brainforge.net

This blog is closed. It was great fun while it lasted, but I've moved on to different things and don't update this anymore. Old posts will stay online for reference. You still can follow me on ...

• www.xlvisuals.com - my photography blog
• www.gudrunv.net - my sailing blog

cheers, Axel

Cruising on a boat for a few years is just like any other vacation, only longer. A series of enchanting beaches, bustling bars, charming hotels, absorbing museums, all interspersed with dauntless voyages across limitless oceans on your fast and spacious yacht. Before I left Germany on my 33ft steel boat, acquired second hand only four weeks before, I was sure of that. The pent-up lust for adventure from 20 years of writing software needed a vent. I had tried hiking and motorbiking but it wasn't enough, so sailing was going to be it. I romanticized what was to come and planned every step of it ahead in detail. Just like it was a two-week vacation, only longer.

I had planned ten months for an Atlantic circle, Germany to Germany via the French canals, Mediterranean, South Atlantic, Caribbean, and North Atlantic seas. Two months into the trip it became evident that it would not be enough time. After two more months I admitted it to myself. Now, 20 months later, the journey is far from over. In the meantime I have not only changed the boat, but also scope and direction of the voyage. I am not longer alone, three months ago my partner Liz joined me. The destination is no longer Germany, but New Zealand, her home. At the moment the boat is in Colombia, where it will stay for a few months until the unbearably hot summer with frequent storms and hurricanes is over and we will sail from the Caribbean into the Pacific. This break is an opportunity to look back and give an account of what I've done, experienced and learned.

The statistics for what I've done are easy, because it's written in the ship's log and my blog. Out of the 600 days and nights I sailed 80. On 38 days I went diving, on 35 sightseeing, and the beach saw me 14 times. About 100 days I spent on my hobbies: writing, photography and videography. Interests that I had since my childhood, but which I had only explored on the surface and not in depth. The remaining 300+ days, 50% of the total time, I either worked on the boat or was searching for supplies and spare parts. At first I thought that I did something wrong, because surely sailing must be less work. But talking to other cruisers corrected that belief. Cruising means fixing your boat in exotic places, is the common proverb. But fortunately the numbers don't tell the whole story, because there is a lot to be learned, and fun to be had, even when not at sea but sweating upside-down in tight compartments.

The days at sea were without doubt the most exciting and exhilarating, but at times also the most frightening and frustrating, days of my life. Besting fierce storms or navigating difficult passages sounded great when I dreamed about it from the comfort of my home. It didn't feel so great when I was deprived of sleep, wet, cold, hungry, and my safety depended on numb fingers and a few tired brain cells between my salt-covered ears. In those moments I thought to myself: only a fool would set out on a journey like this. But those moments also gave me insight into who I am. Understanding nurtured acceptance, and sometimes change. Some perceived and long-loathed character flaws weren't that bad, I realized. Other traits had to change and I started working on them. But still I was happy every time I made it safely into the next port or anchorage. Then, inevitably, my life unwound in a blur: from the exiting to the mundane.

Nothing cleared the adrenalin of arrival from my bloodstream faster than patiently sitting in the harbor master's office to complete paperwork. After the following customs and immigration procedures, complete with bills, I was already tired of land-life, and I wished to cast off immediately and be free again. I only needed to finish some maintenance work first, fill my water tanks, and buy groceries. And, always, acquire spare parts to repair broken equipment or add needed components. Admittedly, some days were more productive than others. Now and then an old, or newly acquired, friend would show up to lend a hand. Or I would walk or dinghy over to assist them. Sometimes this helped tremendously with the work, and I could finish tasks that I had despaired of earlier on my own. At other times we only diminished the supplies of beer and chatted into the night.

If these days were not as exiting and character-building as the one's at sea, they were valuable in other ways. I acquired a wide range of knowledge about how sailboats and their components are built and maintained, along with a host of mechanical and other skills necessary to execute the tasks. Working in a foreign country with local people also opened up their culture and language for me. And the beers and stories I exchanged with other cruisers built strong friendships, based on shared values and an understanding of what drives the other. But on hearing some stories and vitas I could only stare in amazement at the naiveté, or sometimes stupidity, and wonder how the person even survived through the years and voyages. This put my own feats into perspective, and showed me that with the materials and technologies available since the 90s anybody could do what I had set out to do. And the market is overflowing with affordable sailboats. All it takes is the guts to try it and the willingness to put up with some inconveniences.

If I had succeeded in my plans to restore an old sailboat and cross the Atlantic Ocean on my own, I had failed in another thing miserably. Part of the idea behind sailing was to get away from the computer screen, which had so far arrested my attention for up to 80 hours a week. But the computer is an integral part of the cruiser's life, if only to plan passages and stay in touch with home. In addition I choose writing, photography and videography as my hobbies for the trip, which glued me to mouse and keyboard for many more hours. But I enjoyed it tremendously, and for a hobbyist I've made it to a respectable enough level, at least in photography.

Unfortunately, all the adventuring and learning doesn't make the world a better place, and it can be argued that I wasted my time instead of doing something useful. Be it social, political, economical or environmental: belonging to something larger than a single personal life and contributing actively is important. I accept that, but I have no twinges of remorse. I knew from the beginning that I took some time off not only from work, but in a way from society. This trip was for myself and I would be the only one to lose or gain. One thing I gained unarguably was a lot of envy from my friends for the pictures I posted online. That people enjoyed my photography and videos made me very happy, and will continue to do so for a long time. It has become a true passion. But there are more noteworthy lessons and changes.

Reasoning and acting myself out of difficult situations honed my out-of-the-box thinking and increased my confidence. Having to make the best out of unchangeable circumstances - e.g. the weather and bureaucracy - helped me to become more patient. And arranging myself with limited water, electricity, space, and amenities on the boat taught me to make do with less. The physical labor, sportive lifestyle and a balanced diet improved my health: I lost 16kg and have no more back- and wrist pains. All combined, the effect on my life is significant: healthier, happier, more patient, more confident, more agile, less needful.

Many, maybe all, of these things I could have learned by staying home and continuing a regular life. Not in such a short time, and not working 80 hours a week, but maybe 40 or 50. Although it is highly unlikely that I would have. I am ambitious and competitive, and I lived in an environment that I had a lot of control over. With so much time, thought, and enthusiasm tied up with success in business I would have easily fallen behind in the self-improvement department. As it is, I feel that I have improved a lot and gained in many ways. For myself, and for my relationship. Last week I asked Liz, my partner in crime on the boat, if she wants to become my partner for life. She said yes. But on land. Which is fine with me. When we get to New Zealand I'll be happy to trade this adventurous but inconvenient life for more comfort and new challenges: a family of our own and a new business.

After we get there. Between here and there, however, are the spectacular Panama Canal and the wide blue expanses of the Pacific Ocean - what an adventure!

My yacht Vespina has her own blog now. Check it out at www.vespina.net

The last six weeks were pretty packed. Part of the preparations for my sailing voyage was a complete medical check-up and a two-days course in first aid.

Then I was on a one-week rock & ice climbing course in Kaunertal, Austria. That was not exactly part of the preparations, but a lot of fun and one of the most educational times I have ever spend, including scrum conferences.



After that, my brother and I explored Scotland on our motorbikes for two weeks. We also met up with his friends and accompanied them as photographers and falcon-carriers on several falcon hunts for red grouse in the Scottish moors. Relaxing in a farmhouse near St. Mary's Loch between trips gave me ample time to continue my preparations and sift through sailing boats on offer.
Scotland is wonderful. I love the people, the weather, the roads, the lochs, the moors and yes, of course the whiskey too.



On the way home from Scotland I looked at a sailing boat in Heidelberg, and after examining it thoroughly I bought her two days later. She ("Vespina") is a 33ft steel twin-keel Reinke 10M yacht. I spend some more days going over the equipment list of "Vespina" and bought replacements and additional gear.
I wasn't too sure about Navtex receivers and Satellite phones, so I visited the Interboot boating trade fair in Friedrichshafen, where I also had the chance to talk to two more people who had done the crossing before.



Then I visited my good friend Liz in Berlin, for the Berlin Marathon. Now I'm on a two-week sailing cruise with Rolf and Arndt in Thailand. The high season hasn't started yet here, and so it is relatively quiet. Not many other sailing boats about, and we share most of the anchorages with only one other yacht. We also had the chance to take a half-day "Discover Scuba Diving" course on the reefs off Phi Phi Island - awesome!



I hope to get the chance to write about each trip individually, because they all involved a great deal of learning. But at the moment experiences and impressions are pouring in at a rate that leaves little to time sit down and write a lengthy article, so this little status report has to do for the moment.

What is up next: One more week of sailing in Thailand, then a few days in Bangkok, and then back to getting "Vespina" ready. For October 31st I have scheduled my "Bon Voyage" party, and November 6th I want to cast off at the latest. First goal for my sailing voyage: get to Mannheim .

The communication age does not stop when stepping on board of a ship. Actually, on any but the shortest voyages reliable means of communication are very important, even more so than on land.

Communication with ports, locks ets and vessels in the vicinity is carried out using VHF radio, and pretty much every sailing yacht is equipped with one. VHF radio is also part of GMDSS through DSC, the current way of sending and receiving emergency transmissions.
But since VHF only has line-of sight coverage, a small sailing yacht will not be heard further away than 60nm. Not nearly enough when you're crossing an ocean, so a different solution is required.

Regarding long-distance communication there are really only two options available for the sailor: HF radio (aka SSB) and satellite phone. I've compiled a brief list of pros and cons:

HF radio
+ broadcast nature of communication: don't have to know telephone numbers on other ships
+ part of GMDSS
+ inexpensive to operate
+ can be used to receive weather maps
- expensive to set up
- setting up requires technical expertise
- high power consumption
- "dead zones" of no signal with certain other stations due to the nature of wave propagation (reflection at ionosphere)
- hard to receive inbound calls from land lines and mobile phones
- expensive to call land lines and mobile phones
- slow data connection (2kbps)
- email requires computer and separate data modem

Satellite phone
+ easy to set up
+ world-wide coverage
+ easy to receive inbound calls from land lines and mobile phones
+ easy to place call land lines and mobile phones
+ supports voice, text messaging and often email on one hand-held device
+ low power consumption
- not necessarily part of GMDSS
- cannot broadcast. Telephone number of recipient needs to be known.
- expensive to operate

Looking at the pros and cons, HF radio makes a lot of sense when you will be calling other stations that are equipped with HF radios. That could be through regular marine communications, or amateur radio. Read my other article about types of radio services.

Regarding weather maps there are alternatives: simple world receivers and dedicated Navtex receivers.

But if you want to connect to land-lines and mobile phones, and want to be reached by them easily, then the satellite phone is the best choice.

Because as far as I can see now pretty all my communication except on VHF will be with my friends and family on land, and the occasional email. So I need satellite phone.

At the moment there are four significant operators: Inmarsat, Iridium, Thuraya and Globalstar. Again I've compiled a brief list of pros and cons, to help me pick a provider:

Inmarsat (Mini-M)
+ very reliable
- expensive hardware
- expensive to operate
- relatively big hardware installations
- satellites do not cover areas more than 70° north and south
- slow data connection (2kbps)

Inmarsat (BGAN)
+ very reliable
+ fast data connection available (64kbps, 384kbps, 492kbps through BGAN)
- expensive hardware
- expensive to operate
- needs additional Laptop
- satellites do not cover areas more than 70° north and south

Iridium
+ very reliable
+ full global coverage
+ relatively inexpensive hardware
+ relatively small hardware
+ relatively inexpensive to operate (1 EUR / minute)
+ relatively low power consumption
- slow data connection (2kbps)

Thuraya
+ small hardware (size of a small mobile phone)
+ inexpensive hardware
+ relatively inexpensive to operate (1 EUR / minute)
+ phone can also use GSM network
+ very low power consumption
+ fast data connection available (60kbps)
- no global coverage. Only Europe, Africa, Asia, Australia.

Globalstar
+ relatively small hardware
+ inexpensive hardware
+ very inexpensive to operate (0,32 EUR / minute)
- slow data connection (2kbps)
- mostly land coverage, large areas of the sea are not covered
- at the moment unreliably. 1st Gen. satellites are dying, and 2nd gen. satellites are not up yet.

If only Thuraya would cover the whole Atlantic Ocean, it would be ideal I think. But since there is no definite date yet when the forth satellite will be in operation, I decided to go for Iridium. 2kbps is of course less than ideal, but then I want to go sailing, not surfing .
Fortunately almost all harbors have internet cafés now, so it will be possible to maintain my digital life and (download anti-virus definition files etc.) at least every couple of weeks. Which means I have two usage scenarios: at anchor, and at sea.

At anchor
• receive and send text messages through Iridium
• place and receive calls through internet cafés
• read and send text emails through internet cafés
• receive weather maps through internet cafés, SSB and Navtex

At sea
• receive and send text messages through Iridium
• place and receive calls through Iridium
• read and send text emails through Iridium (once a week)
• receive weather maps through SSB and Navtex
• hail other vessels through VHF
• emergency transmissions through VHF DSC, EPIRB (and Iridium)

And my full communication equipment now consists of:
• VHF radio with DSC controller (Northstar Explorer 725E). 350 EUR.
• Backup VHF radio (Navico RT 6500S) + fixed VHF Antenna. Bought with ship.
• VHF handheld radio (Sommerkamp FTC-1903). Bought used for 50 EUR.
• Amatuer handheld radio (ADI AT-400). Bought used for 100 EUR.
• Iridium Satellite phone (Iridium 9555). 1600 EUR new + 500 EUR for 500 minutes.
• world receiver with connection to Laptop. Bought with ship.
• Dedicated global Navtex receiver (Moerer WIB2D). 350 EUR
• EPIRB ACR-Satellite 406. Bought with ship.

2950 EUR, and I guess I was lucky. Wow.

Software is written because of a functional gap that needs to be filled. Therefor software is often described by the features it needs to have, which are called the functional requirements.

The environment in which the software is used, creates an additional set of requirements. These are called non-functional requirements because they target the operation of the system.

Successful software companies employ methodologies (e.g. Waterfall, XP, SCRUM, Lean, CMMI, SPICE, ... ) and roles (e.g. business analyst, product owner, software developer, tester, ...) to ensure that all necessary requirements are discovered and implemented.

Very successful software companies go one step further, and see the visual design (graphic and interaction design) of the software as an integral and important part of the software life cycle.

The importance of each part is defined by the market that a company operates in. For example infrastructural software like servers have a strong focus on non-functional requirements, consumer software often beats the competition by the number of features, and leisure software is all about the visual design.

More than pretty looks
Regarding enterprise software, visual design does traditionally not have a very strong lobby. It improved a lot in recent years, as customers not only measure the value of a software by the features it offers, but also by the time it takes a user to execute a task.

But smaller software companies especially still shy away from employing graphic designers to make their software "look pretty". They often don't understand that visual design is a lot more than just pretty looks.

Here are four compelling reasons why visual design is important, and why any software development team needs at least a good graphic designer to support it:

It saves time.
I have seen software developers struggling for long hours arranging and re-arranging the elements in forms and menus as functionality gets figured out or added. I have also seen software developers spend even more hours implementing smart solutions so they don't have to re-arrange elements should functionality get added later.
Software Developers are experts in implementing requirements, not in visual design. Having them design the visual aspect on the side is highly distracting and a waste of their time. They could complete many vital features in that time. It is also a potential risk to the project, because it is very hard for a software developer to estimate how much time will be needed on the visual design, which can totally ruin the schedule.
By employing a graphic designer, software can be delivered faster and done right. In addition, software that is self-explanatory because of good visual design also saves the time of the technical writers and support staff.

It saves money.
Software with bad visual design requires often rework of the user interface. This requires a lot of synchronization between the product manager, software developer, and technical writer. Materials need to be updated and staff needs to be retrained.
And because the user interface will change with the next release, the users are also more likely to make mistakes and call the support staff.
And while good graphic designers can be as hard to find as good software developers, graphic designers tend to be cheaper.

It helps you understand what you want and facilitates decisions.
One Picture is Worth Ten Thousand Words. With software, customer and analyst can exchange many more and still don't understand each other. Both create pictures in their minds, which can differ from each other wildly. And often it's a detail that decides whether a feature is useful or not.
Graphic designers are experts at creating prototypes and can produce click-able dummies very fast. This gives the customer and the analyst a common base to work from, and point out the differences to their mental image.
Often it gets rid of problems that seemed insurmountable before, because the customer is not aware of visual possibilities, or the business analyst can point out a simpler way of achieving the same goal.
Therefor decisions can be reached faster and complexity can be reduced.

It distinguishes your organization.
As human beings, we rely heavily on what we see. A poorly designed web site, flyer or demonstrator gives the impression that the product or service it is promoting is of the same quality.
Therefor the importance of a strong visual presentation cannot be understated. A good graphic designer knows how to manipulate layout, colors, fonts and images in order to focus the user's attention where it is wanted and to create the best impression for your company.

Last week I taught sailing for the University of Ulm at Lake Constance. It is a 7-day course on Zugvogel-class sailing dinghies, and each of us five instructors has three students on board. The well-maintained dinghies belong to the University of Constance, which kindly rents them out and lets us use their great facilities at this beautiful lake at the foot of the Alps.


The course
The weather can be tricky here because of the mountains close by. But we had sunshine and a relatively steady light wind of 1-2Bft from NW throughout the week, which is ideal for beginners. The one summer storm with lightning and hail lasted for only half an hour, and most enjoyed the little extra challenge and had a lot of fun.

The goal of the course is to acquire a sailing license for inland waters. The theoretical knowledge is taught during evening classes over the weeks before the course, and on the first day in Constance there is a theoretical examination at the Rural Office.

One week is just enough time to make sure everybody learns the basics well enough for the practical examination.
- how to rig a dinghy
- how to moor
- how to cast off
- how to hold a given course
- how to tack
- how to gybe
- how to complete "man over board" maneuver
- how to shoot straight into the wind
- how to prevent capsizing
- how to get the boat going again after capsizing
- how to hove-to
- how to come alongside another boat

The practical examination takes place on the last day. The boat is manned by the examiner, the examinee at the rudder and another person as the foresail trimmer. The examinee has to successfully complete the following maneuvers and give the correct commands to his foresail trimmer:
- cast off
- hold a given course
- tack
- gybe
- man over board
- come alongside another boat

Because everybody studied hard this year and the winds were favorable, everybody passed the theoretical and practical examinations. There are more pictures available here.


Psychology
Of course, in a group of 15 there is always two or three who have bigger difficulties, which is an interesting challenge for us five instructors.

In particular, the dependency on changing conditions outside of their influence is a new experience for most students and very confusing. They have not learned yet, that when put in a situation that does not give them enough information to execute a preconceived plan, they have to collect more information first and then adapt the plan accordingly. This adaptation often has to be done quickly and decisively.

For example, a good strategy when the wind is light and shifty is to change the course a little in order to see the effect this has on the trim of the sails. This information can than be used to judge wind direction and speed, which determines the course for the next maneuver.

Some people are by nature more insecure or indecisive than others. Both traits can be dangerous on board a sailing boat, because navigation in confined spaces or changing wind conditions often require quick decisions and decisive actions.
For these people, mastering a sailing boat is a real challenge, because they have to overcome their natural tendencies in order to succeed. When they do, they also developed their personality on the way and learned something for life. Which is very rewarding for an instructor, and which is why I love teaching.

During my nine years as CTO of TRANSPOREON I managed or supervised about 80 Enterprise integration projects. Some were very simple and covered only a single business scenario, such as exporting the assigned carrier for a truck to the ERP system via well documented and tested RPC calls. Others covered hundreds of business scenarios, and involved multiple ERP systems, plants, countries, languages and project teams.

I'm happy to say that we successfully completed all of them. Apart from the people directly involved in the project, my thanks go to all the people that organize software conferences, write blogs and books and share their knowledge, which helped us to avoid disaster more than once.

But even though the projects were completed successfully by common standards (time, budget, scope), I am less glad when I think about the pain that some caused despite their success. I know some still cause pain even today.

The question I always ask myself about a painful project is: Could the pain have been avoided? Usually project retrospectives are a good place for answers, and often there is room for improvement within the organization.

Sometimes however, the honest answer however is: The pain could only have been avoided if that project had never been started. Then the question is: What conditions made the project painful, and can those be spotted in advance?

I think a painful project can be recognized in advance. The indicators will be a little different depending on the particular environment and business, but here are some conditions that I found would always result in a painful project:
- Management suddenly brings in a new project which was acquired on the side at the front of the project queue.
- The customer's management or staff is not committed to the project.
- The project relies on the help of a third party who has no real incentive.
- The customer has unrealistic expectations and nobody wants to tell him for fear of loosing the project.
- The customer is unwilling to negotiate scope or time.
- Project management style and culture of the involved parties are very different from each other.
- Project management is nonexistent or busy with other projects.
- A project is not considered important relative to other ongoing projects, but scope and time are fixed.
- Nobody wants to do a ROI calculation.
- The project will result in the reduction of staff, but the same staff is needed for the project.
- The expected project size is >30% bigger than that of any previous project.
- A stakeholder is leaving his position/the company and wants to start and complete the project until then.
- Sales says: "I know the customer wants crazy stuff, but he will pay for everything."
- Sales says: "If we don't sell our competitor will, and we can't afford to loose the market share."
- Development says: "We can't do it with our current technology, but if we use X it will be easy."

These conditions don't mean a project is doomed from the start. But the project can be expected to require more guidance, more manpower, and more funds than usual. It would therefor be wise to sit back for a second and recalculate the ROI, double check the available resources, update the project plan, and make a more educated decision about the project.

Carrying out this check requires courage, because it might become clear that the previous plan maybe wasn't that great. So often in corporate life this is done very rarely. The warning signs are ignored and the project just pushed through according to the old plan.

On the other hand, there are often very good reasons to start a project, even in the face of adverse conditions:
- Sometimes it is the one very important customer in a new market.
- Sometimes you desperately need the money.
- Sometimes it will give a critical advantage over the competition.
- Sometimes it will improve your products significantly.

Whatever the reasons, my recommendation is:
- Include extra manpower in the project plan, especially for management, communication and troubleshooting.
- Be open with the customer and your team about the situation.
- Protect the team from the influence of other projects so that they can focus.
- Make use of frequent feedback meetings with the customer and your team.

People are often willing to endure pain if they know the reasons and can sympathize with them. They also appreciate that they are taken into confidence and are not being overlooked or lied to, which is good for morale and confidence. Because in the end projects don't succeed because of a perfect plan or technology. But because of the motivation and dedication of the people that work on them.

Earlier this year I acquired my UBI, SRC and LRC licenses for marine radios. Now I'm studying for the HAM radio license. Here is a little background on the different radio networks. The information is only valid for marine radios on board of leisure craft. For commercial vessels, the regulations are typically more strict and require different kinds of certifications and more equipment, especially backup devices.

Inland radio telephonie (UBI)
The inland waterways are packed with vessels, and there is a lot more traffic on the air due to the demand for navigational directions and communication with water gates, bridges etc. Some knowledge of German, Dutch, French and English is also required.
Therefore the operating procedures are a little different from marine radio, and a special certification (UBI) is necessary.
The radio regulations also require that an ATIS (Automatic Transmission Identification System) signal is sent by the transmitting radio automatically after every broadcast. Because of shorter distances in inland waterways, the transmitting power is limited to 1W or 25W, depending on the channel.
Therefore maritime VHF radios cannot be used, unless they are also built for inland radio and can be switched from one operational mode to the other.

SRC
Most sea going yachts are equipped with a VHF radio, the operation of which requires a SRC (Short Range Certificate). Because VHF radio waves follow line-of-sight, the Range is limited to approx 60nm for sending, and depending on the coastal station, up to 250nm for receiving.
Along with the traditional analog voice broadcasts, the radios are equiped with a digital mode (DSC, Digital Selective Call), which should be used in case of emergency, urgency and for navigational information.
Many coastal stations have stopped listening on the audio channels, and can only be called via DSC.

LRC
Out at sea, VHF radio is of little use because of their very limited range. In order to communicate with coastal stations or other ships further away than 60nm away, a HF radio or Satellite radio (e.g. INMARSAT) is necessary. For this, the operator must first acquire a LRC (Long Range Certificate).
In addition to traditional voice broadcasts, this service also offers DSC, weather reports, and limited internet access. In case of HF the biggest limitation is one of bandwidth, in case of INMARSAT it is one of finances.
In terms of voice broadcasts it is the same as with VHF marine radio: there is hardly anybody listening.

Amateur radio (HAM)
The amateur radio on high frequencies (HAM) is traditionally a network of enthusiasts, and was set up early in the 20th century to give them a place for experimentation and technical studies. Many innovations that have found their way into commercial networks were first brought on the air by these amateurs.
HAM radio covers VHF and HF bands, and is used by millions across the globe on dry land, at sea and in the air (even space stations).
The hurdle for acquiring a HAM radio license is a lot higher than for marine or aeronautical radios: in addition to the regulations, one also has to learn the physical and electronic principles of VHF and HF radio. This is required because the amateur radio license grants the right to build your own radio equipment or freely tamper with bought equipment.

Why amateur radio at sea?
It appears that all services (voice, weather, emergency, internet) are covered with the "official" marine radio network. So why bother with HAM radio? Here's a short list of the pros and cons of operating a HAM radio on board a ship:

Pros:
- Same technical requirements as for HF marine radio
- Equipment is only 1/3 of the price of marine HF radio, and a fraction of the price of satellite radio
- It is more likely that you will find 2nd hand gear
- Because there are millions of HAMs world wide, it is more likely to reach somebody
- All services are free of charge
- Almost all maritime networks for sailors are HAM networks
- Covers a wide range of frequencies
- Covers a wide range of services (voice, weather, emergency, internet, cw, TV, ...)

cons:
- No commercial use allowed
- HAM radios have no DSC controller, and can therefore not participate in the GMDSS (Global Maritime Distress Safety System)

So, while it is possible to use HF or Satellite radios, it is a lot cheaper to use HAM radio. It is also more communicative, because there are a lot more people listening.
The only real drawback is that it is not possible to participate in GMDSS due to the missing DSC capabilities.
This fault can however easily be overcome by buying an EPIRB for use in emergency, however, which will alert the rescue co-ordination centers through Satellite and send out a homing beacon.

Please note that the HAM radio is for non-commercial use only. For example in order to send or receive business emails while at sea, the use of a commercial network (e.g. SailMail or INMARSAT-M) would be necessary.

Since early 2008 http://www.supersail.de has been operating the two 2007 America's Cup Yachts GER 72 and GBR 52 from Ultramarin Marina in Kressbronn at the at the Lake Constance.
Normally they are reserved for corporate events and racing, but on a few days in the year single booker can join the crew for a half-day.

My race
I got my ticket as a farewell present from my employees at my company. The event took place yesterday afternoon, with beautiful sunshine and a light breeze. After the welcome I was assigned to the GBR-52 under skipper Connor, with the professional crew Felix, Sandra and Mark.
The three trained each one of us 12 "tourists" on their respective stations, and watched out that we didn't hurt ourselves.
With approx. 12 tons pulling on the mainsheet, mistakes can be painfull. Eight of us were put to work on the grinders, two were positioned as trimmers, and two more acted as runners on the double backstay. I was one of the runners, responsible for easing the lee backstay after a tack or gybe.

Two backstays
As Runner I only had to work late in a tack or gybe, So I had plenty of time to take some pictures, help out at the other stations, and the skipper twice asked me to take over the rudder for a minute and set a new course. It is a great feeling to steer a 25m ship with 700sqm sail area before the wind.

Hierarchy
Most impressive, however, was the hierarchy and focus on board of the ship. Conner the Skipper talked to us tourists during the welcome, prep-talk before the race and review after the race. During the races however he was totally focused on navigation and overseeing his crew. Questions from the tourists were ignored, or commented with a "No time, talk to the boys" at best.
The "boys", the professional crew, each controlled one section of the ship (Sandra aft, Felix the pit, Mark the front), and forwarded the commands of the skipper to us tourists. We, in turn, cranked and pulled and worked the grinders like we were possessed, which is probably why we won the first race with a 2 Minute lead (at 29 minutes race time) .

My recommendation: do it!
It was a great experience, one that I can recommend as a team event or to single booker very much. Sailing experience or gear is not necessary.
I think that is an especially intensive experience for people that have never been sailing before. More experienced sailors will marvel at beauty of the ship and the size of her sails, winches, sheets etc. For them however watching the skipper and professional crew is the most interesting part.

Yesterday I went to Munich to visit the Trans-Ocean regular's table. I had called Wolfgang Quix in advance, and I was able to meet with him, Theo and Rosemarie and 7 other very friendly and helpful voyagers.

Theo and Rosemarie are on "home leave" from the Caribbean until November, while the weather is "unbearable" there. Now that I have read so many stories from people that left home for a cruise of undetermined length, it was very interesting to meet some in person and hear their accounts first hand.

We then discussed my route, likely ships and equipment.

Ship
The recommendation was to go for a 12m GRP monohull. Used ships with Aluminium hulls are too expensive, and those with steel hulls are too much trouble and too slow. Dacron sails. A Cutter or Semi-cutter rigg would be easier to handle than a masthead sloop rigg. A solid spray hood for the northerly passage. A draft of below 5 feet for the Caribbean bays.
If possible I should be looking for a hull with a panorama view from below deck, like the Reinke yachts have. This is a lot better for morale then a "basement"-style cabin, and I can keep lookout from below deck in heavy weather.

Equipment
The essential equipment seems to be:
- wind vane self steering
- autopilot
- radar
- VHF radio
- wind generator
- 200 litres of water and diesel
- ham radio with pactor if I want to access emails etc.
- the importance of an heavy (25kg) anchor along with 30m of 10mm chain was stressed repeatedly
- life raft
- strong dhingy with engine

SSB radio, watermaker and solar charger would be unnecessary for my journey. Apparently nobody is listening to SSB anyway. Carrying water for a single person is no problem. And since I plan to return via Greenland and Iceland, the only power generators that will work for me are wind-, wave- or fuel-driven.

Route
Since I have to find, equip and test a boat first, my original plan was:
- buy a boat in October
- equip and test in November and December
- leave the North Sea on New Year 2010
- cross the Bay of Biscay in January, headed for the Canary Island (approx. 2200nm, 18d sailing)
- cross the Atlantic in February, headed for Grenada (approx. 2700nm, 22d sailing)
- spend March an April in the Caribbean, ending up in the Dominican Republic in late April (approx 900nm, 8d sailing)
- sail to the Bermudas in May (approx 900nm, 8d sailing)
- sail to New York in June (approx 700nm, 6d sailing)
- sail to Newfoundland in early July (approx 1700nm, 14d sailing)
- sail to Iceland in early August (approx 1400nm, 12d sailing)
- sail to Norway in September (approx 800nm, 7d sailing)
- sail home in early October (approx 400nm, 3d sailing)

In total 12000nm, 100d sailing, 170d at anchor. Apart from the first passage across (or around) the Bay of Biscay, I would be sailing in the ideal window for all passages according to Jimmy Cornell.

Unfortunately crossing the Bay of Biscay in January is not such a great idea, because of the high likelihood of heavy storms. The advice was to leave the journey until August, which would also give me more time to spend on the Canary Islands and in the Caribbean.

Since the recommended months for the passage from North America to Europe is from June (via Azores) to August (via Iceland), it would mean that my trip would take me almost a full year longer than originally planned.
This is far from ideal, and I have to think about this for a little while.

My options seem to be:
- Stick to my plan as much as possible. Wait in Falmouth for a good weather forecast before crossing the Bay of Biscay.
- Motor from the North sea to the Mediterranean through the inland waterways via Rhone and Rhine
- Buy a ship in the Mediterranean, Caribbean or North America and start there.
- Find a way to finance the extra year.

Here are some basic lessons I've learned while driving my Volvo C303 off road (thanks Claus!):

Uphill:
- Have a good look and pick the easiest route, avoid holes, stumps, rocks etc.
- Imagine how you want to position the car on the top of the hill for the next section.
- Pick a gear and go at a steady pace.
- Avoid accelerating. Otherwise the wheels can dig in, especially on gravel.
- If this is a problem on a particular hill, choose a higher gear and a little more speed.
- If 4WD is not enough, engage the rear differential lock first.
- Be careful with the front differential lock, it will make steering almost impossible.
- If you stop on the way up, immediately apply brakes and clutch and select the reverse gear.
- Back down using the reverse gear and engine break, not the breaks.

Downhill:
- Commit yourself to the descend. Once you start, there is no going back.
- If you are unsure, don't go. Safety first.
- Select the lowest gear and use the engine break to slow your descend.
- Do not brake. Your wheels will lock and the car will slide around and can roll over.
- If the car starts to slide around, accelerate slightly.
- Going down straight but fast is always better then rolling over.

Mud:
- It's all about the tread of your tyres, the more aggressive the better.
- Low tyre pressure (e.g. half) helps a lot, too.
- Turning the steering wheel left and right will often find a little more grip.
- If mud clogs up your treads, let the wheels spin a little to free them from mud.
- Clean the car from mud as soon as possible to avoid corrosion.

I can't stress enough how important it is to use the wheel breaks with caution when going down a hill. Use the engine break whenever possible, even if it means that it will take you longer.
With a car like the Volvo, which has a lot of payload and therefore most of it's weight is on the front axle when empty, the rear wheels lock almost on the slightest touch, and the back will start to slide around.

Little boys, little toys. Big boys ... Volvos. Mine is a 1975 C303 with a service weight of a little more than two tons.

It's a wonderful car. As long as you're not in a hurry, don't have to go long distances, and don't mind a little noise and funny looks of other people. It is also extremely reliable, and with a payload of up to a ton it absolutely shines when shopping in DYIs. Or for parties.

But of course it is intended for off road use, and is well equipped for it too:
- 480mm clearance height (15 inch)
- 45° front and back clearance angle
- four wheel drive
- limited slip differential on both axles
- 4WD and differentials can be switched on and off independently by vacuum servos
- 125 h.p. at 4250 rev/min

It is a little hard to get some use out of this in Germany, because every piece of land that can be considered "off road" is either declared farmland, forest or nature reserve, and strictly off limits for private cars. Given our population density this is probably a good thing.

Fortunately there are a number of little non-profit clubs of enthusiasts that have managed to secure access to some interesting pieces of land, especially old gravel pits surrounded by some hilly and wooded square meters.

One of these clubs, the ORC 4X4 ALB-DONAU-KREIS e.V., is only 20km from my home, and hosts an off road day every other month. Today one of these events took place, and here are some pictures:

















You can learn more about the Volvo C303 at
- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Volvo_C303
- http://www.c303.de/
- http://www.volvoc303.co.uk/
- http://www.soldf.com/tgb11.html

or buy one at
- http://www.volvoc303.com/

It is possible to sleep in it, but you have to be very enthusiastic in order to enjoy it:

A lot has been written about time management, and we've learned that concepts like workflow, envisioning, planning, prioritization, goal-setting, task-lists, delegation, monitoring, reviewing, ... etc. help a lot when accomplishing specific tasks, projects and goals.
Despite a good understanding of these concepts, things still go wrong.

This is why I would like to share some of my experience from 12 years of working as a team member, project manager, leader and executive surrounding the prevention and elimination of the problems associated with time management.

More often than not problems occur because of one of the following reasons:
- Procrastination
- Overestimated capabilities
- Underestimated complexity
- Unspecified conditions for "done"
- Limited control over your time
- Compliance regarding additions / not being able to say no
- Ignoring warning signs

Any one of these dangers can prove fatal to time planning, and the more complex and fine-grained the planning is, the harder it hits. If decisive measures are not taken, the consequences can range from unachieved goals to personal breakdowns. On a project level it will almost always mean blowing the scope, budget or deadline.

Fortunately there is a lot of advice on how to deal with these dangers. It is necessary however to identify them early in order to move towards a solution. And in order to identify them early, it is necessary to understand your responsibilities in regard to time management on every level.

As a team member you have to master time management in order to get your work done. You also have to understand that you are one part of the whole team, and that your ability or lack of ability to reach goals will effect other team members and their abilities to reach their goals.
Therefore you have to actively avoid the dangers above and let your manager and the other team members know when circumstances threaten to jeopardize goals so that appropriate decisions can be made in due time.

As a manager you have to master time management as well as teach it to your team. In particular take the time to coach junior team members to become good self-managers. It will save you a lot of work very quickly, because they learn to deal with most small problems on their own as well as learn when to escalate.
The thing that most often goes wrong for managers, is that we assume that our team members have complete control over their time. When in fact there are many environmental and social forces within a company which effect their ability for uninterrupted work.
Therefore it is important to understand these forces and shield your team as much as possible from disturbances, e.g. demands from other managers and team members for coaching or help. Where this is not possible you should compensate during planning.

As a business leader you are the only one with complete control over your time. You lucky bastard. This is your greatest advantage, and you must not give up control over it.
It is an advantage you can use to the benefit of your business, and to be an example to your employees. This means you should avoid getting caught-up in details, which will take up most of your time. And instead transferring responsibilities and authorities where possible, so that you can focus on envisioning and steering, and coaching managers to become leaders in turn.

I'm now three months into my sabbatical, and I've lost 12kg of weight (102kg -> 90kg). That makes me very happy, and because I remember very well how hard I tried (in vain) last year to loose weight by running (3x a week, 30-60 minutes, 6 months), I want to share what has worked for me.

So here's my little recipe for loosing weight:

1. Analysis
Understand why you have too much weight. Chances are it is simply because you eat too much.
Understand when you eat that extra bit. You will only be able to change your eating habits when you understand where they go wrong.

My self analysis was:
- I eat too much.
- My meals are too large when eating out.
- I eat lots of Chocolate, especially when I am frustrated.
- I eat late at night when I am working long hours.

This analysis will be different for everybody, and it is vital that you are honest to yourself. I guess other common reasons include: sugared soft drinks, boredom, stress, too much alcohol, not enough sleep, not enough water, stealing donuts of co-workers, no exercise, ...


2. Measures
Understanding why and how you have put on too much weight should already give you a few ideas on how to loose it again.
Now it's important to identify the few measures with the most impact, so that you can continue to enjoy life committing small sins, while you save where it counts.
For example, I love ice cream, and eat it almost daily. But my ice cream cravings are under control, not like chocolate. The chocolate habit really started when a new customer, a Swiss premium chocolate manufacturer, send 70kg of chocolate for Christmas. After a two-week-chocolate-eating-frenzy half the company was hooked to the stuff . So no chocolate for me anymore for a while.
But I continue to eat ice cream, which makes it a lot easier not to eat chocolate. I guess you know what my favorite flavor is.

My measures:
- Overall strategy: Eat less.
- Easy on the side-dishes, focus on meat/fish, vegetables and fruit.
- Eat more slowly, stop well before feeling full.
- Don't buy chocolate. It's a lot easier not to buy it then not to eat it.
- Don't work later then 1am. This saves a whole meal.


3. Goal & milestones
In order to succeed you will need to define a clear goal. And because this is a longer project, you also need milestones that help you to measure your progress on the way.
- My goal: get down from 102kg to 87kg.
- My milestones: lose 2kg every month.


4. Retrospective
After three months it looks like I was lucky and the measures I took were more effective then I had hoped.

Other activities/habits that seemed to assist include:
- day hiking / trekking
- running errands on the skateboard instead of walking
- drinking lots of water (2-4l per day)
- sleeping a little more then usual (7-8h per day)
- when having a beer with friends, stop after one

It should be easy to loose the last 3kg over the next 3 months, so I'll just stick to the same plan.