Priorities and a dose of humility.

Although I have been quiet lately, there has been a lot happening in the background. Changes are on the horizon and priorities have shifted.

The Romany Project before

The Romany Project after

I know that some would have expected a progress update on the Petrel Play mold. Things have changed on a personal level that has put forward progress on hold. If the word "cancer" has ever entered your life then you know the centering effect it has on what is important and what can wait. Although I am not the person afflicted, someone very close to me is. Taking care of my family is my only concern currently. To alleviate the financial concerns, I've reentered the work force and secured a full time job. Turning Point continues to operate, but on what I have termed "Night Ops". As it often happens with change, there is a cascading effect and more changes result. I am moving the shop to my new home where I can work near family and spend some time around the house. The jokes about forgetting what I look like have been duly noted, so I will be spending the next few weeks moving and setting up the shop, steps from my back door.

Villano Inlet in all it's angry glory

As most know I've been working toward my ACA L4 certification. It has been a goal of mine for more than a year and one that will have to wait. After withdrawing from my ICE a year ago and breaking my hand before my next opportunity, failure was a hard pill to swallow. To some degree, I feel as I was a much more skilled paddler last year than I am now. I was much sharper and less affected by conditions. Somehow my mind and body were no longer cooperating and skills that were second nature seemed to be gone. In the debrief, my self assessment was that ultimately it was on me. No excuses or blame, failure was squarely on my shoulders.  So, what am I going to do? At this point, I think I need to find the passion for rough water again. I am going to take a break from chasing the goal of being an L4 instructor. It's time to be a student of the environment and just have fun without the internal pressure of meeting an expectation. A low point? Maybe, but not something that will keep me down for long.

As I look back at the past year, there have been a few lows and many highs. Assessing my performance as a paddler and a business owner has me returning back to basics. Lofty goals and probably unrealistic expectations have led to forgetting why I wanted to do this in first place. My goals over the next year are simple, build the best boats possible because that is what I love doing.