cathy-coach

Duo Coaching

2010-09-25T12:31:00.000+01:00

It's amazing how things progress over time, especially new business ventures.

As many of you know I started to work in relationship coaching and counselling quite a while ago, building on the teamwork knowledge and experience I had from coaching high performance teams of just two people in sailing. These are truly compared to 'marriages without love' and have proved a valuable learning arena for what I now do for the general population.

Then I teamed up with Neil Wilkie to work with him on a new offering - that of two relationship counsellors working with a couple at the same time. We both knew that the service provided by traditional relationship therapists working with one counsellor to a couple, while good and certainly well-meaning, has its limitations when it comes to effectiveness. Our aim was (and still is) to provide couples counselling where the two of us honour both individuals as well as their relationship at the same time. It means we work 'live' with problems and issues as they occur in ways that give dedicated time and space to both parties - one person is not side-lined or left out just because the other is more verbal or more needy at that moment.

We've spent some time and research working things out - especially how to work at our best together so that our clients get to resolution quickly - and built up a good little business over a number of years.

Recently we decided to formalise things somewhat and dip our toes into making our presence known on the internet. Have a look at our new website - www.duocoaching.co.uk We have a blog there too, focussing on relationship issues.

As you will see we leant on our mutual interest of of sailing to provide the metaphor for the site, and we like the effect - and I welcome feedback on your impressions too!

I still do sailing, sports, life and executive coaching, (because I enjoy them) and find that things I learn from these different arenas all feed into a better product - see www.cathyfoster.co.uk and of course, this is my major blog page for all things ecletic.

It's all rewarding stuff.

A Postman's Job.....

2009-12-25T10:50:00.000Z

We have had a crazy time weather wise in the UK over the last week. All sorts of public transport services have broken down, but then its not surprising - how do you balance the risk of occasional severe weather disruption with the spend on machinery & services that other countries (for whom big winter weather is normal) invest in.

A friend works for the Royal Mail in one of the area offices. Yesterday, Christmas Eve, she got to her local sorting office at 6am to take a post bag and go delivering letters so people could get the cards that had made it through the transport system to their homes in time. Now that’s what I call service!

All the more impressive from a work force in unhappy circumstances.

Go To
www.cathyfoster.co.uk for more posts.

Cowes Week

2009-08-03T18:42:00.002+01:00

Cowes week is here again. Amongst the changeable winds and weather of this year’s British Summer, this traditional week is going through one of those times of change as it flexes to meet the challenges of no title sponsor. This is definitely an opportunity to do a shake-out and gain efficiencies in areas previously thought untouchable.

Last year I was a guest of the Cowes Week organisation by dint of the RYA to look at the Race Officer functions, and I was impressed. The sheer size of the operation is incredible. In the past I worked as part of the back-room operations for the America’s Cup Jubilee, and was amazed then at the willingness of the administrators, especially Stuart Quarrie to embrace new technology. Nowadays with the use of mobile phone and SMS, the whole thing just flows - truly wicked.

For those stuck at work, home, elsewhere but Cowes - listen into Cowes Week Radio to stay up with the action.

(For the correct links visit the blog on my website www.cathyfoster.co.uk)

Buddies and Co-Coaching

2009-05-14T12:26:00.002+01:00

I’ve just read the latest ‘Outside the lines’ newsletter which is on finding Buddies to be with and this has struck a chord with me, as I am enjoying working with seven other people in exactly this way. We have a company called ‘Resolve’, which provides relationship coaching, counselling and mediation to those with relationship problems and issues across the UK. Its all very exciting. Normally as a coach I work on my own, and now, with the values that we share, it is so much easier to work with others too.

Working with people to sort out their relationships has been a constant thread through my coaching career. In sailing and sport, its building teams and dealing with issues so that the performance of the team is not compromised. In life coaching, I often work with clients helping them to deal with their life partner relationships. The similarities and differences between sport and life help provide me with the insights needed to cut through to the basic issues in ways my clients then build on.

When dealing with two people, life or sport, its always been tricky to give each partner equal attention. So often, one person’s issues are more immediate, and resolving these will help move situations forward, which tends to be the expedient solution. However, finding time to listen to the concerns of the other partner is imperative to get a balanced resolution. Within Resolve we are promoting Co-Coaching as an optional service, where there are two coaches to two people, and boy, does this work well! A balanced outcome is so much more reliable at the end of a session, with the needs of both parties attended to by using of the complementary skills of the two coaches.

Its a real pleasure to be working with my Buddies.

For the active links to website mentioned in this articles, sign up to my blog on my website www.cathyfoster.co.uk

Good Work Done

2009-05-13T18:13:00.002+01:00

I’ve just had an invitation to ‘sign’ the retirement card for one of my professors from University days - Brian Short. I was really glad to do so - a really enthusiastic lecturer, he helped open my eyes to the landscape in ways that continue to delight me.
On reading his profile, I discover he’s made a real name for himself in the 30 years since I knew him - I’m very glad.

Bookmark my new website

2009-05-13T18:07:00.001+01:00

My new website, cathyfoster.co.uk, has been created using iWeb, the Mac website software. I have really enjoyed making the most of the software to produce the very visual effects, but there is one downside. The software is a ‘cut & paste’ type, and incredibly easy to use as I haven’t had to learn to write in code. I would recommend it wholeheartedly to anyone creating a personal website. However, as each page gets published as a .jpeg picture onto the web, individual words cannot be identified and so the site content cannot be picked up by search engines searching for key identifiers. This means I will have difficulty getting my site to the first page of a Google search - unless you help me.

Please increase the traffic to this site by both bookmarking this site AND by using the links on the Bits and Bobs page. In return, if you have anything interesting you’d like me to comment on, I’ll do what I can to help you out. Also, pass on my website address to others if you find it interesting.

Please do this - the more traffic I can attract, the better it is for me. This new website has been created using iWeb, the Mac website software. I have really enjoyed making the most of the software to produce the very visual effects, but there is one downside. The software is a ‘cut & paste’ type, and incredibly easy to use as I haven’t had to learn to write in code. I would recommend it wholeheartedly to anyone creating a personal website. However, as each page gets published as a .jpeg picture onto the web, individual words cannot be identified and so the site content cannot be picked up by search engines searching for key identifiers. This means I will have difficulty getting my site to the first page of a Google search - unless you help me.

Please increase the traffic to this site by both bookmarking this site AND by using the links on the Bits and Bobs page. In return, if you have anything interesting you’d like me to comment on, I’ll do what I can to help you out. Also, pass on my website address to others if you find it interesting.

Please do this - the more traffic I can attract, the better it is for me.

The Galaxy Zoo

2009-05-13T18:05:00.002+01:00

I came across an extraordinary endeavour the other day - the Galaxy Zoo is the biggest citizen-science experiment on the web, dedicated to helping scientists classify 1,000,000 photographs collected from various telescopes (on earth and in space) for the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS).

The project was started in July 2007 by Dr. Chris Lintott, a science researcher from the University of Oxford, as a solution to this huge task. By asking the public to help, the manpower resources increased enormously. The participation rate is measured by ‘clicks’ on the website, and has now topped 70 million clicks. Initially people were asked to identify galaxies as being spiral, elliptical or merging categories, and the success is such that Lintott says “ You can have confidence, as we say, ‘100% of people think that that’s a spiral galaxy, so its really, really spirally’.”

Such is the success of the operation, participants have now been asked to apply a far more extensive range of criteria for classifying the galaxies they see in the photos in a new project - Galaxy Zoo 2.

Stories abound. Try out the ‘The Voorwerp’ for a discovery in the making.

For a fully linked up version of this article, go to cathyFoster.co.uk and sign up for the Blog RSS feed.

Spiral Dynamics

2009-05-13T18:02:00.002+01:00

I’ve just been to a fascinating presentation on Spiral Dynamics at the NLP Wessex Practice Group. A fascinating presentation on world viewpoints, it was particularly well presented by Roger Terry of Evolution Training. Not just the personal and corporate viewpoints but the stage of world politics as well. My thoughts keep turning to what I have learnt, testing it out. Roger was right - it has changed my view of the world.

For a fully linked up version of this article, go to cathyfoster.co.uk and sign up for my Blog.

New Blog and website

2009-04-27T16:08:00.002+01:00

My blog now forms a part of my new website, www.cathyfoster.co.uk. I will continue to keep this cathy-coach blogspot going for a while, but if you want to stay completely up to date, then visit and bookmark new my website blog.

Eden Project

2009-02-19T22:25:00.001Z

I’ve just been (yet again) to see the Eden Project in Cornwall. For those that don’t know, this is a very professionally presented educational charity.

Their vision is:
“Overall we believe the world we live in is facing radical change – and our aim is to help find positive futures in the face of that change. To get in shape for the challenges of the future we need a culture that knows how to sustain the things that sustain us and at the same time nurtures creativity, imagination and adaptability.

We are an organisation that believes in "learning by doing" and we try to run our operations in ways that help address some big questions. Questions like: How do we ensure the economic benefits of our work go back into the local economy? How do we manage food supply and waste? Or how do we construct buildings in a way that reflect the needs of the 21st Century?”

They welcome a million visitors a year to their award-winning site in a disused china clay pit. Its a great place to visit at any time of the year. The joy of multiple visits over the years is that you see real change. This is NOT a static stuck-in-a-time-warp site.

I think what impressed me most this time was how happy the kids were. It was half term, and there were many families with children of all ages. Yet I never heard a child cry without a real reason - like falling down. It was a pleasure to visit an major public exhibit without hearing whine and screeches of boredom and attention seeking. My congratulations to the Eden Project for both what they have set out to do and for making the facilities so child-friendly.

Sam Davies coming home......

2009-02-05T18:17:00.002Z

The Vendee Globe is coming to an end. Michel Desjoyeau has won in record breaking time, and in style. The remaining fleet have now all rounded Cape Horn. Months of sailing are coming to an end.

I have found it really entertaining, not in the least because I too have been racing around in the Virtual Race. I’m west of the Canaries at the moment. The Vendee Globe website www.vendeeglobe.org/en/ for the real race has been particularly well serviced, and the interviews and e-mail comments from the skippers have been well worth following.

I have so much enjoyed Sam Davies’ comments. She did a great commentary on ‘types of waves’ the other day www.vendeeglobe.org/en/newswire/8721/sam-on-waves.html - so true. For unadulterated commentary from Sam, have a look at Sam’s very pink website www.samdavies.com/gb_les_news.asp- (its a bilingual site, so if it comes up french, click on the Union Jack top right).

Watching the British Legal system at work

2009-01-26T21:00:00.000Z

I live near a County Court House, and today, out of sheer curiousity, popped in to see the legal system working. The receptionists told me I was lucky - there were some big cases on today.

I saw the judgement and sentencing of a murderer and heard some of the evidence in a child rape case. On one level it was really interesting, on another - oh! the human pain of it all!

The judgement was very like sailing protest committees, in that procedures and rules had to be followed, so there was a familiarity about it. Yet the judge able to express his feelings against the murder within this, and this, along with the measured clarity of his speech and expression, gave me a sense that he really was speaking on behalf of decent society. Incidentally, the murderer got a life sentence, with a minimum of 16 years to be served before being eligible for consideration for parole. This, given the defendant is 65 years old, could well be a remainder of ‘life’ sentence in incarceration, which reflect the severity of the crime. His teenage partner was strangled and stabbed to death in what was accepted to be an little provoked but unpre-meditated act, and then after smoking a cigarette, he then killed their 4 year old little boy. UGH.

The other case ( an accusation of incest child rape between Father and children) was mid-process of being heard. They were going through the transcripts of police interviews. What was interesting was that the Policewoman ( Inspector?) was reading out what she said, while what seemed to be a barrister read out the defendant’s answers. They did it very well, and bought reems of paperwork alive. I never knew they did this and it was very effective in the process. The process felt transparent, and encouraged a fair trial.

This evening I’ve been reading in the paper an article about systematic gang rape as a deliberate act of war in the Congo. The contrast between our judicial system, alive and well, compared to the total lack of justice in the Congo for a such widespread violation of fellow human beings is awful to think about. “No man is an island...” said the poet John Donne.

Obama week

2009-01-23T13:32:00.001Z

What an extraordinary week! All the news flooding out of America as Barack Obama hits the track sprinting. He certainly used the days between election and taking over office to good effect.

I heard a interview (BBC Radio4) which surprised both the interviewer and me,and has kept me thinking. One black person felt that with the Inauguration, he felt like he now belonged to America, and that now it was more his country, he would make more effort to get involved in solving its problems. Yet this man was born in America, and had been ‘american’ for all his life. Before this week, he did not really believe this was ‘his country’. If this hope and energy can be harnessed, maybe America will turn around in many new ways in the upcoming years.

Certainly I take hope from a new willingness to interact with world affairs, and the recruitment of experienced people whatever their creed.

Frost icicles

2009-01-12T15:09:00.003Z

I took this picture on Sunday. I can’t remember having seen frost like this in the UK. It was was all so beautiful in the countryside - cold though!

Filling empty lorries & Wood to burn...

2008-12-24T13:00:00.004Z

I've just been listening to a programme on Radio 4 on 'You and Yours' (www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/youandyours) which had two interesting items:
(You can listen again to these by going to
www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/youandyours/listenagain/wednesday.shtml)

The first was a neat website aimed at filling lorries with loads on return journeys. People can negotiate/bid for space for otherwise empty space. What a great idea. I wonder if they transport boats and boat bits.....

The second was an article on Firewood to use in wood-burning stoves. This poem was read out:

LOGS TO BURN

Logs to burn, logs to burn,
Logs to save the coal a turn
Here's a word to make you wise,
When you hear the woodman's cries.
Never heed his usual tale,
That he has good logs for sale,
But read these lines and really learn,
the proper kind of logs to burn.

OAK logs will warm you well,
If they're old and dry.
LARCH logs of pine wood smell,
But the sparks will fly.
BEECH logs for Christmas time,
YEW logs heat well.
SCOTCH logs it is a crime,
For anyone to sell.

BIRCH logs will burn too fast,
CHESTNUT scarce at all
HAWTHORN logs are good to last,
If you cut them in the fall
HOLLY logs will burn like wax
You should burn them green
ELM logs like smouldering flax
No flame to be seen

PEAR logs and APPLE logs,
they will scent your room.
CHERRY logs across the dogs,
Smell like flowers in bloom
But ASH logs, all smooth and grey,
burn them green or old;
Buy up all that come your way,
They're worth their weight in gold.

(I can't find an Author to attribute this to - sorry. It can be found in E. M. Hull’s Poem Book of the Gael:)

Note that all woods burn better when seasoned and some burn better when split rather than as whole logs. In general the better woods for burning that you are most likely to come by (including non-native species) are:

Apple and pear – burning slowly and steadily with little flame but good heat. The scent is also pleasing.

Ash – the best burning wood providing plenty of heat (will also burn green but you should not need to do this!)

Beech and hornbeam – good when well seasoned

Birch – good heat and a bright flame – burns quickly.

Blackthorn and hawthorn – very good – burn slowly but with good heat

Cherry – also burns slowly with good heat and a pleasant scent.

Cypress – burns well but fast when seasoned, and may spit

Hazel – good, but hazel has so many other uses hopefully you won’t have to burn it!

Holly – good when well seasoned

Horse Chestnut – good flame and heating power but spits a lot.

Larch – fairly good for heat but crackles and spits

Maple – good.

Oak – very old dry seasoned oak is excellent, burning slowly with a good heat

Pine – burns well with a bright flame but crackles and spits

Poplar – avoid all poplar wood – it burns very slowly with little heat – which is why poplar is used to make matchsticks.

Willow – very good – in fact there is growing interest in biomass production of coppiced willow as a fuel.

Another poem:

Logs to burn
Oaken logs if dry and old
Keep away the winter cold;
Poplar gives a bitter smoke
Fills your eyes and makes you choke;
Elm wood burns like graveyard mould,
Even the very flames are cold;
Apple wood will scent the room
Pear wood smells as flowers in bloom;
But Ash wood wet and Ash wood dry
A King to warm his slippers by.

Beech wood fires burn bright and clear
If the logs are kept for a year;
Chestnut's only good, they say,
If for years, 'tis stored away.
Birch and firwoods burn too fast
Blaze too bright, and do not last;
But Ash wood green and Ash wood brown
Are fit for a Queen with a golden crown.

Printed in the Emmerdale Farm book of Country Lore (Hamlyn, out of print)

Season's Greetings to all!

Bits and pieces

2008-12-09T11:29:00.002Z

Its been a busy time.

I have just retired from doing committee work. My choice - its simply the right time for me to move on. Leaving the International Sailing Federation (ISAF) had some poignant moments - I've been a committee member for 22 years. No doubt next November will feel very strange when I would normally be getting revved up for my meetings. My fellow committee members were lovely to me, so I leave with a full and warm heart.

One of my life-coaching clients, who came to me suffering from a fear of flying phobia, has just successfully completed her first return flight for many years, so that's great cause for celebration!

I've been working on a new website, so that has taken up many of my spare computer moments. This blog will be transferred to that, so be prepared to change your bookmarks soon.

I've been meeting with some colleagues about forming an association of relationship counsellors - a kind of one stop shop for those whose relationships could do with a boost, or in the case of breakdown, those who need to sort out the end of the relationship (for themselves and maybe their children) and then move on. We've all found that people's needs can be so various at such a tough time. We are all professionals who, if we think we cannot meet our clients needs will refer them onto other specialists. Yet we only pass on people to those we trust. By forming a professional association and setting ourselves standards to meet, we think we can provide a broader service by learning and trusting those whose standards match our own, but in slightly different specialities - facilitation, counseling, life coaching, mediation, psychotherapy, child support, bereavement. Watch this space!

Voices and accents

2008-11-03T22:59:00.002Z

It is amazing what you find on the internet.

Try this site for some fascinating minutes:
www.bbc.co.uk/voices/recordings

ROXY interior - Vendee Globe

2008-11-01T18:48:00.003Z

I'm going to be actively supporting Sam Davis on 'Roxy' in the Vendee Globe solo round-the-world race because I used to sail with Sam. We were on the Mumm 36 team 'Bradamante' together for two years. I was tactician and Sam became the bowperson.

The Race starts next Saturday November 9th, and there is LOTS of activity going on. Go to www.vendeeglobe.org

There's also going to be virtual games running for this one, so if you fancy signing up go to www.virtualregatta.com Its a lot shorter race than the Volvo ( which will last around 8 months I think) as there won't be any stops. The Vendee Globe will be around 3 months long, but you must join within 15 days of the real race start. With the Volvo you can join anytime as the race has stop-overs - although I'm not sure yet what happens if you haven't got into port by the time the real race starts out again.

In the meantime, I just came across an amazing shot of the navigation station of 'Roxy'. Go to www.360ouest.com/panoramas and then click on page 2, and look for ID.631 ROXY. This where Sam is likely to spend nearly all her time down below, including sleeping I believe.

Volvo Ocean Race Virtual Game

2008-10-28T12:05:00.004Z

I haven't had so much fun on a computer for long time!

The Volvo Ocean Race started over 2 weeks ago from southern Spain with eight boats. The Virtual Race started at the same time, and now has 43,408 boats. We're all in a battle (real and virtual) to get across the southern Atlantic. Its fascinating!

With windshifts every 12 hours in in the Virtual Race, there is a considerable amount of logging on at 11am and 11pm (UK time) to check short term tactics against long term strategy. I'm partnering my real life sailing partner, and we're finding it really helpful to improve communications between us when making decisions. This will definitely benefit our double-handed racing results offshore.

There is no doubt that, for some, this activity has taken over their lives. Go to
www.volvooceanracegame.org/news.php?id=54
to read a very amusing little story and response.

Wessex NLP Practice Group

2008-10-23T20:28:00.002+01:00

My local NLP practice group has been re-launched as Wessex NLP. The website is at www.wessexnlp.btik.com/ Anybody who has done an NLP course with any provider is welcome. We meet in central Winchester ever 4th Wednesday most months. Its a fun group - be welcome!

Carbon Footprints

2008-09-18T11:00:00.003+01:00

For a number of reasons - often convenience - I'm train much more nowadays.

I'm just off to Weymouth by train and am feeling very virtuous after having compared the journey by car or train on this website: www.transportdirect.info
I'm using only 9.7 kg of CO2 emissions rather than 20.5 kgs.

Have a look for yourself.

Olympics and Paralympics

2008-09-15T11:06:00.001+01:00

What a difference a few weeks makes! By the end of the Olympics all the sailing world in GB were flying high with a record number of medals – 4 gold, 1 silver and 1 bronze as well as the accolade of top nation for the third Olympics running. Delightful for me as I had coached sailors in not just the four gold medal boats but also the Spaniard Fernando Echaverri who won the Tornado Gold (as well as Sofia Bekatorou – Bronze - as already mentioned).

This last week has been the Paralympics, and as a selector of the Team I have taken a very keen interest. Unfortunately they’ve had a rough time, and have finished 5th Skud, 6th Sonar and 7th 2.4mR. My commiserations to all the sailors and coaches. We have a wrap-up meeting at the Sail for Gold regatta this week so the priority has to be learning the lessons for next time.

Sail for Gold www.skandiasailforgoldregatta.co.uk/ kicks off this week and no doubt will get many visitors now looking towards 2021. I think a number of our now (justly) famous medallists will be there. They’ve produced a Mac widget to get a direct link to news in Weymouth which is fun for me as a Mac user!

Super Sunday!

2008-08-17T21:46:00.000+01:00

I’ve had a lovely day! Ben Ainslie has won Gold in the Finn Class and Sarah Ayton, Sarah Webb and Pippa Wilson have won Gold in the Yngling Class for Team GBR. Absolutely fantastic.

In addition, the Greek Yngling Team have won the bronze medal.

And I’ve coached them all.

My delighted congratulations to them all.

Cowes Week

2008-08-04T20:52:00.001+01:00

I had a lots of fun sailing on 'Full Pelt' today until our mast fell down. We'd just got into the lead too. Very sad. The photo shows us being towed home.

We had to avoid a buoy that was on our track - and luffing up caused us to broach. After hanging off the back like a monkey, the boat came upright again after letting go of the spinnaker halyard but then the spinnaker went in the water and the drag broke the mast.

I was particularly sad as I was was doing mainsheet today, and had worked hard up the long beats against the tide only to have it all come to nought. However it was fun sailing with the team - Duncan, Piglet, Chris, Jo and Deegs.

The foggiest so far

2008-07-11T10:33:00.003+01:00

QingDao is certainly a foggy place at this time of year. Here is the Greek Yngling being towed just 15 metres behind the motorboat. This huge city - 8 million people and the 8th largest in China - is warm and humid right now, and we have been getting a lot of fog. We've been getting lot of weed too but the many workers from the Chinese Army and local populace have been doing a really good job to clear it. It looked for a few days as if they had nearly cleared it all away but we came across some really big patches today so it must still be growing.

Things are in the final countdown here to the Olympics. Security is getting tighter and the final tidy up is under way. Everyone is friendly and helpful.

China Olympics and beyond

2008-06-27T17:15:00.004+01:00

With Beijing soon to start, I know all the teams are in the final stages of preparation. One of my friends from the circuit, Sofia Bekatorou - the Greek gold medallist from 2004 in the 470 Class - has asked me to give her a last minute boost to her programme. So I'm off to Qingdao soon, and will get to experience for myself the fog and the tides that everyone has been talking about.

While so much sporting interest is zeroing into this Aug/Sept, I've had occasion to help find advice for a couple of youngsters in long distance running and Triathalon - best coaching, study-sport balance etc. With 2012 coming, it is really encouraging to talk to some excellent people in UK Athletics with an approachable yet practical commonsense attitude. This is especially important as I note that parents are encouraging of their very talented youngsters to consider a sports career, whereas normally I think academia and business would take precedence. Its great to have such a good infrastructure in Sport in this country - very uplifting!

MOCRA and double-handed racing

2008-05-27T17:56:00.005+01:00

I’ve been racing a Dragonfly a few times recently www.multihullsolutions.co.uk and have thoroughly enjoyed myself. In particular, the racing in the Royal Southampton YC www.rsyc.org.uk double-handed series.

I love the speed we travel, the tactics and strategy of sailing coastal races and the constant action of sailing short-handed. The social life is good too. A few weekends ago we went for dinner in the Weymouth curry house. Six people from three boats made a lot of experiences to talk about, with highs and lows to be shared. So very different from having one big crew around one table and in a similar state of mind from that day’s racing.

Prince2

2008-05-22T12:06:00.001+01:00

Whey hey! Just found our that I have passed my Prince 2 Project Management exams. I’m very pleased, not least that it has been some time since I have taken exams. Good course too - it really helped to straighten out my ideas on structure and processes. Thinking back over past projects, it is now much clearer why what went right and wrong.

Now my plan of putting my two strengths of project management and coaching together as one offering is coming together.

It was interesting how resourceful my NLP training was when those old exam nerves kicked in. NLP really is good stuff!

A head for heights

2008-05-15T11:36:00.000+01:00

I went climbing recently and was delighted to find that I have finally overcome my totally irrational fear of heights.

I am so pleased,especially since I used to take such pleasure in climbing in trees as a kid, yet that got eroded in adulthood to the stage where I came out of one experience as a gibbering wreck. I’ve been working up to this for some time using NLP techniques and high ropes courses. This time was on the cliffs at Swannage.

We were under the very expert tuition of Chris Barratt. I fully recommend him to others who want a very safe, reassuring yet fun experience. Visit his very nice website at www.chrisbarratt.co.uk

Time wasting or mind stretching?

2008-04-22T23:37:00.004+01:00

Try this:

http://spaceplace.nasa.gov/en/kids/games.shtml

The Possibility Virus

2008-04-10T22:16:00.000+01:00

I subscribe to ‘Outside the Lines’ - a newsletter by Canadian Michael Bungay Stanier. This month’s is SO wide-ranging and certainly thought provoking. He’s posted it on his ‘Possibility Virus’ website www.possibilityvirus.com/blog/2008/04/07/do-you-want-to-cheat-death/ Some of its a bit gruesome or eerie but keep going and it’ll get you thinking about change.

Creativity and Education

2008-04-04T12:36:00.001+01:00

Go have a look at this talk by Sir Ken Robinson on TED www.ted.com/index.php/talks/view/id/66 . This very entertaining talk is about the serious subject of how we educate people out of creativity. Very much food for thought.

Ken Robinson was the Chairman, of a committee that produced a report for the british Government in 1999 called ‘All our Futures’ www.dfes.gov.uk/naccce/index1.shtml . I was given some statistics out of this report on the measure of genius level of creativity by age:
Age 3-5 98% have Genius level creativity
8-10 32%
13-15 10%
25+ 2%

How disturbing is this!

I was asked the question recently - ‘how creative are you in your life?’ and I find myself making surprising discoveries of instances today, especially having released myself from the definition of creative = art. However, I have also discovered how often I constrict myself from achieving and richer life, usually by allowing time pressure to get to me. More action required!

What I do know is that I find sailing well a creative experience. I was helming a beautiful 50’ yacht ‘Atlantis’ down the channel to Dover the other day and had a lot of fun steering precisely right in the waves. I was just watching the waves with total concentration, no other thoughts or self-talk. Beautiful.

RORC Easter Regatta

2008-03-23T22:59:00.001Z

I’ve just finished coaching at the RORC Red Funnel Easter Regatta in Cowes - wet and windy this year. It was such a shame two days were blown off. It was a pleasure to see the big boats in action today - fast, furious and fun!

I’ve been to a lot of prizegivings in my life but this one is one of the best. The prizes are Easter Eggs,and the way it’s conducted by Janet Grosvenor is just fun.

The coaching came from an alliance of the RORC with the RYA and is getting better year on year. It's providing real added value to the regatta. Jim Saltonstall led the way with, as usual, an exemplary demonstration of peppering education with entertainment in the Regatta Centre in the West Cowes Marina. While walking down the High Street Jim came across a passer-by with a real live ferret, and a photo was duely taken. In recognition of Jim’s relationship with all his ‘ferrets’ I hope it gets put up on the RORC website www.rorc.org when the staff transfer from the Disrespect back up to St. James.

French Lighthouses in BIG waves

2008-03-13T20:00:00.001Z

Just have a look at this!

www.kimhollamby.com/blog/

TED

2008-03-03T22:18:00.002Z

One of the nice things about the power of blogging is the ability to share. I take great pleasure in sharing this latest find - TED

www.ted.com

Have fun!

small actions X lots of people = big change

2008-02-15T22:06:00.001Z

I was with a group of friends in Devon the other day, where I heard about a website described to me as ‘a global movement for random acts of kindness’. With a description like that I just had to go and look.

www.wearewhatwedo.org is fascinating. A lovely resource for practical ways of making a difference. Have fun!

Improvement through review

2008-02-12T18:03:00.000Z

I’ve been looking at new ways of improving my diction recently in light of the work done while gaining my Masters in NLP at the end of last year. To that end I’ve just bought a nifty little voice recorder, and have been using it this last four days in my role as trainer on the RYA Keelboat Coaches Course, where we were looking at how to coach rather than what to coach.

It has proved a very good feedback tool, and has enabled me to start to making improvements to my speech, so I’m very pleased. We had the RYA’s Keelboat Manager with us observing, which proved very useful as I was able to obtain feedback from him too which opened a window into a potential improvement in session planning which will prove of great benefit in future.

The course is not run on a frequent basis, so we always request the filling out of feedback forms, and run a de-brief for ourselves to generate improvements for next year. We are reassured this time that last year’s changes have been for the better, and hope that next year’s will be even better.

I used to be afraid of feedback. Now I welcome it

Word play

2008-01-16T22:30:00.000Z

Here's a nice piece of software - www.visualthesaurus.com .

I enjoy words and this has to be the ultimate word exploration tool. Lots of fun to play with, as well as fulfilling a serious function.

ooops - retract that!

2008-01-10T09:28:00.000Z

From Neil Gladwell: I'm afraid that you, like many others, have picked up on the petition about UK tidal data copyright without knowing that one of the basic statements of the petition is wrong. I publish tide tables here in the UK, I have a licence from the United Kingdom Hydrographic Office (UKHO) to do it and as of last year that licence cost me nothing at all. Its not true when Mr Bartholomew states Currently Her Majesty's Government is requiring payment by any who wish to use and publish this data. Sure I used to have to pay but it was a tiny amount, around 1p sterling for each copy of my main publication, and that was only because I wanted to use the data for commercial ends. I hope you have the chance to mention the petition isn't correct or amend your report.

Ah well. Still - the No.10 website still makes interesting reading.

Petitions

2008-01-09T10:29:00.001Z

Scuttlebutt, the sailing news via the web, www.scuttlebutt.com, publicised a request to sign a petition for allow all British tidal data to be available to users free of charge.

In signing up I found myself on the 10 Downing Street website www.pm.gov.uk/output/Page1.asp where the petitions page houses all sorts of wonders. The top (!) petition is a request to allow the Red Arrow to fly over the 2012 Olympics (244909 signatures). Another in the top 5 is ‘Make Jeremy Clarkson Prime Minister (38876 signatures).

The Tide Table petition has gone a log way to go (1481 signatures) but very little time - the deadline in 11th January, so get signing! www.petitions.pm.gov.uk/Tidetable-data

Winchester Cathedral

2007-12-29T20:17:00.000Z

Winchester has got a HUGE cathedral. It costs in excess of £2 million a year to keep it in good condition, so the fundraising activities to do this are extensive. For the second year running there has been an Ice Rink in the Catherdral Close, and a lot of fun being had by all.

A trawl around the website www.winchester-cathedral.co.uk turns up many other interesting facts. There are over 600 volunteers working for the Cathedral, and if you want, you can volunteer to become a ‘Holy Duster’. The crypt, which currently houses a sculpture by Anthony Gormely floods so the water laps the sculpture’s toes. The latest ‘News’ includes an interesting discussion of the use and make-up of incense http://www.winchester-cathedral.org.uk/new/community/1/

There is a major choral tradition here, and the music is beautiful. I recently attended one of the carol concerts and it was fantastic. One of the plus points of being a resident is that I can get a year’s pass into the building to explore at will without paying the tourist entry rates, or to sometimes just stop and sit.

NLP Master

2007-12-22T16:41:00.000Z

I’ve just completed my Master’s qualification in NLP with Pegasus www.nlp-now.co.uk - whey-hey! I’m really pleased. A tough course which has added immeasurably to my skills and techniques tool-kit.

Part of the qualification is a modelling project, and I chose how to dock a motorboat. In common with many racing sailors, my seamanship skills are not so sharp and I really admire the skill and panache shown by people who often make their living the water.

The Boatmen from the Royal Lymington Yacht Club www.rlymyc.co.uk and Mike Morgan, a self-employed powerboat trainer along with his son Tom all gave me the benefit of their awesome skills and experience. I learnt so much, and they helped me to prepare a great project. My thanks to them all.

MOCRA sailing

2007-11-26T10:53:00.000Z

Went sailing yesterday. What a great day for it. Sunny and wind without being damp or freezing.

I sailed with a friend on his Dragonfly - a trimaran that has fold-in in the outriggers for docking/storage. We were racing in a Royal Southampton Sailing Club (RSYC) club race and had loads of fun. Beer, food and good company in the bar afterwards rounded off a good day. Well worth getting out of bed for.

Multihull sailing (racing and cruising) is run by MOCRA http://mocra-cruising.org.uk . While there are all sorts of events through the year, all the south coast multihulls come together for the winter to race together in the RSYC winter series http://www.rsyc.org.uk.

What’s so fun is that you can sail with many fewer crew than most monohulls, are more involved by being shorter-handed and you go faster!

ISAF Conference

2007-11-21T22:13:00.000Z

I’ve just come back from the International Sailing Federation Conference (ISAF) in Lisbon. Tough year – we had to vote to drop an event at the Olympics. Its never fun being part of the decision–making process, but one thing is for sure. We do our best to represent sailors’ interests both those competing now and those who will compete in the future, and none of us take this responsibility lightly - whatever commentators in the press say.

99 Rooms

2007-10-21T23:33:00.000+01:00

If you have a few minutes to spare, try this one..............
http://99rooms.terracontent.de/99rooms/99rooms.htm...
Extraordinary!

NLP Masters & Living Creatively

2007-10-10T15:21:00.000+01:00

I’m now in the middle of taking my Masters course with Pegasus NLP www.pegasusnlp.co.uk . Fascinating stuff. We are looking how people communicate with us through language in relation to their inner concept of the world. It’s a bit like looking through multiple spiders webs all on once – all carefully constructed and interwoven. Roll on the rest of the course!

For fun I also booked on a weekend’s course ‘Living Creatively’ www.livingcreatively.co.uk in Swannage. I am already reaping the benefit of a great time, in that I look around me on a daily basis with different eyes. The big benefit is that I am finding myself getting tidier in my home – I want to live in a space that is good to look at. This unexpected gain is already proving a daily boon. I am also operating with the sort of conviction that makes me realise this is not a flash in the pan change in myself. The other things I learnt have great capacity of bringing me joy. Time well spent!

Team GBR Olympic Team Announcement

2007-09-18T15:03:00.000+01:00

The team so far picked has just been announced. http://www.rya.org.uk/NewsAndEvents/newsroom/news/teamgbrbeijingsquad.htm

Those selected for definite are:

Yngling – women’s keelboat
Sarah Ayton, Sarah Webb and Pippa Wilson
49er – skiff
Stevie Morrison and Ben Rhodes
Laser – men’s one person dinghy
Paul Goodison

Then come a group who will be selected subject to the agreement of, and delivery against, certain performance targets:

RS:X – men’s windsurfer
Nick Dempsey
RS:X – women’s windsurfer
Bryony Shaw
470 – men’s two person dinghy
Nick Rogers and Joe Glanfield
470 – women’s two person dinghy
Christina Bassadone and Saskia Clark
Tornado – multihull
Leigh McMillan and Will Howden

In the Laser Radial class (women’s one person dinghy) the trials process will continue for a shortlist of four sailors – namely Charlotte Dobson, Penny Clark, Andrea Brewster and Lizzie Vickers – whose performances will be assessed at a number of regattas in the spring of 2008.

In the Finn (heavyweight dinghy) and Star (men’s keelboat) classes, the RYA’s selectors have deferred their selection decisions, pending further discussions with the sailors concerned.

The latter decision has to refer to Ben Ainslie and Iain Percy being declared earlier this week with major roles to play in the British America’s Cup challenge http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/other_sports/sailing/6994764.stm

So my ex-crew member Annie Lush didn’t make it ( crewing for Shirley Robertson). Twice – so near and yet so far. My heart goes out to her.

‘Corinthian’

2007-09-10T15:41:00.000+01:00

Scuttlebutt, the daily internet sailing news www.scuttlebutt.europe , has come up with two stories today. This first one, from John Rousmaniere, I find fascinating since the term ‘corinthian’ is bandied around every so often in defense of all sorts of traditions, yet in fact the original meaning is very different:

‘The image of a "Corinthian" as a buttoned-up, blue-blazered, stiff-necked amateur yachtsman is relatively new. The word originated with the citizens of the ancient port of Corinth who were famous both as fine sailors and as exuberant risk-takers in numerous activities, legal and otherwise. "It was a place of proverbial wickedness, energy, riches, noise," A.N. Wilson says of first-century Corinth. A.N. Wilson says of first-century Corinth. Evidence of the rebellious nature of the Corinthians can be found in the New Testament in St. Paul's chiding letters to the city's early Christians. Centuries later, Shakespeare had wild young prince Hal describe himself as "a Corinthian, a lad of mettle, a good boy."

So when young American and British amateur racing sailors 150 years or so ago called themselves and their yacht clubs "Corinthian," they were identifying their efforts as a revolution. The skill and courage required for a volunteer sailor to prepare, command, and crew a big, fragile racing sailboat in a very professional (and very rough) game were noteworthy. So too was the love of risk that lay behind it - a daring not always found among professionals and their wealthy patrons.’

Team GBR in SPYING ROW WITH CHINA

2007-09-10T15:31:00.000+01:00

And here is the second Scuttlebutt article. This may have more fiction than fact in it, but it sounds amazing:

BRITISH SAILING TEAM IN SPYING ROW WITH CHINA Britain is embroiled in a bizarre spying row with China after the confiscation of weather monitoring equipment used by the British Olympic sailing team.

The gear was taken when Chinese police officers raided the team's flat, which is near a Chinese Navy submarine training base in the northern city of Qingdao.

They removed two 5ft tall weather stations, worth 8,000, from the apartment and sent them for analysis.

The team is in China preparing for next year's Olympics and had been using the equipment to download data on temperatures and wave and wind directions.

Stephen Park, the Royal Yachting Association's Olympic manager, said last night: "We have been told by friends and sources in China that the authorities thought our equipment could be used for spying. In fact, it is purely so we know the precise weather conditions we will encounter."

He added: "We have informed Foreign Office officials.

"We'd like the equipment back."

The raid took place in March last year and the equipment has not yet been returned.

Zhao Shangsen, spokesman for the Chinese Embassy in London, said: "I am not in a position to comment on the details of the incident." -- The Daily Mail, http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/news.html?in_article_id=480806&in_page_id=1770&in_a_source=

5 and 3/4 Questions

2007-08-23T11:02:00.000+01:00

I subscribe to an e-mail newsletter from Michael Bungay Stanier called Box of Crayons www.boxofcrayons.biz . I enjoy his mix of quotes and resources, and his determined exuberance. He’s just posted a small ‘movie’ called 5 and ¾ Questions You’ve Been Avoiding www.fivebigquestions.com/ . The cartoon is neat and the questions relevant, although I didn’t take up on the free course so can’t comment on that.

I looked at these questions straight after getting the final British results of the Sailing Team competing in Qingdao, China at the Olympic Test Event. With the outdoors as our arena, sailing always has test events prior to the Olympics to check that the organisation, logistics and equipment will work on the day. With just one year to go before the Olympics themselves, this event is one of the indicators to which sailors and nations are on current top form.

Having won 5 golds and 1 silver out a possible 11 classes, the Brits are totally dominating the podium. Fantastic. Well done to both sailors and management. For the results and stories visit www.sailing.org

My mind has wandered into making connections between the 5 and ¾ Questions, and the high/low life of being an Olympic competitor. With Qingdao being one of the selection milestones for the final British Team, hopes will have been justified or dashed by the results. I wonder what the sailors would answer if they asked these questions of themselves now……………

Singing

2007-08-20T19:10:00.000+01:00

I’ve just re-energised by the NLP-by-the-Sea Conference in Bournemouth. My goals of meeting like minded people and exploring what was on offer were well and truly met. Great ideas and good talking.

For the last session I chose to have an expert singing tutorial from Ali Sharpe www.alisharpe.co.uk . This was a real stretch for me. I used to sing in choirs as a school kid, but am well out of practice and at the last wedding I went to I could hear myself singing out of tune and got very self-conscious about it. Ali did a great job for all eight of us (I couldn’t hide!) and we were soon all singing in the round. Strong African rhythms and lots of others really got us all going. Loads of fun!

Radio, jazz and family memories

2007-08-01T18:30:00.000+01:00

I’ve just spent a lot of the last two days in the car going to a family celebration. I listened to BBC Radio 4 most of the travelling time, and was well entertained. We are so lucky to have good chat and music stations in this country. I was once asked what I would miss most if I ever emigrated, and my answer was our changeable seasons and our radio.

The Jazz radio station has just started up on digital http://www.thejazz.com . The sister station to Classic FM, it hasn’t got a lot of advertising yet and so has been an exceptional pleasure to listen to. I’m not keen on the type of jazz that coming from jamming sessions, but I now appreciate what a far-ranging sound it is.

An inevitable part of family occasions is catching up with news. This time, one of the older members bought a couple of old photo albums and wills with him, and it bought forth an amazing amount of memories. One of my great-great-great- uncles had two wives who had twelve children each! All the women at the party commented how old the women looked in photos taken when they were about 40 – tough lives, with little joy. Makes me glad for the life I have.

The Wind is Calling!

2007-07-10T20:15:00.000+01:00

Exciting times! The America’s Cup has just ended, in a sail-off that finally bought the event into the realms of a top sporting event. The Swiss (so called) won from the Kiwis by just one second in what in other sports would have been called a photo finish. Heart-stopping stuff! For those that didn’t have a chance to follow the event live but want to catch up there’s a good and short run-down on all the Challenger series and the America’s Cup itself on the website www.americascup.com

Right now the ISAF Sailing Worlds are on for the Olympic Classes in Cascais, Portugal. I know so many people competing that I find myself constantly scanning the result for updates. So far, of my ex-pupils Fernando Echaverri of Spain has won the Tornado Worlds and Iain Percy (GBR) got Bronze in the Star Worlds. The event finals are staggered over a number of days, so there are more results to come yet.

Of particular interest is the Yngling Class. My old crew Annie Lush is middlewoman with Shirley Robertson and Lucy MacGregor. They are locked in battle with Sarah Ayton, Sarah Webb and Pippa Wilson with the Sarahs and Pippa in first place, one point in front of Shirley, Annie and Lucy. This event is the most important part of the British Olympic Trials, so it is an all important regatta for them all. The tension must be incredible there in Portugal. Come to think of it, I’ve coached them all at one time or another. www.cascaisworlds2007.com

Magnificent Clouds!

2007-06-23T08:38:00.000+01:00

Its been a couple of days of thunderstorms. While the bangs and flashes can be startling from the safety of home, they bring to mind all sorts of stories of lightening strikes while out sailing. Luckily I’ve not been hit (yet!).

The upside is the fantastic clouds that are around right now. Magnificent and vigorous growths of upward swelling energy. Fantastic and improbable light and dark contrasts. Last night the clouds were further tinged by sunset. I love seeing them – all the more since I have a better than layman’s knowledge about what is going on inside them. Great stuff!

Too busy to live life

2007-06-13T12:16:00.000+01:00

There are times when you can be too busy to live your life. I’ve just been through one of these helping to prepare an MOD bid for Berkshire Consultancy www.berkshire.co.uk . It was a big one, and surviving it was sooooooo… like a sailing campaign. 7 day a week working for weeks on end, doing what can be done to stay healthy (eating, sleeping), reviewing as I went along to work not just hard but smart.

My years of running sailing teams came in very handy, especially in motivating us all when it looked like too big a task to finish. I am also grateful for the skills learnt in mindmapping and NLP, without which I would have been considerably more disorganised and more emotionally vulnerable to stress as fast approaching deadline took its toll.

I enjoyed meeting the other people involved in the bid, and I wish them well as they move back into their normal lives. Now its back to my own life.

Review methods

2007-05-18T09:06:00.000+01:00

I’m a believer in the power of review. I’ve been collecting ways of doing it for some years now and here are the best so far:

· State three things that have gone well, and three things to improve next time?

· What were the two decisions that changed the way we performed and having looked at these, what could be done to improve for the future?

· In my performance, what were 3 good points, 2 not so good, and what is the one thing I'd change?

There are two patterns to good de-briefs:

· They acknowledge both the good and the bad

· They look towards improving the future rather than staying locked in the past

For me, the power of de-briefing leads to rapid and systematic improvement. As I said – I am a true believer.

Dancing for Exercise

2007-04-21T12:42:00.000+01:00

Having spent all my life keeping fit through sailing and for sailing campaigns, I have difficulty feeling motivated to going to the gym if my life is focussed on other goals. I find I associate gyms in particular with the grind of using weights to gain strength.

I have a friend who keeps very fit without the goal-set mentality – she does it by doing things she enjoys. One of her activities is dancing – Mo-Jive. It turns out there are many organisations, an example of which is www.danceyourselfdizzy.com Of course it does depend on having a regular enough life to be able to commit fairly regular evenings while learning, but since women aim to follow the man’s lead in this sort of dancing, it’s the men whole bear the bigger brunt of the education.

Great fun. And getting fit too.

RORC Red Funnel Easter Regatta

2007-04-10T12:28:00.000+01:00

Lots of fun was had by all this Easter. I was part of the coaching team for this ‘beginning of the season’ regatta run by the Royal Ocean Racing Club www.rorc.org.uk out of Cowes, and much to everyone’s surprise given the lack of wind forecast, we got a lot of racing in.

It was one of the very few times that the Sailing Instructions have been amended to allow coaching during racing, so it was a great opportunity to get coaching ‘in the moment’. In terms of coaching style, it was interesting how much more directive my coaching became in response to this, and it was good to see the massive improvements that could be made to performance.

There was far more coaching available than normal with the RYA www.rya.org.uk using the event to broaden the knowledge base for coaches who have recently trained as RYA Keelboat Coaches or those who are thinking of getting their qualification this year. As one of the RYA’s Keelboat Coach Trainers, I fully supported this initiative, and all the feedback I got was positive.

One of the more endearing aspects is that the Regatta Prizes are chocolate Easter Eggs. At the end, all children in the room are awarded and egg – ocean racers of the future! http://rorc.org/photos/gallery/thumbnails.php?album=18

Advice vs. coaching

2007-03-31T15:38:00.001+01:00

I often get asked ‘what is Life Coaching? The answer – ‘coaching on any issue in life’. The variety is endless. I have coached people through change of life directions, relationship break-ups, weight loss programmes, phobias, careers choices, grief, work situations and a host of others.

What do people get from Life Coaching rather than advice from friends and family? I find that advice is usually given by starting ‘Well…… If I was you I’d…….and this sums up it up for me. Someone giving advice does it from their experience of life, and they are giving you what their reaction would be if they were standing in your shoes. While getting another point of view often helps, it doesn’t always. One client said to me recently ‘Long standing friends keep telling me what to do, but they aren’t me, and what they tell me isn’t right for me right now.’

My job is to establish where my client wants to go, and helping them set a realistic plan to get there. Then, when checking progress along the way, either praising or re-setting the immediate goals to something more appropriate. I provide questions that stretch and challenge old patterns of thinking and assumptions.

A set of six sessions will last between six weeks and 3-4 months, and can be face-to-face or on the telephone. Its all about providing a structure for development that allows time for new patterns of behaviour to establish. Its very different from ‘Giving Advice’.

Peripheral Vision

2007-03-19T11:31:00.001Z

Over this winter I have been playing with the implications of habitual use of various ranges of vision, in life as well as in sport. Part of my NLP training includes the widening use of the senses, and there I really learnt about peripheral vision from Tara Dominick, NLP Trainer http://www.flipsidetraining.co.uk/ and www.livingcreatively.co.uk (I thought I knew what she meant when she first described it - after all, wasn’t I a top sportsperson? But no – she really opened my eyes – literally).

The first fascination was sparked by the information that people use peripheral vision when driving, and those who do this a lot do not find themselves growing sleepy at the wheel – which is a big problem for me on any journey over 90 minutes. So I’ve been trying it out. Not only do I find it easier to stay awake, but the constant absorption of more data seems to keep me more alert and less tired at the end of the journey. I am also able to resist snacking – which I normally do to try and keep awake.

The second revelation has been using it in groups when I am in coaching or lecture mode. I can pick up people’s reactions all over the room, and my sense of timing of appropriate interventions is more accurate now.

The third discovery has been the enhanced ability to observe a group of people in action and be able to pick up either patterns or breaks in the flow of behaviours. And I thought this was skill that was closed to me.

The fourth thought that I am still exploring is that a sailors’ starting preference depends on their sight preference – peripheral or tight focus.

I have been guided by a colleague to website for training visual ability and flexibility – http://www.eyethinksport.com/ . Developed for team sports where knowledge of the positioning of either team-mates or competition is a key part of a player’s proficiency, the tasks, especially undertaken daily, create a training package well worth exploring. The ‘mind gym for the eye’ is really good and certainly expands anyone’s visual capacity.

Evening Social Groups

2007-03-15T10:00:00.000Z

I did a talk last night for the Hamble Ladies Group – a social group that meets monthly. It was a really nice evening – a touch base with the camaraderie that makes with world go round from day to day. I met a friend from 35-40 years ago from when I was crewing for my Father in GP14s www.gp14class.org.uk It really took me back.

I chose to start the talk by sharing the experience of walking into the Olympic Stadium in 1984 for the Opening Ceremony. What a special moment that was – riding high on all the hopes before the toughness of the competition itself.

One of the biggest impacts of that moment was the unfamiliarity of being in front of a huge crowd – in sailing we rarely perform in front of an audience. That was the first of the ‘party’ type ceremonies that have become the trademark of such occasions now. The most recent Games parties I attended were in Sydney for the Paralympics, where I was Team Leader and Coach for the British sailors – and they were amazing – fireworks and colour everywhere. I hear that Qing Dao, the host city for sailing in 2008, did the Sailing Test Event in 2006 proud with a true performance – and of course fireworks originated in China so they were splendid. I wonder what 2012 will bring?

Dog sitting

2007-02-25T13:26:00.000Z

I’ve been dog-sitting for friends for the past 10 days, and have had an insight into the world of pet-keeping that I’ve never experienced before. I know ‘Pepper’ well, as I regularly walk her. She’s a beautiful 11 year old Dobermann, and soft and friendly with it.

Looking after a dog 24/7 is an insight into another world – the world of pack animals. I learnt a lot about establishing boundaries and seniority – especially when Pepper started to chew my slippers!

I also made discoveries about saying what I mean. Calling the dog to ‘Come here’ is a high pitched voice which tilts up at the end of the sentence while wondering if she will come back just does not work. Alignment of thinking, body stance and voice (range, timbre and expression) to put clear and assertive messages across worked far better.

I had been steered towards these discoveries by a friend talking about a place in Yorkshire where you can practice assertion through working with border collies as they herd sheep and other animals www.bordercollies.co.uk . Now I fully understand how this can happen.

Mind you, for Pepper, chasing rabbits and deer still take precedence over any mere mortal wanting to go home.

Media changes

2007-02-14T21:19:00.000Z

I am a member of the RYA’s Paralympic Steering group, which decides policy and selection for the British Paralympic sailing effort. Recently one of us attended an update on 2012 www.london2012.org for our group and he reported back on a presentation from the BBC.

A very effective presentation (to be expected!) pointed out that the techniques for reporting on sport in 1948 (the last time London hosted the Olympics) and Sydney 2000 were essentially the same. Then there was more change between 2000 and 2004 than the previous 52 years. And the speed of technological advancement continues to heat up, to the point that every minute of sport in Beijing 2008 www.en.beijing2008.cn will be available somewhere (traditional media, websites, blogs) to anyone who can find it.

I am reminded to be grateful that I pay my license fee for the BBC www.bbc.co.uk since the freedom this gives them to stay at the forefront of such changes means 2012 will be great viewing, and will probably set new standards for sports reporting in the world.

In the meantime, one of the sailing magazines, Yachting World www.yachting-world.com is filling a gaping gap in sailing media with their Editorial blogs and podcasts. The international sailing community adopted internet communication very early on, and we have excellent ‘newspapers’ such as the Daily Sail and newsletters such as Scuttlebutt as well as websites galore, but the use of new media by Andrew Bray, David Glen, Elaine Bunting and Matthew Sheahan add comment and opinions more along the lines of the serious traditional paper newssheets such as the Guardian, the Times etc. I applaud the initiative.

Coaching the 1st 100 days of a new job

2007-02-03T14:14:00.000Z

I find the work I do for Berkshire Consultancy www.berkshire.co.uk fulfilling. I coach newly recruited high-flying executives through the first 100 days of their new job.

That first half year in a new company is often frantic – you have been employed to make a real difference, you are learning on your feet and the demands on your time and judgement just keeps coming at you relentlessly. Yet it’s a competitive environment – you don’t yet know who’s word to trust, and you dare not show a weakness. At the same time, your personal life may be suffering from the long hours you are putting into work, and if a relocation is necessary too, the going gets really tough.

I’m finding that top managers value a coach to get them through this time. I help them decide priorities, and act as a bouncing board to work through ideas and responses to challenges presented as they occur. My clients find they come out of the first six months with a clearer idea of where they are going, without having alienated people (colleagues and staff) unnecessarily, and with private needs acknowledged. In addition, the portfolio of initiatives they have generated is better balanced by having created time for reflection when under pressure to prove their worth. In short, they have established themselves to good effect to the powers that be.

It’s always great contributing to success!

Fear & Helen Keller

2007-01-04T12:09:00.000Z

Its odd how things come together. Today I came across a quote which seems to link into what I talked about in my last blog yesterday.

Security is mostly a superstition. It does not exist in nature....
Life is either a daring adventure or nothing. -- Helen Keller

I am presuming this is the Helen Keller, a deaf-blind mute child who was encouraged to join the world by her teacher Anne Sullivan. http://www.rnib.org.uk/xpedio/groups/public/documents/publicwebsite/public_keller.hcsp

This thought has certainly got me thinking.

Overcoming fear

2007-01-02T22:13:00.000Z

A lot of work that I’ve been doing recently with clients has been around self confidence, in the context of making new futures for themselves. Self confidence is at the bottom of so many things – selling oneself or your product, self-promotion, the delivery of proposals, points of view, or presentations. Even more basic is having the faith to continue on with your vision against either big challenges or the steady attrition of time, and stasis.

Most people I come across have got oodles of self confidence in their own environment, yet going out into strange territory – well that’s something different. That stretch is really tough. What helps?

What makes any situation do much worse is fear. It might be fear of death which, if the situation is physically dangerous may be a very sensible reaction, since it generates the flight, flight or freeze response. Since fear of any sort taps into the basic physical responses, sometimes small fears get out of control and grow. Fear of failure can become like this, and often holds people back – me included - when outside their comfort zone.

I’ve been mulling it over for years – how to overcome fear. My personal experience in sailing has taught me that do what scares me just once, and then fear diminishes. And to do it once, you must act. A big act is paralyzing, so make each action small so the stretch required is possible – just. Lots of small steps can lead up to one giant stride. Having overcome the fear once, and when facing similar conditions in future, a little self-talk (‘I’ve been here and survived this before’) works wonders.

NLP http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neuro-linguistic_programming has taught me a lot about overcoming apprehension in social situations. NLP has helped me to bring together all those social rules about coping, that get quoted by those who are good at mingling, into one framework, and has given me tools to transfer learning and confidence from one situation to another.

Quotes on courage, especially from those who have experienced war, make me think. This one plucks chords with me. ‘Courage is not the lack of fear. It is acting in spite of it.’ Mark Twain.

Yet how to make that step into action? Inspiration and faith in outside agencies can help. Yet what comes from within? Self worth and not letting that down by inaction is part of it. I have used a quote from the book ‘Dune’ by Frank Herbert for years as a mantra:
‘I must not fear. Fear is the mind-killer. Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration. I will face my fear. I will permit it to pass over me and through me. And when it has gone past I will turn the inner eye to see its path. Where the fear has gone there will be nothing. Only I will remain.’

For myself, this helps me take control back into my life and act, whatever the future holds. What action to take has come from learning – from life, sailing and NLP. As each year goes by I am thankful for that learning. Age may give wrinkles but it also gives me a richer life.

Christmas is coming........

2006-12-20T17:50:00.000Z

With Christmas coming up, it’s been an incredibly busy time – not just for me but everyone I know. And yet it’s also a time of memories and rituals. I’ve just been sent an article on ‘Why we party at this time of year’.

Did you know?
Winter Solstice has been celebrated in cultures the world over for thousands of years. This start of the solar year is a celebration of Light and the rebirth of the Sun. In old Europe, it was known as Yule, from the Norse, Jul, meaning wheel. Today, many people in Western-based cultures refer to this holiday as "Christmas." Yet a look into its origins of Christmas reveals its Pagan roots. Emperor Aurelian established December 25 as the birthday of the "Invincible Sun" in the third century as part of the Roman Winter Solstice celebrations. Shortly thereafter, in 273, the Christian church selected this day to represent the birthday of Jesus, and by 336, this Roman solar feast day was Christianized. January 6, celebrated as Epiphany in Christendom and linked with the visit of the Magi, was originally an Egyptian date for the Winter Solstice.

Most of the customs, lore, symbols, and rituals associated with "Christmas" actually are linked to Winter Solstice celebrations of ancient Pagan cultures.

Season’s Greetings everyone!

Here’s one turkey that got away – maybe!

Hard- and software hassle!

2006-12-13T12:58:00.000Z

There’s only one thing I regret about being self-employed, and that is the need to source and sort out my own hard- and software – cars, computers, phones etc. I’m upgrading and re-organising various bits of essential office equipment right now, and am undergoing the frustrations of things just not working first time, or unexpected glitches turning up.

The one supplier service I never bemoan having is access to people who fix my computer. The guys at Soluxion www.soluxion.com look after me and my hassles - with a will and a laugh which always helps to defuse the accumulated tension. Computers are central to my life now so it’s essential keep everything working in synch.

Funnily enough, one of the outstanding improvements to work life when I went freelance in 1990 was getting my own computor for the first time, and no longer being dependant on the whims of typists to get my reports finished. Thank goodness computers have got more reliable and faster since those days.

Coaching Articles

2006-12-06T00:04:00.000Z

I write articles on coaching for Dinghy magazine http://www.dinghysailingmagazine.co.uk/ .
I enjoy doing it since sometimes the simple subjects are the most stretching. The issue about to come out has my article on ‘What makes a good coach?’ and it took a bit of thought to get to the real core of what I believe is quality coaching.

I used three excellent sources for background material – Alan Olive the Coach Educator at the RYA http://www.rya.org.uk/, Ben Cowley, researcher at sportscoach UK http://www.sportscoachuk.org/ and the book ‘Coaching with NLP’ by Joseph O’Connor and Andrea Lages, ISBN: 0007151225.

I also thought long and hard about how coaches inspire people to do better. I thought about my old mate Jim Saltonstall, who is renowned for his ability to get his sailors to sail really well when it matters, and what shone though my thinking was the sheer force of his character that he uses to such good effect at critical moments to inspire belief. When being coached by Jim you get the feeling that he has faith in you, and because you trust him, if follows that you then have trust in yourself.

I had cause to look at this article again (I wrote it a month ago now) while preparing some work for the business consultancy I belong to, Berkshire Consultancy http://www.berkshire.co.uk/ . Reading it again with my consultancy hat on, a lot of what I have written rings true for coaching in business too – a proof to me that coaching really is a universal skill.

Parents & Sport

2006-11-27T17:52:00.000Z

I was steered towards a great website the other day. www.britishtennisparents.com has advice which is relevant to parents of any sport. I’m a believer in having parents included in sport – after all they spend far more time with their children than coaches do, and are consequently far more influential.

What’s impressive to me about this website is that so much good advice has been captured and made accessible to anyone at the click of a mouse. I’ve done information sessions for parents all of my professional coaching life, yet I know the knowledge only every reached a few who were there on the day.

IOC Women & Sport Awards 2007 nomination

2006-11-17T22:40:00.000Z

Rather fun! I’m being nominated for the IOC Continental Award for Europe www.olympic.org/uk/organisation/missions/women/full_story_uk.asp?id=1748
by the International Sailing Federation www.sailing.org for next year in ‘recognition of the significant contribution you have made to the sport of sailing’. Two other ISAF women are being nominated – Adrienne Greenward (NZL) for Oceania and Fiona Kidd (CAN) for North Canada/America. Nucci Novi Ceppellini (ITA), one our Vice Presidents won the World Award a few years ago.

Buddies

2006-11-09T13:33:00.000Z

The International Sailing Federation (ISAF) Conference www.isaf.org is a big event that comes round inexorably every year. It’s always a time of frantic last minute preparation, lots of paperwork and intense listening to English with lots of difference accents. We are a truly multi-cultural organisation yet we need one language to communicate with.

It happens to be English, which makes it easy for me in some ways, but does mean that my spoken English must be comprehensible and spoken well, and that part of my role is to ensure that those for whom English is their second or third language get both opportunity and time to construct and express their thoughts.

Two years ago we formalised this need into a Buddy system for the female Committee Members. It has worked outstandingly well. I was delighted to note that in Women’s Committee, every single woman spoke and with effect. The contribution to the quality of the debate was evident.

And on a personal level, it’s great to make contacts and friendships across the world!

International Sailing Conference

2006-11-03T16:46:00.000Z

I’ve just arrived in Helsinki for the International Sailing Federation (ISAF) Conference www.sailing.org I sit on two committees at the current time – I’ve given my bit back to sailing for many years through this organisation.

The Youth Development Committee agenda seems thin compared to my other committee, the Women’s Sailing Committee. However I’m happy about that since it will give us more chance to work out ways to be effective across the diversity of the world while promoting the growth of a single sport. The ‘Connect to Sailing’ linkage is very important to our sport, both in the UK via the RYA www.rya.org.uk and in the rest of the world, linking as it does youth and the sailing industry.

The Women’s Sailing committee agenda is much thicker, dealing with a number of ongoing ‘hot’ issues. Women’s representation in the decision making layers of our sport, and the first flurries of submissions leading up to the choice of boats for the Olympic Classes for London 2012.

Key to our work is developing strategies, and I am particularly interested in progressing both women’s development worldwide and the women’s area of the ISAF website. For many years I was the moderator of the Women’s Website Forum until finally defeated by software issues.

I missed last year’s Conference due to breaking my leg 2 days before flying out. Since last year was the first time the newly elected committees met, I’m catch-up mode this year. I was instrumental in putting a Buddy scheme in place last year, which worked so well we were asked to repeat it this year. I’m looking forward to meeting my Buddies from Brazil, Italy and Turkey.

Girls Weekend pics

2006-10-25T11:53:00.000+01:00

Junior Girls’ Camp

2006-10-25T11:33:00.000+01:00

Its been a very busy few days. A project that I have been working towards for many months finally came off this weekend. 50 girls, one age 10, one age 11 and the rest 12,13,14 and 15 came to the Weymouth & Portland National Sailing Academy http://www.wpnsa.org.uk/ to be trained by 11 top calibre women coaches – 2 of whom are currently campaigning for the Olympics in Qing Dao 2008.

This was the first event in a 5 year commitment by the Royal Yachting Association http://www.rya.org.uk/NewsAndEvents/newsroom/news/girlsdevwend.htm to invest in its up and coming young women. With a mix of sailing (in strong winds) and workshops this weekend focussed on the importance of friendships – making them, keeping them as they change squads and classes, and understanding the difference between friends and professional crew, squad and team relationships.

The initial feedback is good. The girls thought the weekend was fun, different, they learnt about assertion vs. aggression (an important difference in sport), they made friends, they thought the coaches were amazing and they want another weekend like it. They also wanted more sailing, which was to do with the way the scheduling worked. If being inspired to want more sailing was the only downside, then I’m happy!

The parents have told us that many of the girls chatted non-stop on the way home. One parent e-mailed to say “I think the thing that sums it up is that my daughter has come home saying she is now determined to get to the top and get an Olympic medal - whether that happens or does not is immaterial - its the fact that she has come away from the weekend believing anything is possible...previously it did not occur to her that that may be possible as she didn’t think she would ever be good enough -but this weekend has inspired her.”

We’ve learnt a lot from the weekend. Time will tell if the effects from the weekend are long-lasting, and I am well aware that if you change one part of a closed system, the rest will also shift so I will watch and listen with interest over the next year before preparing for next year’s camp.

Keelboat Coaches Course 2006

2006-10-14T17:28:00.000+01:00

I was recently a Tutor on a ‘Train the Trainer Course’ for RYA Keelboat coaches. A lot of fun was had by all!

Junior Girls’ Only Training

2006-09-18T15:11:00.000+01:00

Later this year, 21/22 October, I am Course Director for a rather special weekend. I am running a Junior Girl’s Only training weekend for the Royal Yachting Association www.rya.org.uk. This weekend will be repeated every year for five years with the aim of creating a lasting attitude change towards performance equality. 55-60 girls age 8-15 will be in Weymouth for the weekend with all the coaches and support team being women.

While the main thrust of the weekend is becoming a better sailor, we are also running some sessions on raising awareness of on social issues that we think are holding the girls back in their performance. We can identify this because this age group sail mixed in the boys – one of the few sports to do so. We’re also decking out the Weymouth and Portland Sailing Academy with posters of sporting women, and holding a Sailors Forum on Saturday night to introduce the girls to some of the current top women in sailing, to introduce role models into their lives.

I’ve just been writing the workshop briefs. The subjects are ‘Leaving and Joining groups – making it easier’, ‘Friendships and Performance Teams – can you have both in one crew?’, ‘Similarities & Differences between sailing boys and girls – what are the best parts to take into racing?’ and ‘Assertiveness training’. The coaches themselves will decide how to make these issues into workshops. I am welcoming the parents to come and find out what we doing, since the issues our young women face are not isolated from society.

I am putting in various measurements through which I hope we can track changes in both attitude and performance over the 5 years – it is 22 years since I went to the Olympics and proved women are as good as men, and its about time that pioneering stops featuring in a top female sailor’s campaign.

The whole project is starting to gather steam now. I’m really looking forward to it.

Fierce Conversations

2006-09-05T09:21:00.000+01:00

I’ve just been doing some work with someone who finds it difficult to talk to people when they’ve let her down. It transpired that she becomes very confrontational or else avoids the whole subject for as long as possible. I introduced her to ‘Fierce Conversations’ – a lovely technique that gives structure to all those tricky conversations in ways that get people listening to one another. Through this, things start moving away from the sticking point, although sometimes in unexpected directions. She’s gone off to practice.

Susan Scott developed the concepts in her book ‘Fierce Conversations: Achieving Success at Work and in Life, One Conversation at a Time’. This thought, amongst her many thoughts on conversations, caught my attention:
‘The conversation is a relationship – it is the tangible expression of the relationship. If we keep adding to the list of things we can’t talk about, possibilities in the relationship become smaller.’

Hmmmm……..food for thought.

Training for Public Speaking

2006-08-25T16:23:00.000+01:00

I am just putting together a swathe of lectures for this winter, aimed at all three sectors of my business – Business, Sailing and Life. I have a lot of talks in the past and decided to upgrade my skills with a touch of training. I chose Cordelia Ditton of www.voicebusinesstraining.co.uk to help me, and I am so pleased I did! I had a great day, and the training tackled many more areas than I had thought may be on the cards.

Now, I know how and when to relax before a speech, how my voice works and to warm up my vocal chords (by singing in the shower!) and how to present myself in those oh-so-critical first minutes of standing in front of an audience. What was also invaluable that Cordelia helped me to put the whole endeavour in a strategic context, and showed me ways of creating a cohesive talk. I also learnt the value of ‘the pause’ in punctuation to generate the full effect of the words spoken.

Above all, I had fun! If public speaking is a chore for you, award yourself a spot of voice training to gain confidence and capability.

NLP by the Sea

2006-08-24T16:09:00.000+01:00

In order to transfer my coaching skills from the world of sport to Life Coaching, I chose to empower myself by learning about NLP. I chose a great course - practical, hands-on and ethical – with Pegasus NLP www.nlp-now.co.uk , and what I have learnt fits me like a glove.

Last weekend, one of the Pegasus ‘graduates’ hosted a conference in Bournemouth. It lived up to its aim of being exploratory and fun. I finally started to get to grips with some of the language patterns which had eluded me before (Milton for those who know) and I learnt a lot about cooking with my senses ( I now know I never smelt ingredients before unless I suspected they were off, and only tasted food in the final stages before adding salt & pepper). Neil Connolly and Ben Reeve from www.idevelop.co.uk enabled me to discover all of this. I also met Wendy Sullivan www.smallchangecompany.co.uk face to face and what a professional lady! She led me through a ‘clean language – discover your metaphorical landscape session’ and was exceptionally clever in her questioning.

Of course the other great part was meeting with old friends and new acquaintances. The atmosphere at this event was so friendly it was like meeting people having shed that first defensive skin that we human beings tend to put up to the world. A lovely weekend!

The Past and History

2006-08-17T16:28:00.000+01:00

When I want to stretch my mind, I turn to Science Fiction. I like the odd twists and alternative realities contained therein. I find myself diverted, astounded, shocked or smiling as the vehicle of fiction enables me to suspend my disbelief in what I am reading.

Mary Gentle’s books often deal with alternative realities, time travel and the ‘what could have been’ or ‘may be yet’ of history. I’ve just read a short story called ‘The Logistics of Carthage’, a pre-quel novella to her novel ‘Ash’ and in her afterward she gives her own definition of the difference between history and the past.

She says;
‘The past happened. It’s just that we cannot recover it. History is what we can recover, and it’s a collection of fallible memories, inconvenient documents, disconcerting new facts and solemn cultural bedtime stories.

….those inconvenient things on which history is based: memoirs, archaeological artefacts, fakes, scholarship tussles and quantum mechanics.’

Quantum mechanics? My mind is boggling.

My thoughts keep coming back to this definition, especially when I read of attempts to ‘re-write history’, or the publication of new school history books in new regimes in the world, or the jailing in Austria of the Englishman who denies the Holocaust happened. What are the facts on which I base my view of the world? What about other people? What is the boundary between fact and fiction? How did the writers of the history text books used in my schooling – the last time I am aware I read a ‘history’ book - decide which facts to put in, and which to leave out?

Wouldn’t life be boring if we were all the same?

Satisfying work

2006-08-09T09:40:00.000+01:00

In the last couple of weeks a number of my Life Coaching clients have come to the conclusion of their issues. The journeys they chose to undertake have proved to be so rewarding that I find myself smiling just at the memory of those final moments. I do enjoy the work I do. I’m lucky.

Talent Coaching in Business and Sport

2006-08-01T11:04:00.000+01:00

I am an Associate with Berkshire Consultancy Ltd. http://www.berkshire.co.uk/ Recently we’ve been working on delivering Talent Coaching for a couple of businesses. The companies involved have identified talented individuals that they wish to develop not just in process skills but also maturity of outlook so the programme is a mix of nuturing and hard challenge. The coaching is done in real time, with real projects so that the performance of these ‘Talents’ can make a real difference to their futures.

At times the role we play moves into education – especially about business processes, techniques and people management to ensure the projects do not fail from lack of knowledge. At other times, we may adopt the role of mentor to pass on experience. However the central approach is to coach these high flyers through the issues they confront – helping them make measured decisions in the face of risk, to reflect and to grow into their responsibilities and capabilities.

I am struck with how similar this is to sports coaching at elite level. Treating top talent as individuals and helping them realise their potential so that you see them begin to fly is the development nub of elite sports coaching. It is often assumed that sport has a relevance to business – in this case there is a direct parallel. High achievers in sport and business have lots in common despite the arena for action being so different. Certainly the coach's crux is the same - when to support or when to challenge your keen and driven charge.

RYA Junior Topper Squad 2006 at Lake Garda

2006-08-01T11:01:00.000+01:00

Beautiful Lake Garda, Italy - Topper Worlds venue

2006-08-01T10:55:00.000+01:00

Topper Worlds Lake Garda

2006-07-23T19:13:00.000+01:00

I’ve been in Malcesne, Lake Garda, Italy at the Topper World Championships http://www.itcaworld.org/ (have a look at the photograph under ‘Racing’ to see a picture of this magnificent sailing venue) as part of the coaching team for the RYA National Junior Squad under National Coach Dave Cockerill. It has been a pleasure to coach so many talented young people (I’m not sure of their exact ages but I guess 13-15 year olds).

The Fraglia Vela Club has new premises, and although not quite finished yet, promises to be one of the best Championship venues on the Lake. A modern building built on reclaimed land it has a grass roof so that people on the mountain retain the impression of a natural vista when looking down on the lake. The Club Officials were friendly and the Race Officer was top notch. The boats have been re-vamped in recently to make them easier for the not-so-strong to sail well and the competition of 180 sailors was of high quality, and with good depth.

The only thing missing was wind for a critical 20 minute period during the very last race, which caused controversy as the championship lead changed twice. Andy Brown from Budworth put together an excellent series and then won the last race to tie for first place with Bleddyn Mon from Red Wharf Bay in North Wales who had started the event with an incredible five straight wins. The tie-breaker system awarded the Championship to Andy. Andy and Bleddyn will meet again at the Topper nationals in Weymouth in a couple of weeks’ time http://www.gbrtopper.co.uk Both are really good sailors, and worth watching in future.

Coaching sailors in this age group is a delight. The performance issues are generally the same – there is no difference in how the sailing as a sport is conducted for adults and children, and indeed this week was open to all ages. However the mask that goes into place with experience and years to hide adult emotions is missing, so each high or low is vividly broadcast. My heart went out to those experiencing desperate disappointment – very tough stuff - yet was uplifted by the spontaneous sharing of excitement and happiness by the youngsters when things went well. My best wishes to the Class and all the sailors.

General Sailing and Specialist Campaign Coaching

2006-07-08T17:14:00.000+01:00

I’ve been putting together my thoughts about the work that I do in sailing. As I do it so often and so naturally, it’s been a good discipline for me to stand back and see the wood for the trees.

My definition of a sailing coach is to be a generalist at the sport. A good coach will have no voids in their knowledge or ability, and will have a few great strengths. Experience (personal sailing background, range of classes trained and regattas attended at home and abroad) also helps to build the range and reliability of the service. Some years ago I was running a Coaches Seminar in Poland on behalf of the International Sailing Federation http://www.sailing.org/ and I was asked to identify the number of ‘hats’ that a coach can be called upon to wear – 36 were identified!

Why do I find it important not to have a void? Because a Coach could be called to deal with any experience at any time - in the discipline of the sport or in the life surrounding it - especially when working abroad with teams. Sometimes coaches get together and swap stories (and learn from) our weird/difficult/outlandish experiences and some of the tales make your mouth drop open and the hairs stand up on your neck. Unless it’s your story, you come away thankful that had not happened to you – yet! The one thing that Coaches seem to fall back on is common sense.

What is common sense? I guess it is some kind of amalgam of experience (either first- or second-hand), the underlying moral code (society’s and personal) upon which so many of our behaviours are based, an instinct for danger which develops as you travel and compete, and the ability to assess the options reliably at some level and let only a few rise to the surface to be decided upon. Anybody else like to add to this?

At elite level the Specialist or Consultant coach is beginning to emerge as the circuit now demands nearly full-time sailors all fighting for advantage. For myself I am enjoying taking advantage of this by offering Campaign Coaching. I am known for the holistic way I have structured my own Olympic campaigns, and for my people and team skills which have been further honed by the business and life coaching I do. I use these strengths to help competitors to step up the professionalism of their campaigns.

I know that speed, that illusive ‘win all’ holy grail in sailing, comes from two component parts – technology and the sailors themselves. Yet in the ceaseless hunt for a technical edge, ‘sailor speed’ can get left behind. Any sailor who gets broken by the demands of competition or a team that breaks down under pressure knows the cost of not attending to this aspect. Good planning, dealing with stress, building the team, coping with the unexpected, handling conflicts, learning leadership, finding and managing money and contractors, climbing the pecking order, balancing compulsion with life………the list goes on. This is my strength. This is what I do as my Speciality. This is how I make a winning contribution to a competitor’s campaign.

Voluntary work

2006-06-30T14:10:00.000+01:00

I’ve just been helping post the mail-out of a catalogue for the Art Gallery in my village - go look at the website www.artsway.org.uk to be surprised at what can turn up in the middle of the New Forest. I do it voluntarily, and the only tangible thing I get back is a cup of tea, yet I get enormous pleasure from being involved in keeping such an endeavour up and running.

What is it about volunteering that can do that? I guess for me it fulfils that need to be generous with my time and skill (although working a franking machine doesn’t take much skill I sit on committees where my skill usage is more evident). I like having a part of my life that is not driven by the commercial need to put a value on activities through which I make my income.

I know the Royal Yachting Association has been looking at ‘volunteering’ for a few years now, given the socio-economic changes in club member’s life-styles allied to the ever-restricting legal requirements. They’ve got some great Good Practice stuff on their website www.rya.org.uk/WorkingWithUs/volunteers/ and a key part is recognition for what effort, and I guess that’s why I enjoy the odd hour I give ArtSway – I feel appreciated by being given that cup of tea and the friendly welcome.

Contacting me

2006-06-19T12:33:00.000+01:00

If you want to contact me, send me an e-mail on cathy@cathyfoster.co.uk. Otherwise phone me on 07771 784441 or +44 7771 784441 if calling from outside the UK.

Fitness, weight loss and life

2006-06-19T12:30:00.000+01:00

I’ve had cause to think really hard about my fitness grounding from my sports background in recent weeks. I’ve been working with a couple of people on weight loss and trimming body shape. Neither have the sports training I’ve had, so what parallels could I draw that would be of use to them?

Alongside this, I have been reflecting on my own personal reluctance to follow the exercise programmes given to me by physiotherapists over this winter to help me recover from a broken leg. The programmes have made perfect sense, I have wanted to get back to full fitness and mobility as quickly as possible, and yet………I do them for a few days and then something gets in the way, and then I realise I’ve given up.

I have so wished for someone to coach me through this - to keep me on track and motivated!

I’ve concluded that
1. There are some issues that I cannot coach myself on, and fitness is one of them. Sounds crazy when I’ve been ultra fit for lots of my life, but my metabolism has changed now I spend more time at the computer. In addition the body requires regular routines to settle into if improvement is to be continuous – and I like bucking routine!
2. My failure to do the programmes is NOT lack of will.
3. The issue is not so much fitness as fitting it in with life. Everyone always says ‘it’ll only take…..(5, 15, 30 minutes to do). But every day! That’s a lot of adjustment to make to my life.

So much of sports coaching in this arena is based on monitering and results and seems to be confrontational, ‘succeed or fail’, judgemental. Yet what I really want is someone on my side – to converse with me regularly, to help me talk out the frustrations, to help me find solutions to the myriad of things that get in the way, to help me from feeling overwhelmed by guilt.

Now I find that joining people for a while as a friend in their journey to a different body shape seems to work. I never thought I would be grateful to my broken leg for something, but as so often happens, every cloud has a silver lining.

Rapport by telephone

2006-06-01T18:13:00.000+01:00

It never ceases to astonish me what can be done on the telephone in Life Coaching. I’ve been having conversations with several clients recently which have been full of imagery and movement, and I really feel like I am there with them, yet in fact I’m miles away with all the mysteries of transmitting voices via physics in between.

However I’m not at all sure I’m looking forward to the day of telephone calls which include visuals. Sometimes the anonymity of voice alone is a good thing. If/when vision comes, I’m going to invest in a mask that I can hide behind, since one of the good things about working from home is that you don’t have to dress up for work every day - just like Wilma Flintstone (for those who go back that far!) Dabba dabba dooooooo……!

Competitive Behaviour

2006-05-15T10:30:00.000+01:00

A couple of nights ago some things I had been mulling over for some time all came together. A group of people who have done their NLP training with Pegasus NLP Trainings www.nlp-now.co.uk now meet in Bournemouth every month to share ideas, progress and to practice what we have learnt. This time we explored the use of the TOTE technique, a tool for eliciting the strategies that people use in their lives. We focussed this time on ‘What do you do well in your life?’ and I did ‘competition’.

I know a lot about competition. I have played sports all my life, and won two World Championships, 15 European and National Championships as well as finishing 7th at the Olympics in 1984. I’ve also lost a lot – one of the truths about sailing is that it teaches you to cope with losing as well as winning. I know that the rewards of competing aren’t always finishing first – doing the best you can is often (but not always) as good. I ‘do’ competition well – I’m an expert at it.

In sport we often start work with an athlete by identifying strengths and weaknesses, and one of the patterns I have identified is that huge strengths in some situations are often massive weaknesses in others. This holds true for me about competition. Sometimes I end up competing against people in wholly inappropriate situations.

I have now gained a real insight into the issue. I understand far more about why I and others use competitive behaviour outside the forum of competitive events, and how, if selectively applied, it can be put to good use, but also not-so-good use. Now I recognise what triggers this response so that from here on, I can create that little bit of space in both myself and others I work with to judge whether the situation requires a competitive reaction or not.

I do enjoy these insights into the why’s, wherefore’s and when’s of life!

Race-training in a positive way

2006-05-11T12:30:00.000+01:00

I was coaching on board a racing yacht at the weekend – a Mumm 30 for those that know about these things. My client – an owner-driver in this very competitive class – had identified that he could start well is there was a gap to go into, but if there were lots of boats around, then he tended to shy away . So the aim of the time spent afloat was to focus in-depth on the boat-positioning skills needed for the start of a race. I was the on-board-the yacht coach, and my old friend Jim Saltonstall was the coach-in-a-RIB (motorboat) videoing it all from off the boat.

Everyone enjoyed having the two coaches with contrasting but complementary styles there. My client made huge strides, ably assisted by his very willing crew, who worked hard when it would have been all too easy to switch off attention. So often in sports coaching its about taking people to the extremes they fear in the safe environment of a training session in order to develop confidence and flexibility in their reactions for the more normal operations of the sport. My client discovered he had less to worry about than he thought, he developed some techniques to help him to retain control of the boat and that he could trust his crew to help him get out of trouble.

I have been working hard to discipline my coaching style to work off the positives for some time now – and I find time and time again it just works. It never fails to impress me how people seem to be able to shift long-standing less helpful behaviours by keeping the atmosphere up-beat when working on some hard-edged and tricky stuff. This is not a soft, comfortable approach – quite the contrary. I’m finding an atmosphere of respect is generated in which solid work can be done, and consequently, people make greater progress than before.

Clean Language Teleclass

2006-05-09T17:35:00.000+01:00

Blog 8May06

I’ve just done the Clean Language tele-class with Wendy Sullivan. Fascinating experience. I really enjoyed it. We got to practice a number of clean language questions on each other, which was fun. But just as good were the experiences of being questioned and observing the way it worked for others. It gave me the chance to develop a note-taking structure that I will go on to use when recording key words and phrases in conversations during life- and executive-coaching sessions.

It became very clear that it helps to use Clean Language in a way that addresses the outcomes that the person (client) is working towards, rather than the problems. Otherwise you and the client lead each other into less productive arenas. But the wonder of it all is how powerful peoples’ metaphors are – what a constant surprise to work with! That really appeals to me.

There’s a conference with David Groves in the UK later in the year – I wasn’t going to go but I may now.

News about past clients

2006-04-29T12:02:00.000+01:00

It’s just great hearing good things about people I have been very involved with in the past. Vered Bouskila from Israel, who I coached throughout 2005, has just finished 1st as part of a new team at one of the Grade 1 international sailing regattas – Hyeres, South of France. The results are at http://sof.ffvoile.net/results/470w.htm

I am so delighted for her. She has had a tough time recently and it is just great to see her talent having a chance to develop in a new partnership.

At the same regatta, Annie Lush who sailed with me in our Olympic Campaign 2002-3 in the Yngling class, http://www.cathyfoster.co.uk, was sailing with Nancy Haberland and they finished 4th. Again great news for both. Annie is now an incredibly accomplished international crew, and a World Champion in her own right, while I coached Nancy as part of Carol Cronin's Yngling crew during 2004 after our own campaign finished early. Well done them.

Beaulieu Boat Jumble

2006-04-25T22:21:00.000+01:00

I'm just recovering from a very busy weekend. I've been to the sailing equivalent of a car boot sale in an attempt to reduce 30 years worth of chandlery items. A very interesting experience. It is the first time I've been to Beaulieu Boat Jumble, and its huge! However there were lots of 'shamateur' stalls in amongst the boating enthusiasts looking to re-cycle their old sailing stuff.

I didn't sell much, and some of the more juicy items got stolen so I'm feeling a little bruised by the experience. The preparation and general organisation I put into it went very well, but I'm not an experienced retail salesperson and it showed. The whole thing has reminded me of a very strong lesson I've learnt in the course of my life - focus on what you are good at. In this case being super-organised was no substitute for a poor selling effort.

Hey ho - plans to go to a car boot sale for the next clear out of old worldly goods have been banned from my mind for ever, and eBay, here I come!

2006-04-17T11:27:00.000+01:00

Hi. This is me - Cathy Foster, otherwise known as cathy-coach.

My biography describes what I do.

Clean Language

2006-04-17T11:05:00.000+01:00

A fascinating week for me. I am exploring how NLP can be integrated into my sailing life and work as well as my Life Coaching. I went to an NLP conference last Saturday that while a butterfly experience was none the less rich for that. One of the ‘how to market yourself’ presentations encouraged us to try blogging as a way of establishing an internet presence, so here I am.

I picked up a number of NLP books on subjects that I find particularly intriguing – coaching, NLP and sports coaching and ‘Clean Language’ – and am now steadily working through them.

Clean Language is appealing to me since the many years of coaching sailing at elite level has taught me the power of asking the appropriate question at the right time and in the right way. I want to expand the skills I have already acquired to further effect.

Clean Language is a technique developed by David Groves in which he uses metaphor to ‘heal the child within’. The book describing what he does is ‘Metaphors in the Mind – James Lawley and Penny Thompkins. I may never use the technique itself – it was developed for psychotherapy use – but then again, I may. Wendy Sullivan www.smallchangecompany.com is the main proponent in the UK, and her website describes other uses of clean language in areas I’m interested in – Life and Executive Coaching - so I’ve signed up to one her free teleclasses to try it out. I’ll report back later!

2006-04-10T20:28:00.000+01:00

Hi. This is my first ever blog. Very exciting.

I will write about the coaching I do. I've been a sail-racing coach for 16 years, and over the last 12 months have decided to take my skills sideways into Life and Executive coaching. I'm having a great time discovering whole new worlds out there!