30 March, Fire Fighting

Okay so I know that it's taken me 4 days to get my first entry (please note that this is my second entry, my first one is the other one :) ) up but a combination of tiredness, computer hogs, spazzy computer and at least 32 other very important factors are to blame. In fact any second now a very angry looking German girl is going to barge in here and tell me it is her turn. She's new at the hostel, so I think that's very cheeky of her! But alas she is right. So for the sake of making sure that I do not fall behind on my blogging responsibilities I am going to make a quick entry about what has gone on in the last few days, carefully organized under very clever headings.

Missed Photo Opportunities

1. Coloured hobo fight at V&A water front.
2. Super size daddy seal swimming at V & A waterfront.
3. Me dressed in super cool fire fighting equipment.
4. The awesome view along the beachfront.
5. My foreign friends (Italy, Lebanon, Finland, Belgium, etc.)

Firefighting

So the first week of my course is called the STCW '95. It is the standard basic safety course that everyone around the world is required to do if they are going to be working offshore. So for the past three days I've been doing firefighting and let me just say this... AAAAAHHHHHHH! Man it's so much fun. I don't have time so let me just explain the main simulation we did yesterday.

So they have these containers stacked to two stories high and completely sealed of. Inside the containers they start 3 fires. The containers get so hot that the boots of the support team (who stand on the first storey to feed you the hose) melt and if water touches the container it immediately starts to boil. So basically this contraption becomes like an oven. Now you and your team of 5 or 6, all fully dressed in proper fire-retardant fire-fighting equipment, with breathing apparatus, have to enter from the very top with the fire fighting hose and put out all the fires. The floor on which you are kneeling when you are in there is approx 100 degrees celsius and you cannot see anything apart from the man in front of you. It was crazy!!! One guy quite twice because he couldn't handle it.

Last Notes

1. Got some photos but can't upload due to spazy computer:( Will upload later.
2. Will give more details of my hostel and the area I'm staying (fantastic as they say in the classics).
3. Angry German here now have to leave.
4. Love you all;)

26 March, Packing

So why "The Pigeon"? There is a book that sits high on my book shelf where, to the mind of anyone with the slightest hint of OCD, it is safest from fishmoths and book-thieving-hands. Were I given the choice of reading only three books for the rest of my life, chances are that this would be one of them (only the Bible and Lord of the Rings in my mind out rank it...I think). This book is the autobiography of the youngest person to sail single handed around the world- a certain Robin Lee Graham. In 1965, at age 16, Graham started his epic voyage around the world on a 24-foot sloop. The name of this sloop, the namesake for Grahams book, was "Dove".

Well you may now see the reason behind my chosen blog title but may still be thinking, "We understand the link with your thirdish favorite book but there are some obvious flaws in your choice of blog title. One; it's "Dove" not "The Dove". Two; you don't know what a sloop is (hypocrites). Three; you don't know how to sail. Four; your little adventure can't compare to Graham's epic voyage." Your first and second concerns are easy to negate. Firstly, the title "The Pigeon" just sounds better than "Pigeon". Secondly, I do know what a sloop is. Addressing your last two concerns is going to take some extra effort, but in doing so I think I'll give you some insight into why I have chosen to go on this little adventure.

For the most part my family and closest friends need no explanation. But, while everyone has been encouraging I have heard that one or two people can't understand what makes me want to do this. So I think that a brief explanation would help them out but would also be pretty cool for the start of my blog. Let me say first that really there are no solid reasons. It is more a part of who I am than anything else. I am not running away from anything (what is there to run away from?) nor am I trying to "find myself". So what is it? In a word... Adventure:)

I've grown up with a Dad (and a family actually) who is very adventurous. While other dads were watching rugby or playing golf my dad was doing some "foolish" thing with us. Okay so maybe we've never climbed Kilimanjaro or crossed the Atlantic but you can bet your bottom dollar that were we given half the chance (double the fitness, double the cash, half the busyness) we'd be on it like a bonnet. But the memories I have are of doing things, even little things, that have instilled a sense of adventure and wonder in me. From our epic 5 day hike in the berg, to fishing at Pine Lake Sun, to breaking into Modderfontein Farm to ride our bikes (and getting bust), to surfing Indonesia, to diving Silvia Reef in Mozambique, to epic paintball battles, to swimming in Frozen rivers, to skiing weekends at the dam, to deep sea fishing for Barracuda, to dog poo fights in the garden, etc, etc, etc.

And for me I can't think of any bigger adventure than an adventure at sea.Yes, it's not quite like Graham's epic journey, but in my mind its a way to start my own epic adventures. One of my favorite quotes is from the author John Eldredge; a quote which says in a few words everything written above.

"Don't ask yourself what the world needs. Ask yourself what makes you come alive, and do that because what the world needs is people who have come alive."
Wild At Heart, John Eldredge