Double digits

The Captain has recently celebrated his 10th birthday.  It seems but moments ago that the Doctor at Bumrungrad Hospital in Bangkok, a gentlemanly old Sikh, nodded kindly at me over his desk and said yes, Madam, there really is a baby in there, as he read my blood test results to me.  I must have looked quite disbelieving!

To celebrate reaching double digits, the Captain chose to have a sailing party.  Luckily, Balmoral Sailing Club have a fabulous kids program that includes holiday camps (the best!) and Birthday Parties.  

The party celebrations began with a Hobie Cat race.  As the Captain sails on an Optimist in his Development Squad, he loves any opportunity to jump into different sailing craft and Hobie Cat's are one of his favourites.  They can pick up a bit of speed which appeals to little boys of course! The boys were split up into two teams and off they went.   

They had the time of their lives out on the harbour for an hour or so, meanwhile we sat back on the beach and enjoyed the wonder of hosting a party for a dozen 10 year old boys.  It was so peaceful watching the two rainbow coloured sails darting about on Middle Harbour!  

Eventually, the boys did reappear though and both teams of course insisted that they had won the race.  Before they could actually establish who truly had won, the instructors managed to distract

 them all with a stand up paddle board lesson.  Nick loved this so much that a paddle board has been added onto the Christmas list this year!  

The final activity was some crazy made up game that the instructors from the yacht club came up with.  I never actually quite got the gist of it, but it involved lots of running, crawling and hiding in a maze of paddle boards propped up in the sand.  The boys LOVED this.  Lots of stealth type stomach crawling and deviant dashing between the paddle boards, the boys were in their element.  

We ended the party with fish and chips and chocolate cake.

So my darling boy at 10 years old you are: feisty, determined and dare I say, a little bit witty.  Your determination never fails to astonish me.  You are an incredible athlete and excel at cross country, athletics, sailing and skiing.  You also love cricket and soccer. 

Up until last week you wanted to be an architect.  This all changed though after Grandma and Grandpa took you for your first proper experience in a flight simulator and as a consequence you have switched career paths to aviation.   Your favourite TV show though is still Grand Designs (UK of course), closely followed by Top Gear (UK of course).  

Your favourite books are the Alex Rider series by Anthony Horowitz and The Henderson Boys series by Robert Murchamore.  As a result, you have also dabbled in espionage as a career choice and did request that we send you to Eton as you considered that a pre-requisite!

Your favourite colour is still red.  Your favourite food is pizza.  You are pestering us for a dog.  You play the classical guitar and sing in the school choir.  Your favourite subjects at school are art, drama and sport. You have a lovely group of friends at school.

You are a skilled negotiator and are willing to debate anything and everything.  This skill of yours is simultaneously infuriating and impressive.  I, for one, look forward to seeing where this takes you in life.  Happy Birthday Captain.  

Sailing - a magical and empowering sport for children

Each Sunday morning the Captain heads out with a handful of other like minded children for "Green Fleet" training.  He returns hours later, energised, with salty hair and clear, sparkling eyes.  Tales of whales and fairy penguins abound.  Sailing truly is a magical sport for children, it is one of the only sports that allows a child complete freedom.   As you can see in the photo above, my little 9 year old is the Captain of his own ship, literally.  There is no parent sitting beside him dictating how things should be done.  He is making decisions alone.  The consequences of which he will also have to accept.    He is in charge of rigging up his boat and packing it away after each sail.  Through all this he has learnt responsibility and discipline.  Sailing has also taught him about the environment, he now has a deeper understanding of the weather.  The direction of the wind.  The risks of a storm.   

A friend recently watched Nick as he sailed out one Sunday morning and commented on how quiet it was.  There was just the noise of ropes banging against masts and the odd squawk of a seagull.  The children themselves are remarkably quiet as they head out.  Each one focused, as they pop their centreboards in and settle themselves, preparing for a day on the water.  This peaceful quiet is not to be underestimated in this day and age, when children are surrounded by stimulation and noise.  Indeed, it is a true break from everyday life for a little boy.

  Nick started sailing at 6 years old.  I hope he is still sailing at 96 years old.  That is the thing with sailing.  It is a sport for a lifetime.  A sport that will allow him to explore miles of coastline.  Feel the wind in his hair and the sun or the rain on his face.  A sport that will foster a love of the outdoors and a respect for the environment.  A magnificent sport.