I wake up as usual at 6 am. It’s Wednesday. January 19th. The kids and my wife are still asleep. I grab my computer and sit on the sofa with a cup of instant coffee. Home office is still on after omicron hit the world like a winter storm last November. It’s dark outside. The sun rises in two hours.
My good friend in Kristiansand texts me. He is the one who got me into windsurfing in the 1980’s and is out on the water 3-4 times a week all year round. “Hope you go out today”. It didn’t cross my mind to check the wind this morning. I have been busy getting the kids out skiing and ice skating.
Manual labour on the water
The forecast says 12-16 knots in the inner Oslofjord. 5 degrees celsius. It’s cold, but not too cold. I do have quite a lot to do. At the same time, despite that I have mainly enjoyed home office, I need to remind myself that I am a human being with other skills than making a living with the help of a 1 kg computer device.
So, after considering pro et cons, I decide to go. No meetings today. The warm, southerly wind is here just a few hours before winter temperatures and the cold northerly wind return in the evening. It’s good for my home office hands to do some manual labour.
Left image: The inner Oslofjord this January. The city lies less than a kilometer from where I windsurf. Right image: Gnaraloo, Western Australia, 1995. Different, but not so different. The oceans are all connected and the joy of high speed by the use of wind the same.
Crises, green revolution and dreams
As I drive down I listen to the news: Conflict in Ukraine, daily Covid-19 cases, record high energy prices. The latter reminds of an article I read about Switzerland. This neutral, rich but natural resources-poor country is battling with the EU. The deals they made long ago is about to run out. The EU wants more commitment whereas the Swiss wants status quo. It can heavily affect Swiss research cooperation, export of technology, and, the energy market.
It’s relevant for what I am doing in this blog: Lack of wind in Europe, down scaling of coal and nuclear power and increased demand for green energy have led to high energy prices. Offshore wind farms are on its way but far from covering the needs. If there is one thing the zero emission revolution needs, it’s regional and global cooperation on technology, energy and research. Nationalist sentiments and politics that have emerged the last decade is a threat, I believe.
I park my car at the hill overseeing the fjord. In my mind, I am in a warm place right now, Australia, The Canaries or Hawaii, with slippers, shorts and a T-shirt.
The path down is icy, but the wind is good. The 7.8 Severne Mach and RRD 114 liters should work well.
I feel like a penguin as I balance my way down to the beach. It’s absolutely full of ice. My wet shoes are not ment to walk on ice.
Home office stress disappears
It’s wonderful. I get the same feeling and joy as I did in 1985: The power of the wind in my hands, the board accelerating on the surface. Full control. No one else out. The small waves with their curls and movements I have seen so many times before. The cold doesn’t matter. I go up wind, pass a couple of small islands, make sure to go clear of the reefs that were formed some 400 million years ago. Get some good speed. Everything works. The sun eventually shows up. I laugh when I think about the stress that home office can generate.
Frost bite and positive test
Relaxed and happy I go up after a one hour session. I can still feel my fingers a little bit. The frost bite kicks in as I rig down the sail. My feet feel like dead meat. No feeling in the toes. It takes one hour before they return to normal.
In the evening I realize that I may have caught a cold. Or Covid-19. It’s the latter.
Well, I can do 6 days of isolation with this windsurfing session well stored in my heart and head.
