The Joy of Giving

Giving to the Orphanage for Blind Children in Bali

They danced & sang for us at the orphanage, and never once indulged in self-pity

It has been sometime since I visited the orphanages that Five-Star Legacy supports in Indonesia. Ironically it was the children at the orphanages that taught us much more than we could have taught them. I had anticipated that they would be shy, indifference and non engaging. I was totally wrong. They were full of enthusiasm to receive us visitors and were spontaneous with their smiles, laughter and mischief throughout the visit. We felt immediately at home. They taught me a lot about the human spirit in the face of disadvantage and struggle. They were simply joyous and void of any inhibitions associated with forced regimentation. They were loved and love does change everything.

South China Sea Wreck Fishing Aug 2015

Either you love fishing or you don't. Deep sea fishing isn't always done in deep waters but it is always at the great expanse of the open sea. To catch fish, you can't just anchor off anywhere and drop the hook. You need to find the fish using the fish finder and anchor the boat up current so the bait drops down to where the fish are. Otherwise you will probably not catch any good fish except for the occasional scavenger fish that passes by.
Fishing is hard work. In the South China Sea, it is hot, humid, salty, windy, rainy and the traffic can get heavy before Horsburgh lighthouse before you exit into the Southern South China Sea.

So why do folks go fishing then? I guess its the thrill of the hunt, camaraderie, adventure and sheer excitement when you hook up a monster of a fish, that keeps you guessing what it is as you reel it in.
I am never tired at sea, even when staying awake fishing till 4am and waking up again at 6am. I only feel the tiredness when I get home, usually after 4 days at sea.

I guess that only thing I try to avoid is too much sun. I welcome the free Vitamin D but not the sun damage to skin and eyes. In any case, I will always love the sea and fishing the fascinating fish that inhibit her waters.

Grounding should be a thing of the past

Grounding can be avoided quite easily with a Chart Plotter & good Lookout 

As a Naval Officer I was taught that Navigation is 90% planning and 10% execution. We didn't have Chart Plotters or even GPS back then in the late 70's and early 80's. We had to rely on charts and take fixes every 6 mins before deciding how to get back on track or to alter course to the next track. Before setting off to a destination, the entire route had to be planned and all the dangers along that route marked in bold and given a wide berth.

As a result we had very few grounding incidences if any. Ship handling, Seamanship and Navigation was considered an art back then. Today's technology has advanced these art-forms bringing incredible efficiency that I never could have imagined. Having been brought up the old fashioned ways, I feel privileged to be able to use the current Chart Plotters, Fleur, digital radars and colour sounders for navigation.

Hence it does puzzle me that a boat equipped with all these modern marvels can still end up on the rocks. I feel that a little preparation will help tremendously in avoiding a grounding. Looking at today's Chart Plotters, it is near impossible to ground, unless one is not looking.

I would urge all boaters to have at least 2 Chart Plotters at the helm station. The little it costs these days will save lives and a huge salvage bill.

Wishing you many more happy boating days..... See you on the water .

A Tribute to Mr Lee Kuan Yew

A man like Mr Lee Kuan Yew comes along only once in a few thousand years. His passing today marks the end of an era of uncertainly, struggle, fortitude and victory. There certainly will not be another Lee Kuan Yew ever again. No one comes even close to his greatness. Perhaps only his son the current Prime Minister can be compared to this great man. As the nation mourns his passing, I am filled with nostalgia and gratitude to have the great privilege of having lived during his majestic leadership of Singapore. Never has there been a greater statesman than LKY in all of Asia and possibly the world. LKY's greatness is best measure by the incredible success of Singapore. Admired by many, duplicated by none so far. LKY is Singapore and Singapore is synonymous with LKY.      

The Father of Singapore lived a long fruitful life, not for himself but dedicated his whole life to National survival and Nation Building. He will forever be remembered in the hearts and minds of all who knew him and the millions of lives he had changed forever. Majullah Singapura!!!

The Voyages of Delos

I have been following & enjoying the voyages of Sailing Vessel Delos for a short while. They have my vote for being the best documented sailing adventure in modern times. This group of Americans really know how to live and live life to the fullest. I know you will enjoy their videos too. Here's the link;

Chinese New Year Family Gathering 2015

Its that time of year again. No, not Christmas which is certainly my favorite season but the Chinese New Year. For most Chinese, that season which lasts 15 days is the most popular festivity. This year we celebrated it again at my home with the uncles, cousins, nephews & nieces. Good thing too because, unlike good friends I usually get to see them all twice a year. But like they say, blood truly is thicker than water.

  

The Game of Who's Right

My very favorite game is "Making Life Wonderful" It's a happy game and I enjoy playing it. It makes "natural giving" possible. The joy of giving is often described as a greater joy than receiving. When you take from me, I feel so given to. However once in a while I fall into a lower state of vibration and end up playing another game that I don't like at all. It's called the game of "Who's Right" It's a game where everybody loses. The game of who's right is devious. It calls for punishment for who's wrong and reward for the person that's right. It promotes guilt and shame and makes violence enjoyable. We've been educated for quite a while to make violence enjoyable. In movies, the hero is often seen killing the bandit much to the delight of the audience. In this case the justification is that the hero is right and the bandit is wrong. This game of Who's right makes violence & judgement enjoyable.

Here is a video by Marshall Rosenburg titled: "The Basics of Non Violent Communications"

I've been learning from Marshall Rosenburg for sometime now. He makes a lot of sense to me. The first thing I learnt is that "You can't teach anybody anything". So don;t try to teach anybody anything or change anybody. You can motivate or inspire them so that they might teach themselves or want to change as a result. 

I turned to Marshall because, I have been bogged down with partnership disagreements the past 2 days. I have 2 partners, I am the third. Two of them were at logger-heads with each other. I am the neutral party. Listening to Marshall is eye opening. I quickly fell back to being an observer instead of a judge. I hope this video helps you too.