Ahoy 2013

A quiet start to the year… and a look back at 2012… Lots of work on design at the publishing house, launched a new series of inspiration booklets: *The World-Changers*, worked on structures and processes… Nurtured friendships and relationships… and bought a boat.

A look back at the ship:

Over the last six months, we’ve actually made quite good progress. Karl, the shipbuilder, has cleared out the boat – with the occasional help of volunteers – and has already made good headway with removing the rust and painting it. I’ve also bought or been given quite a bit of material:

– A heating system

– A water treatment plant

– An oil tank – a free one; it was just sitting in someone’s garden

– A coating thickness gauge – to check the thickness of the ship’s steel

– A tank heater – so that frozen tanks can be defrosted in an emergency

– An anti-ice treatment – to stop anything from freezing in the first place – that’s important; ice can lift a light boat and cause it to capsize

– Flags – because you simply need flags on a ship

– Four fenders – these are, so to speak, a ship’s „spacers/shock absorbers“

– A tractor tyre – a free one – used as a massive fender against the quay wall

View from the ship

In January, we’ll start by taking the boat to the shipyard to have the holes in the steel inspected and repaired. We’ll also be sandblasting the ceilings whilst we’re there.

After that, we’ll carry on – hopefully with plenty of helpers – with the derusting and painting. Then we’ll add ballast to the boat to ensure it has enough draught, and then we’ll lay the flooring throughout. Once that’s in place, it’ll be time to celebrate. Then we’ll get on with the rest of the fitting-out.

What we need next:

– Generator (20 kW)

– Good timber for the floor

– Ballast – ideally lead in manageable portions

– Plenty of practical help

Just before New Year’s Eve, the boat builder’s bus broke down – and he obviously needs it urgently to transport things and so on. That’s the last thing we needed right now. As he doesn’t have any spare cash for this sort of thing at the moment, I paid for the repairs out of my own pocket – if any of you would like to help sponsor this, please let me know...

I’m really looking forward to seeing how things pan out. It’s a new adventure every month to see how things fall into place….

For my part, I’m going to start the year quietly, taking some time to think about what’s important to me. I imagine theThe question:  

• How can I, and do I want to, shape 2013 so that it becomes a year I’ll look back on with fondness?

And I’m curious to see what answers I’ll discover. What I already suspect is this: the answer has a lot to do with living in the present, not having my mind elsewhere (in hopes, worries, dreams of the future)… but being close to God and to my heart in every moment.