 6 year old daughter Elizabeth who would be adopted and taken to Ardmore by the Ridgways.

It is now 27 years since I first read this book and it has lost none of its appeal . It is the only book I have read 6 times and there is a reason for that – in short it is a fascinating and inspirational tale. Although it is well complemented by the 1996 ‘Then We Sailed Away’ it is a shame that John Ridgway has not written a sequel as this book draws you into the lives of those mentioned and it would be nice, though perhaps painful, to discover what happened to the residents at Ardmore as the book closes in 1988. I do know that John and Marie Christine retired in 2003 and that Rebecca now runs the adventure school but its hard to believe that the hyperactive Mr Ridgway has simply sat with his feet up and slippers on for the last 12 years!

Book Review The Journey in Between by Keith Foskett Completed 7 January 2015

‘The Journey in Between’ is an account of Keith ‘Fozzie’ Foskett’s 2002 walk along the Camino de Santiago de Compostella. Foskett started his 1600 km walk from Le Puy en Velay making his way to Santiago de Compostella and beyond to Finisterre – the most Westerly point of Spain.

I started this book in May 2014 and only finished it many months later not because it is a difficult read but because it is an easy and enjoyable one. I enjoyed dipping in and out as Fozzie made his way along the route taken by thousands of pilgrims since at least the 9th century. Foskett is not a Pilgrim in the conventional sense as there is no religious meaning in his Journey though his completion of it helps him realize that it is not the start or finish of any trip that is important but ‘The Journey in Between’, hence the book’s title. This realization, recounted at the end of the book is what leads him to evaluate what he wants from life and forms a framework for his later lifestyle. As Fozzie says ‘It gave me the tools, the wherewithal, the people and the insights to make sense of my life. To realise there is a journey in between, and to enjoy it’

The story of the journey is told with humor and recalls key sights, sounds (particularly the snoring of other travelers in the many refuges along the way) and fellow travelers found along the way. Foskett seems to be a lot luckier with the ladies than I but perhaps it’s the spiritual nature of the journey that unlocks this potential – he’s certainly inspired me to give it a go!

In summary an enjoyable and gentle traveller’s tale well worth getting hold of.