CatMac |
CATRIONA'S CHRISTMAS CHALLENGE |
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SEASON'S GREETINGS TO ONE AND ALL! I hope that this finds you (or rather, you find this!) happy and well. |
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Ok, well, first of all many thanks for being bothered enough to check this out - I am suitably humbled. I'll admit that it is a slightly different approach, but then I don't think that I am generally noted for being entirely usual...... Apart from saving paper, etc, it also gives you the opportunity to decide whether you can bear to read on or not. |
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| Those that I have seen in the last few weeks will know/be sick of the fact that a new challenge has been keeping me rather busy at a time when I might otherwise have been able to be organised enough to do the customary Christmas card thing. (OK, OK, I did say 'might', I'll admit that my communications track record has not been very brilliant of late). | ||
| In the middle of October, just when I was feeling a tad fed up at the prospect of winter etc, I got an offer of the opportunity of a lifetime; one that I had seriously considered more than 4 years ago when the MBA won out. By the end of November, I had been accepted as a Reserve Legger to take part in the 4th leg (Southern Ocean) of the Global Challenge 2004/5 Round the World Yacht Race, otherwise known as the 'World's Toughest' yacht race because it involves sailing round the world the wrong way, against prevailing winds. However, the chap at the end of the telephone didn't seem overly impressed when, asked about my fitness level, I mentioned that I do dance a bit and I live on the third floor...? For some reason, he just didn't seem to think that that would cut it in the iceberg territory that I was proposing to venture into!! | ||
I was instructed to get into a gym and get to work, so, that same evening I negotiated a deal with the Holmes Place Gym at the Omni Centre in Edinburgh (very near both the flat and the office, so no excuses) and set to it. To any of you who have ever had the misfortune to encounter me early in the mornings, you will appreciate what a supreme effort it has been to go walking/ jogging/ swimming/ gym-ing/ some or all of the above before 7am, and in many cases after work too (but before other important social engagements such as singing and dancing etc.). |
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| Anyway, the upshot is that with the help of my 'personal trainer', Julio (aka Mark), I am already feeling fitter and stronger and will be going down to Southampton in January for my Phase 1 and 2 training when they will assess if I am ok to go. (I have lots of other homework to do before then such as practicising knots and things, too). If the man from Challenge, he says YES, then I must be in Sydney, Australia by mid February to set sail at the end of the month in one of 12, 72 ft steel yachts, each crewed by 17 non-professional sailors like me, to race across the Southern Ocean to Cape Town (ETA early April). (To learn more about the race, which is currently nail-bitingly close as the yachts race from Buenas Aires to Wellington in New Zealand, click on www.globalchallenge2004.com ). | ||
| So, that's my excuse. I hope it will do and that you will not only forgive and still talk to me, but also support me in this adventure. Obviously, this sort of little expedition is not cheap, but hey, who really truly needs a new kitchen and bathroom?? I've decided that mine can wait and so I will be funding my berth fees myself, but if you would like to make a contribution (the lead sponsor/beneficiary is Save The Children), then please contact me at cmm@catmac.co.uk. Yes, cheeky I know, but if you don't ask... | ||
| Other than that, 2004 has flashed past with some interesting projects at work offset by lots of great singing and dancing (there is no better way to start a week off than with a good sing and then to end it with a good dance!). I've had some really good times this year, including a lovely holiday to Abu Dhabi in the spring to see my parents, sister and neice (now 10 years old, going on 20); a wonderful week sailing round Skye in May/June; some excellent Scottish weekends up at Firbush near Loch Tay in June, and Caputh near Dunkeld in both June and November; a superb short break to Prague in July; my parents home for a break in August when I also finally managed to catch up with my brother and his growing family, and most recently a weekend to Dentdale in Cumbria in December. (Photographic evidence of these events can be seen either on this site or on www.harmonise.org.uk). | ||
While I have had a wonderful year, making new friends along the way, I'm sorry not to have had more of a chance to catch up with many of you 'older' ones but I hope that that might be remedied sometime in 2005 - albeit possibly in the latter part, if I make it onto the ocean waves... I always love hearing from you so please get in touch and I will do my best to reciprocate. In the meantime, have a very Merry Christmas and a fantastic 2005. Catriona |
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| PS When I know if I'm on the Race or not, I'll post a message here so that you can keep track of me and know that I am safely far away! | ||