HERIZEN™ SAILING FOR WOMEN

"SAILING IN AWARENESS" NEWS - FALL 2004

WHAT'S IN THIS ISSUE?

Sailing in Awareness Retreats" Summer Season Update

HERIZEN™ Grad Profile "Sailing in Confidence with Arlene Phillips"

Tropical Caribbean Sailing Adventure with HERIZEN™

Sailing Announcements

Boating in Awareness Safety Tips

What's new at HERIZEN™?

"SAILING IN AWARENESS" SUMMER SEASON UPDATE

Our 2004 summer “Sailing in Awareness Retreats” operated out of Nanaimo Harbour B.C., Canada, were a huge success. This year we had over 40 women from all parts of the world come and join us for 5 to 7 days of sailing & self-awareness adventure.

The summer sailing season started at the end of April and finished the first week of October. Weather conditions this season were variable with everything from sunshine, high thermal winds at the end of July, along with temperatures in the 30 degree Celsius mark. August was delightful until we hit rain in the third week which never let up until mid September. For the most part we always had wind to fill our sails. Some of us really got to practice our reefing and docking skills with the stronger winds.

This years clients came from France, Lebanon, Hawaii, New York, Oregon, Alberta, California, Washington and many areas of British Columbia. We truly are global!

Our women sailors were aged between 18 and 68 and each had a different objective for why they came. A few clients had been sailing for many years and now wanted to take command of the helm or really master sail trim or learn to more effectively apply the skills they already had. Others had always wanted to learn to sail and had maybe tried it briefly when then were younger. A number of clients were embarking on an around the world adventure with their partners and wanted to be more confident in their own abilities and learn what to do if their partners fell overboard! Others came with friends and wanted to experience a new adventure together, learn a new skill, improve communications, be part of a team and ultimately have FUN! Others just wanted to learn to be a more fun and skilled sailing partner.

The one thing that all HERIZEN™ clients had in common, besides being women, is that each really wanted the confidence to either utilize the skills they already had or gain the confidence to acquire new skills and then apply these in a way that worked for them.

To build that Confidence, we expanded on our “AWARENESS".

Awareness begins in a place few choose to venture: inside.

The process can be one of great enlightenment which ultimately leads to CONFIDENCE. Sailing skills can be learned, particularly in the right environment. It is how they are applied through awareness that is so profound.

"I applaud and honor each HERIZEN™ grad for venturing inside and being willing to become more aware of themselves and their environment. I would like to express my gratitude to each of you for sharing of yourself and for being open to a new and unique sailing experience." - Capt. Valma Brenton

What HERIZEN™ grads have to share with you!

"I want to thank you VERY MUCH for a wonderful and enlightening experience this past week. It has, for me, already been life-altering. Your vision, your energy, your insight and your wealth of experience and openness in sharing, has impacted on my mind and body profoundly! I feel stronger, more powerful, and open to a new world of life's choices. I'm excited to experience this new strength as I make decisions in my work, at play, and with my family. Thank you, thank you, thank you....I will hold the experiences of this past week close to my heart and focus my energy with positivity and strength, as you have modeled for me, in everything in life as much I am able." May Love, Peace and Strength continue to be with you as always. Jennifer Morwen Smith-Vancouver, B.C.

Check this page out

		"Great 5 days of learning new sailing techniques. A must for any female sailor. A great boost to improve your confidence in sailing and a fun week to share with friends. Sorry guys, you are not invited! Bonnie Ramsay - Skitmore

2005 'Sailing in Awareness Retreats" in the Gulf Islands are Booking NOW!

Spaces fill up quickly - check the schedule here.

HERIZEN™ GRAD PROFILE:SAILING IN CONFIDENCE with ARLENE PHILLIPS

"The most important thing I learned from my experience with HERIZEN™ this summer was to be 100% accoutable and responsible for myself," says Arlene with a look of confidence and pride.

I heard about HERIZEN™ from a colleague at work who had taken the program the year before. She was so excited and animated about what she learned that I became excited too. My friend Heather that I work with was also interested and we decided to book the course with HERIZEN™ together. We had to book a year ahead because there was such a long wait list. It felt enormous at the time and then the time just passed. Heather and I both have sailing partners that are very keen to sail. We both did not feel very knowledgeable about sailing and thus we figured taking the course would help us out. My husband always dreamed of sailing and having his own boat. I thought this was a great idea. I really enjoyed the camping aspect of sailing….but when the wind came up and we had to go anywhere I would become overly anxious. When my husband tried to explain anything about sailing it didn’t really make a lot of sense to me. It was not easy learning from my husband especially when I was supposed to be doing something at that moment and not sure about it.

Arlene at the helm

I was aware that sailing was something my husband really wanted to do in the future. We now have part ownership of a 25’ C&C. It is moored at the dock waiting for us. I wanted to be more confident, enjoy and not fear the experience. I really do love being on the water, but I did not have any concept about what kind of weather and rough water a boat could handle and therefore I never really knew how safe I was.

I decided to take the course to learn the skills of sailing. I felt that what I learned was to enjoy the sailing aspect of being on the water and to feel much more responsible for myself. This was a huge discovery for me and one that I am thankful HERIZEN™ taught me. I now choose not to expect someone else to be responsible for me. I think a lot of the fear and difficulty that some women sailors have (and I realize this by seeing it in the way I use to be), is that when I became frustrated and frightened I also became angry with my partner. I was expecting him to look after me and for him to know what to do.

I think that what the course taught me is to take responsibility for myself. As soon as I do that, it frees me up to not have expectations of anybody else. I realize that I do need to practice the skills. I will and know that I can do it! The bigger part of this whole picture is that I want to be out there sailing and be a part of the whole experience. Understanding what is going on…being part of the team and being a fun and skilled sailing partner.

After my HERIZEN™ course I became more aware of my own boat. I spent more time on it and made sure that I understood all the working aspects, which I had never done before. I then started to feel more attached to it. It was amazing, I started to feel a sense of ownership towards the boat and I also felt a responsibility to have it equipped with all of the required safety equipment. In the past, I just left everything up to "the men" when it came to safety equipment and I just assumed that everything was alright.

Shortly after the course with HERIZEN™, I went on a sailing adventure with my husband. At first, there were a few ups and downs with communications, but for the most part it went well. He told me he was quite impressed and noticed a change in me on the boat. I had some suggestions that he had never thought of before. By the end of the trip we had fixed up our mainsail for jiffy reefing, my husband was keen, especially after an incident that happened when he waited to long to reef.

We left Nanaimo and headed for the Gulf Islands for a few days. It was necessary to transit through Dodd’s Narrows to get through to the other islands. The wind was brisk and we arrived early at the Nanaimo side of the pass. We had to wait before we could transit the pass and since it was rough I suggested that we heave to. My husband had forgotten how to do this…..I knew from our class and we got to practice. It was wonderful and a great feeling of confidence. I also figured out what the "safe window of travel" was to transit through Dodd’s narrows from the current tables and eventually after our wait I navigated the boat through the pass. We had three wonderful days of exploring, anchoring at different places each night and doing the camping thing that I like so much. I continued to stay present and utilize my skills to check the tides, currents and charts…this helped build my confidence further and know that we and the boat were safe. On our return home after transiting Dodd’s narrows again, I had to really think about how we were going to get from point A to point B because now the wind was coming from a different direction. It was behind us. I thought about it and then chose to sail on a broad reach and tacked back and fourth to our destination using controlled gybes.

This mini sailing adventure with my partner was a great start to build my confidence further and apply my new skills. Within two weeks my husband and I were sailing on a 42' Whitby SV called the Pollyandra. Our friend Shaun had just retired and was sailing his boat back to Nanaimo from Alaska. We met in Queen Charlotte City and sailed two weeks down the east coast of the Queen Charlottes - Haida Gwaii, crossing the Hecate Straits on a night sail and then down the west coast of Vancouver Island to Ucluelet. What an adventure! There were three men and myself. I think at first some of them figured I would be the token women. It turned out I was an equal crew member on the boat doing my share of the work and respected for that.

I was excited and quite confident about going on the boat. I was not worried. I think this transferred to the others on the boat too. I had never been on the open ocean before and there I was taking the helm during the late night shift between 0200 hrs to 0400 hrs. We motor sailed for 23 hours straight from Cape St. James located at the bottom end of the Queen Charlotte Islands to Triangle Island and then over to the west coast of Vancouver Island.

It was awesome. I got up for my watch and the swells were coming from all directions. It was quite mesmerizing and wonderful actually. My husband had a hard time waking up. I woke up like it was morning. So I was the one that took the helm. We sailed on a broad reach. There was a danger of gybing but we stayed on the correct point of sail. It was a bit nerve racking because the weather had been up a few days before and we had to wait to get a good opening to make the passage. There were some good swells. I was fortunate because Shaun, the captain, was great and he assisted me with navigation skills. He was always testing me with questions about where I was. I would use the chart along with GPS to determine this. It was fantastic and fun.

It was funny because as soon as we left the dock in Queen Charlotte City I put on my PFD. The guys laughed at me at first because the water was calm ….but I just made it clear that it was important to me. I stood in my power and was confident that it was the right thing for me to do. It had nothing to do with them. I kept going back to what my HERIZEN™ instructor told me: that I was responsible for myself and it had nothing to do with what other people thought. I just told them that I was planning to wear my PFD. Now that I reflect on the trip I am so glad that I did this as it gave me a sense of comfort and confidence. I was accountable and believed in myself.

We had one 9 hour stint motor sailing down the West Coast of Vancouver Island that was pretty rough. I was the only one that did not get sea sick. I was watching the waves and being part of the team. I think the root of why I wasn't afraid was because I was not putting responsibility of my safety onto anybody else.

We ended our adventure in Ucluelet because the weather was too nasty to continue around to Nanaimo. We did leave the harbour one day to try and see if we could continue the trip but the seas were about 15 feet and very turbulent. I was scared at one point and very thankful the captain decided that even though the boat could handle it….it was safer to go back into port.

I am very excited about my summer sailing experiences and now look forward to practicing and learning more.

"I am a Competent Sailor"

"Since Arlene took her course with HERIZEN™ I have noticed that she is more confident than apprehensive, is not worried about the boat healing and is very good at chartwork," says Keith Phillips with excitement. -Arlene's happy husband.

TROPICAL CARIBBEAN SAILING ADVENTURE WITH HERIZEN™

Sail away with us in the British Virgin Islands (BVI) - Winter 2005

Combined with the pleasures of a tropical Caribbean paradise, awaken your self to a new experience and"Set Your Spirit Free".

The Caribbean's British Virgin Islands offer sheltered waters, gentle trade winds, clear turquoise waters and superb weather 12 months of the year, with islands in sight of each other for easy sailing. Beautiful anchorages abound, most with gorgeous sandy beaches for lazing on or strolling. Sail to the many snorkeling and diving sites that teem with tropical marine life. On shore, there are great places to dine and party.

"Guided Journey to Sailing in Awareness" is an amazing 7 day sailing & self awareness program for women and/or couples that we now offer in the British Virgin Islands.

The more we allow our Spirit the freedom to express the more fully we engage in our lives.

February 21 to February 27, 2005

March 3 to March 9, 2005

Price of this life enhancing sailing & self-awareness adventure: Per Person $1600.00 USD

It is time to "Free Your Spirit" and enjoy the freedom and thrill of journeying to an unknown destination. Live aboard the SV Eclipse, a luxurious 43 foot Hunter Legend, fully crewed and equipped to provide superb accommodation and cruising comfort including: on board accommodation, meals, drinks, sailing & self-awareness instruction.

Our women's sailing in awareness program is an inner "strengthening". It is an opportunity for you to see yourself in an entirely new light - to meet the absolute best of yourself. The learning is truly transformational and can be applied to all aspects of your everyday life.

We offer a couples course that introduces you to "inner sailing" where awareness of body, mind and spirit, together with non-judgmental understanding of the difference between men and women's ways of learning, promotes more effective communication, teamwork and makes sailing more fun. The confidence gained in each other can enrich your relationship far beyond the sailing experience. 

We invite you to embark on a journey with HERIZEN™ to "Sail in Awareness" and "Set Your Spirit Free". 

If you believe there's got to be more to sailing and life and are ready to experience an alternative way of sailing and living, then Commit your "self" and do whatever it takes to be there! BOOK NOW!

Sailing in the Virgin Islands - more info here

SAILING ANNOUNCEMENTS

Cadillac Van Isle 360 International Yacht Race

Race Organizers just announced that the dates for the 2005 Cadillac Van Isle 360 will be June 11 - 26, 2005.

The Cadillac Van Isle 360 is a 580 nm. point to point race circumnavigating wild and rugged Vancouver Island, B.C., Canada, from June 11 to 26, 2005. The race starts from Nanaimo Harbour and is sailed in ten legs. The course provides inshore, offshore and overnight legs through some of the world's most challenging and beautiful waters. The race is limited to 35 boats and is expected to sell out quickly. If you are interested in participating please contact the race office soon.

Check out the Van Isle 360 website to view the video "Blowen Away" It is awesome!

BOATING IN AWARENESS SAFETY TIPS

WHEN THE WIND BLOWS!

Fall is here and that could mean stronger and more unpredictable winds.

Safety Tip: Be conservative with sail selection. It is much easier to increase sail area if you have been too conservative than it is to struggle to reduce sail in a strong wind. A good trick on a windy day is to put a reef in the mainsail before leaving the dock, then when you hoist the sail outside the harbour it will already be reefed.

If you are already sailing and the wind begins to blow hard you can do the following:

Make sure all crew aboard wear foul weather gear, PFD's and safety harnesses.

Close hatches and windows.

Reduce sail (a chance to practice your jiffy reefing skills - yahoo!).

Secure all loose items on deck and secure all items below.

Discuss each maneuver beforehand, making sure crew understands what is required and what commands will be given. You may opt to use a rough weather maneuver such as "heaving to" to give you and the boat a rest.

Seek shelter only if the harbour or anchorage is familiar and has an easy entrance that is safe to negotiate in the current conditions. Otherwise you are safer to ride out the rough weather at sea.

Try not to motor in heavy seas. You can damage the engine and you will be more comfortable and will have a smoother, steadier ride under sail. The boat is designed to sail. Saying that, if you have enough engine power for the boat, and your destination is to windward, you could consider motor sailing.

For marine weather forecasts the Canadian Coast Guard broadcasts continuous weather reports on the VHF band wx radio featuring general forecasts, forecasts for coastal areas, and notice to mariners. For marine weather information you can also go on line to: Marine Weather Office. This site also has great weather books that you can purchase on line. (Please note: e-mail weather reports on line are not instant and thus it is also important to monitor VHF wx radio for more up to date marine weather forecasts)

WHATS NEW AT HERIZEN™?

HERIZEN™ EXPANDS OPERATIONS TO WARMER WATERS

This year HERIZEN™ will have a sailing outpost located in Mexico.

Details coming soon at: www.sailingforwomen.com

Caribbean adventure programs for women / couples are now being offered in the British Virgin Islands in February and March 2005 (see above).

Stay tuned for more adventures in our winter newsletter!

Great news! HERIZEN™ was interviewed by CBC Radio / Television for a documentary on the Women's Niche Sports Industry. The documentary will air on the French channels - Telemagazine Channel 7 and National Network Channel 70. The dates and times have not been confirmed. The show will only be aired in French at this time. We hold the vision that the English channels will also want to pick up the documentary. It will be interesting to see how my French accent sounds.

We are now offering evening intros to "Sailing in Awareness Retreats" and a one day program called "Women Sailing Successfully" check this page out