The Economic winter, that is.

An interesting and unmentioned slant from my piece in the Sunday Business Post yesterday about the growing Irish population in Australia was that I was one of said emigrants.  I could have written the article about myself, if I hadn’t had to come home. I came home from Australia in February, under duress, and were I still in Australia today, coming home would be a very tough call.

Sun, surf – Australia has a lot going for it in terms of lifestyle.  Ask most Irish over there what is the worst thing about it, and they’re likely to say the distance from home. If only we could up Ireland’s anchor and tow it through the Suez, down into the Indian Ocean.

If you can stand the removal from friends or family, or if you can convince enough of them to join you,  conditions for life down under are remarkably good. Work is plentiful, relatively speaking. Your money goes further and your options are broader. The lifestyle is healthier. The media down there (newspapers/TV) is utter shite, but generally there are better things to be doing outdoors (which is probably why Aussie blogging is minimal).

The piece is here. Make up your own minds.

…Should probably be protected with sailing gloves when sailing.

Below the fold is a pic of my shredded hands – the result of one day’s racing on Lough Ree. I should have known better. Since this, life has been pretty busy, and I haven’t really had time for sailing. I’ve been buried in work, taking on the family business, and writing too.

A summer without sailing and pure work meant my hands were soft as silk, and not ready for ropework. The result – typically nasty burns, much screaming in the shower after sailing when the shampoo hit them, and two days now with curled, painful, cracking openings on my fingers.

A friend’s dad came into the factory looking for embroidery last week, and we got chatting about the recent SB3 World Championships, for which I was writing the press releases and providing commentary and podcasts on Afloat magazine’s website.

He mentioned the Lough Ree event, and left with his embroidery but also two crew for the trip to Lough Ree. Thanks, Roger. Great weekend. And the highlight? MORE ASLAAANNNNN.

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