In exactly one month the days begin to get shorter and still we are freezing here, this sucks as spring is late. We waited all winter and now spring should spring, so summer may rule the land until the end of September we hope. Chance are slim I know but we have had some very nice summers here that have stretched even into October. Most folks wouldn't consider those days summer but for us it was warmer than spring is now.

The weekly CERTNWT meeting went very well. We worked on the Back splice and consrtictor knot and Anne- Marie even managed to get both a bit rough around the edges but completed. Patrick did very well but has much more rope experience than Anne-Marie. we used a small diameter string to form a constrictor knot around the rope to be backspliced. This prevents the rope from trying to pull through itself as you tension the start of the back splice.

Splicing of 3 part rope is not actually part of our Cert basics, however I feel the more the crew knows about rope what to do with it and how  it can be used, the more versetile the crew will be. There is a lot that rope and rope skills can do for team members and the skills are easy enough to learn we may as well learn  them.

Rope, Map and compass. GPS and any basic wilderness type stuff is very handy on a search or Cert team excersize or call out.

I was in luck the other day and was given a brand new spine board which we hope never to have to use. I am now pricing attachements such as head stabilizers and causuality tie down straps. Cert was given a number of stokes mesh litter baskets and the board wouuld be placed in one of these after the casuality was lashed to it and them both are secured in and to the basket ready for transport. lowering, raising, slinging under a helicopter what ever is necessary.

Once they have mastered the short splice and perhaps the long spice we will move onto lashings and construct various useful items from wood and rope. A few stream crossing basics and some rappel work when they get throught the knots and anchors training with no problems. Summers go fast and we all have other things on the go, I will see how things progress as the weather warms. Looking forward to some swift water work and river crossing practices.

Another long night of racing brings up to position 23,000 out of 200,000. I was here yesterday morning even further head and then dropped back to 40,000th and have steered my way back. Tricky conditions high winds up to fifty knots and sailing downwind under gennacker and now full spinnacker requires your full attention. The sun is up for hours here and it looks like we have a nice day shaping up here in the Knife and I am looking forward to it.

Tonight is our CERTNWT meeting and I am going to show them the back splice and constrictor knot. Next week the short splice if they are readyfor it, and finally the long splice.