Ubisoft’s Your Shape is the first game to use a camera designed specifically for Nintendo’s Wii console.

At a media briefing earlier today in San Francisco, Ubisoft’s PR senior manager Chris Norris (in the video below) went into more details about the game:

1. Your Shape start shipping on Nov. 24 for $70 and includes the camera peripheral;
2. The Ubisoft camera is manufactured by French-company Guillemot and is the very first one available for the Wii console. Ubisoft convinced Nintendo to open up the Wii’s USB port;
3. Ubisoft will release more games using that  said a bit more on how the use of the camera for future game, and not just for fitness. Expect some action game too!;
4. The underlying motion tracking technology used in the game was designed by Ubisoft’s Barcelona studio;
5. The camera scans the player’s body and creates a 3D model of it, assesses their fitness level, suggests a personalized workout routine based on the player’s fitness level and ultimate goals, projects the player’s image onto the TV next to Jenny McCarthy’s avatar in real time during the workout, and provides guidance at the same time.

With Ubisoft’s webcam, Nintendo is finally catching up to Sony’s Playstation Eye and ahead of Microsoft’s own motion sensing technology, Project Natal, coming next year.

I nuovi Kolibris di cui parleremo nei prossimi giorni

Shortlink / Enlace corto:  [http://wp.me/pi7rs-2bK]

From/De: CES

2010 CES Gaming Showcase to Increase by More Than 50 Percent

PC Gaming Alliance and Lego Universe to Showcase the Latest in Gaming Technologies at 2010 CES

ARLINGTON, Va. –(Business Wire)– Oct 26, 2009 The 2010 International CES^®, the world’s largest consumer technology tradeshow, will feature the latest in gaming hardware and software in the largest Gaming Showcase in CES history. The Gaming Showcase will feature advancements in online gaming and gaming-related product debuts all in one centralized location. The International CES returns to Las Vegas January 7-10, 2010.

The latest gaming technology will be prominently showcased across more than 13,000 square feet of exhibit space, up more than 50 percent over last year’s display. Located in the North Hall of the Las Vegas Convention Center, the Gaming Showcase will feature gaming hardware and software – from online PC and HD gaming, plasma HDTV to surround sound and power conditioning hardware.

“We are thrilled to add the PC Gaming Alliance and Lego Universe to the 2010 Gaming Showcase, allowing 2010 CES attendees to experience cutting-edge products changing the gaming market,” said Karen Chupka, senior vice president, events and conferences, CEA. “CES is the global hub for the latest gaming trends.”

Major gaming exhibitors at CES include: D-Box, DDR (Dance, Dance Revolution), Guillemot, Iron Will Creations, Microsoft – Games for Windows and Tritton. Microsoft and Sony will also feature the latest gaming developments in their respective booths. The video game market will generate approximately $23 billion in revenue in 2009. Gaming software continues to lead the way, with projected revenue increasing 10 percent this year.

For more news about the 2010 International CES before, during and after the show, including the Gaming Showcase, exhibitor information, conference sessions and TechZones, visit www.CESweb.org. Journalists are encouraged to arrive in Las Vegas by Tuesday, January 5, to take advantage of all the CES press events, including CES Unveiled from 4-7 p.m. on January 5.

About CEA:

The Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) is the preeminent trade association promoting growth in the $172 billion U.S. consumer electronics industry. More than 2,000 companies enjoy the benefits of CEA membership, including legislative advocacy, market research, technical training and education, industry promotion and the fostering of business and strategic relationships. CEA also sponsors and manages the International CES – Where Entertainment, Technology and Business Converge. All profits from CES are reinvested into CEA’s industry services. Find CEA online at www.CE.org.

UPCOMING EVENTS

• CES New York Press Preview featuring CES Unveiled @ NY
  November 10, 2009, New York, NY
• Future of Television East
  November 18-19, 2009, New York, NY
• 2010 International CES
  January 7-10, 2010, Las Vegas, NV

     Salvador Dali: Christ of St John of the Cross

 It is not of this world, and yet it is,

And that is how it should be.

Strong light hits back and the arms

Coming from where we cannot see,

Ought not to see, another dimension

For another time. At this time, we

Share the life of bay and boat

With simply painted fishermen

Who would give no Amen

Even if clouds both apocalyptic and real

Made them look up and feel

What they had to feel

Of shattering amazement, fear,

Protection, and a wash of glory.

Was it an end coming near?

Was it a beginning coming near?

What happened to the thorns and blood and sweat?

What happened to the hands like claws the whipcord muscles?

Has the artist never seen Grunewald?

‘I have to tell you John of the Cross called,

Said to remind you light and death once met.’

      Salvador Dali: Cristo di San Giovanni della Croce

 Non è di questo mondo, eppure lo è,

ed è come dovrebbe essere.

Luce forte colpisce schiena e braccia

viene da dove non possiamo vedere,

non dovremmo vedere, un’altra dimensione

per un altro tempo. In questo tempo

condividiamo la vita di baia e barca

con pescatori semplicemente dipinti

che non direbbero un Amen

neppure se nubi apocalittiche e reali

facessero alzar loro lo sguardo e sentire

quel che devono sentire

di stupore sconvolgente paura,

protezione, e un bagno di gloria.

Era una fine in arrivo?

Era un inizio in arrivo?

Che ne fu di spine e sangue e sudore?

Che ne fu di mani come artigli muscoli code di frusta?

Non ha mai visto Grunewald l’artista?

“Devo dirvi che Giovanni della Croce chiamò,

disse di ricordarvi che luce e morte s’incontrarono un tempo.”

     Sir Henry Raeburn: Portrait of Rev. Robert Walker Skating on Duddingston Loch

 The skating minister is well balanced

And knows it. Something distinctly smug

Keeps those arms in place. Wouldn’t it be good 

If the god of thaws pulled that icy rug

From under him, to remind his next sermon

What it is that goeth before a fall.

He shivers before the fire

Hunched in his wife’s mocking shawl –

Not the thing at all!

     Sir Henry Raeburn: Ritratto del Rev. Robert Walker che pattina sul Duddingston Loch

Il ministro pattinatore sta ben in equilibrio

e lo sa. Qualcosa di evidentemente compiaciuto

tiene queste braccia a posto. Non sarebbe bene

se il dio del disgelo gli tirasse via il tappeto di ghiaccio

da sotto i piedi, per ricordargli il prossimo sermone

cos’è che avviene prima della caduta.

Trema davanti al fuoco

avvolto nello scialle beffardo della moglie –

non c’entra niente!

     Rembrandt: Man in Armour

 No warrior here.

This is a man who has put on some armour

In the cause of art. No enemy is near, 

The helmet is well burnished and no doubt, 

If tapped, gives off a musical note. 

It would certainly not

Smudge hand or glove with caked or dusty blood. 

If the man is faintly smiling, that would fit. 

Rembrandt, man, everyone will love it.

Bring back your son, yourself, the woman at her bath,

And we’ll use words like masterpiece again,

A cupboard is the best place for jingle-jangle.

Oh it’s well done: the head looms out of darkness

With all the accoutrements bar pain.

You are great; even a loss from you’s a gain.

But do not trivialise the death of men.

    Rembrandt: Uomo con armatura

 Niente guerrieri qui.

Questo è un uomo che indossò un’armatura

per la causa dell’arte. Niente nemici nei pressi,

l’elmo è ben lucidato e senz’altro,

se con le dita fai tap tap, emette una nota musicale.

Certo non ti macchierebbe

mano o guanto con sangue incrostato o polveroso.

Se l’uomo sorridesse appena, andrebbe bene.

Rembrandt, uomo, tutti lo ameranno.

Riporta tuo figlio, te, la donna al bagno,

e useremo parole come capolavori ancora,

un armadio è il posto migliore per il tintinnìo.

Oh, è ben fatto: la testa in rilievo sul buio

con tutto l’equipaggiamento di pena da bar.

Sei grande; anche una tua sconfitta è vittoria.

Ma non banalizzare la morte degli uomini.

     Joan Eardley: Flood-Tide

 Lonely people are drawn to the sea.

Not for this artist the surge and glitter of salons,

Clutch of a sherry or making polite conversation

See her when she is free:

Standing into the salty bluster of a cliff-top

In her paint-splashed corduroys,

Humming as she recalls the wild shy boys

She sketched in the city, allowing nature’s nations

Of grasses and wild shy flowers to stick

To the canvas they were blown against

By the mighty Catterline wind –

All becomes art, and as if it was incensed

By the painter’s brush the sea growls up

In a white flood.

The artist’s cup

Is overflowing with what she dares

To think is joy, caught unawares

As if on the wing. A solitary clover, 

Unable to read WET PAINT, rolls over 

Once, twice, and then it’s fixed,

Part of a field more human than the one 

That took the gale and is now 

As she is, beyond the sun.

     Joan Eardley: Marea montante

Gente sola è trascinata verso il mare.

Non per quest’artista scintillìo e ondata dei saloni, 

strigere lo sherry e conversare amabilmente

guarda lei quando è libera:

in piedi nel salmastro infuriare della cima di una roccia

velluto a coste e dipinto a spruzzo,

canticchiando nel ricordare i timidi ragazzi selvaggi

che dipingeva in città, consentendo a intere nazioni naturali

di erbe e timidi fiori selvatici di aderire

alle tele contro cui li soffiava

il forte vento di Catterline –

Tutto diviene arte, come fosse stato esasperato

dal pennello del pittore il mare si alza ruggendo

in una bianca alluvione.

La coppa dell’artista

trabocca di quel che lei osa

pensare sia gioia, colta a sorpresa

come fosse in volo. Un trifoglio solitario, 

incapace di leggere VERNICE FRESCA, si rigira 

una volta, due volte, e poi è fissato,

parte di un campo più umano di quello

che prese la bufera ed è ora

come lei, al di là del sole.

     Avril Paton: Windows on the West

 Turn the kaleidoscope and the seventy-eyed creature

Stretches, yawns, shakes the roof snow

Off its back in clumsy dollops, gets a glow

Going, cries of’It’s freezing!’ (not really, just a feature

Of tenement winter), puts some coffee on, come on –

How can a single one be a multiple seventy –

I don’t know, but I know I like the mystery –

Breathe out, breathe in, never in unison –

‘When did you get in last night?’ – ‘Where the hell

Did you put my razor?’ – ‘Dog has started

To chew things up again’ – ‘Well well,

You were going to give it a bone, that’s your department’

‘That was never what art meant,

Pictures falling off the wall, everyone has a –’

‘Don’t throw it away. I might need it’ –

‘You’ll never write a line if you don’t heed it

When I tell you there’s enough life,

Enough strife

In this old sandstone block

To turn Anna Karenina and The Great Gatsby

Into one noble undefeated cry

Which is the single tenement sigh

Any time, anywhere.

Turn up the heat,

A new day’s always sweet.’

‘Coffee up.’

‘My god another cracked cup.’

     Avril Paton: Finestre a Occidente

 Gira il caleidoscopio e la creatura dai settanta occhi

si stira, sbadiglia, si scuote la neve del tetto

dalla schiena in rozzi mucchietti, assume un bagliore

in movimento, grida “Si gela!” (non proprio, solo un assaggio

dell’inverno in affitto), metti su il caffè, forza –

come può uno solo essere settanta –

non lo so, ma so che mi piace il mistero –

espira, respira, mai all’unisono –

“A che ora sei tornato l’altra notte?” – “Dove diavolo

hai messo il mio rasoio?” – Il cane ha ricominciato

a rosicchiare tutto” – “Bene bene,

stavi per andargli a dare un osso, è compito tuo”.

“L’arte non ha mai significato questo,

quadri che cadono dalle pareti, tutti hanno un –“

“Non buttarlo via. Potrei averne bisogno” –

“Non scriverai mai un verso se non ascolti

quando ti dico che c’è abbastanza vita,

abbastanza conflitto

in questo vecchio blocco di sabbia

per trasformare Anna Karenina e Il grande Gatsby

in un nobile grido vittorioso

che è il singolo sospiro in affitto

in ogni tempo, in ogni luogo.

Alza il riscaldamento,

ogni nuovo giorno è dolce.”

“Caffè pronto.”

“Mio dio un’altra tazza rotta.”

Edwin Morgan, da Book of Lives, Carcanet, Manchester 2007

in uscita a ottobre per Kolibris

Yesterday afternoon we went for a stroll along the beach (Dysart to West Wemyss).

As per usual we picked up lots of pieces of glass (I’m collecting them in the hope that one day I might start making pictures out of them) and we also got a few stones for Amanda’s Dad (he likes to be able to “feel” Scotland, even though he’s never been here).

The tide was starting to come in by the time we got to the outcrop near West Wemyss so we had to clamber over some of the rocks to get to the beach by West Wemyss, but we thought it would be worth it because the beach was clear and open, and there would be lots of pieces of glass there.

Amanda headed off up the beach while I edged along the top of the waterline, dodging the incoming water, when I suddenly realised that there was a bird flapping away in the surf.

I called Amanda over and managed to pick it up from the water.

It couldn’t stand up properly, and its neck was twisted so its head was on the ground all the time.

Neither of us had our phone with us so we couldn’t call anybody for assistance.  The only thing we could do was to rearrange everything we had collected and put it in one of the carrier bags we had with us and take it home.  This meant a really difficult rush up over the hill along the coastal path, and my back was giving me hell climbing the steep steps, but “Sammy the Seabird” was more important than worrying about that.

When we finally got home Sammy was put in the bath with a little water while I found the number for the Scottish SPCA and called them to send somebody out.

In the time it took them to arrive poor little Sammy seemed to get a little bit stronger, occasionally trying to stand up.  At one point, after he had done a nice squirty poo, he even managed to stand up almost properly, although lifting his head was still difficult.

When the guy from the SSPCA arrived he told us that Sammy was a Guillemot, but also gave us the bad news that his neck was broken because he had flown into something (apparently they do it a lot) so there was no hope for him.

Sammy was put into one of their brown carrying boxes and taken away by the nice SSPCA man who would put Sammy out of his misery.

Sleep tight Sammy.

I’ve now finished the stern deck from sheer line to detail line:

Stern deck complete up to the detail line (it looks a bit off-centre because the strongback beam is not straight)

But I have found the bow *really* hard to strip. I think my choice of deck design is part of the problem. It requires the strips to continue up from the sheerline, which requires some nasty twisting in the last 12″ or so. If I had stripped from centreline down, I think it would have been a lot easier.

So, Gary’s clamps have had a serious work out:

Making the damn things conform (and boy I'm glad I haven't put the stems on yet)

Hopefully that will do the trick. I have a nasty feeling this is going to make it fun joining the two halves … but we’ll see.

The detail line is really taking shape now though. Soon, I will cut my last few dark strips and create a dark accent along the detail line, then fill the inside with blonde strips.

Deck detail taking shape

Deck detail taking shape (from bow)

I flipped the boat over recently, and had my first proper look at the boat upright. Was a terrific feeling turning the kayak over. What a beautiful design.

First upright view. Can't wait to see it complete.

First job was to add a sheerline strip for the deck. For this I halved some of my blonde-coloured strips, and scarfed them in place on top of the hull sheerline strip. Some wide cellotape was a perfect barrier between the strips while the scarf joint dried, and was easily removed the next day.

Next was to lay on the first feature strips, and then cross fingers that I have enough dark timber to fill the gaps:

Stern deck - the curved feature line runs full length

I’ve almost finished stripping the hull now. Filling in the gaps has been easier than I expected. This section of Nick’s book is compulsory reading! Especially the part about shaping the strip ends to match the very fine angles where strips meet.

In Nick’s book, he suggests alternating the strips with one following the curve from the chine, the next straight (parallel to the keel) and so-on. I agree this looks cool. But as I got closer, I found it hard to bend the strips, so I did the last six or so all parallel to the keel.

In the photo below, you can see the strips near the keel and chine alternate. But the strips filling in the half moon are all straight. (They are from a different plank; more of a blonde colour.) It made the final strips a lot easier, and I reckon the change in timber colour will excuse the change in pattern.

Adding the last few strips on the hull. Note that I stopped alternating the strips for each of the 'half-moons'

Putting these strips on straight was a lot easier, and since by that time, the area being covered is almost completely flat, there was no issue of a ridge where the straight strips meet the curved strips.

I did find the last three strips a challenge. The cove on the curved strip meant each straight strip had to be very long, to fill the gap between the coves at each end (as Nick warns in his book). So for the last but one strip, and the one before it, I cheated, and cut them into two parts. Cutting an angled butt joint made it easy to pop one in, then the next piece after that:

Note the butt-joints on the two strips in the centre of the image, added last before the final filler strip.

The final filler strip was hard to do. Like the book says, I planed the cove off the penultimate strip, and then used a knife to remove half the cove from the curved strip, so that I could drop in a shaped piece. Well not so much drop as squish. Few gaps to fill in on this one!

A Ubisoft disse que apenas pensou que os dois games, Splinter Cell Conviction e Red Stell, precisavam de mais tempo de polimento. Foi o que eu pensei, pra eles ter adiado os games assim.

“As mudanças nas datas de Splinter Cell e Red Steel foram apenas uma questão de polimento. A equipe concordou que não seria possível atingir a máxima qualidade em todos os mapas do jogo até o fim do ano, então eles pediram mais tempo para entregar um produto melhor, para ambos os jogos.” disse Yves Guillemot, da Ubisoft.

A qualidade dos games é a mesma que vocês puderam ver na E3, mas nós não tivemos como garantir a mesma qualidade para todo o jogo nos dois produtos,” adicionou.

Ele também revelou que, por perder a oportunidade de estar nas prateleiras no fim do ano, Splinter Cell e Red Steel irão provavelmente vender “alguns milhões de unidades” à menos em seus respectivos primeiros meses. Splinter Cell deve sim vender muitos milhões, já Red Steel acho que não vende tantos milhões assim não.

“Nós realmente acreditamos que com o nível máximo de qualidade que nós iremos alcançar com o tempo extra esses produtos terão uma vida maior no mercado,” ele explicou.

Sorry, I’ve been a bit quiet of late, and hopefully I’ll have some interesting, wildlifey stuff to write about soon!

As a piece of blatent filler to keep the blog ticking over, and we’re just over half way through the year, here’s a bit of a recap of how the first half of the 2009 birding list’s going. My target for the year is 200, will it be reached…?

January started solidly but unspectacularly with the usual suspects hoovered up around the Loxley Valley. A trip to Fairburn Ings on the 10th Jan brought me the year’s first lifer, in the form of roosting long-eared owls, and a trip that also turned up the year’s first kingfishers, redpolls and willow tits. A trip to Norfolk on the 18th Jan was even better, with some fairly embarassing lifers finally got in the form of red-breasted merganser, grey plover, brent goose and Egyptian goose. Other birds of the day included ruff, avocet, pintail, barn owl, marsh harrier and bearded tit.

Brent Geese

Little owl and buzzard were got at Old Moor later in the month, a lunchtime twitch to Crosspool brought up the first of many waxwings of the year, and a final lifer of the month was marsh tit at Clumber Park, bringing January’s total to a not-too-shabby 100.

February was a bit quieter, with grey wagtail and tawny owl finally found in the Loxley Valley, and the bittern and water rail both playing nicely at Potteric Carr. A trip to London saw the year’s first peregrine and green woodpecker, and a lifer in the form of ring-necked parakeet. A red kite over the motorway on the way back was another nice addition to the yearlist.

Ring-necked Parakeet

March started spectacularly with some cracking hawfinches at Wentworth Castle (a lifer). Bempton yielded their usual stars in the form of gannet, guillemot, razorbill and fulmar, while Brid turned up some huddling purple sandpipers in the harbour. A chiffchaff close to home on the 20th was the first of the Spring migrants. A pair of mandarin at Lady’s Spring Wood and lesser spotted woodpecker at Beeley Wood and red grouse at Cowell Flat finished the month in style within the Sheffield boundary.

Mandarin

April’s first year tick was a corker, in the form of the very obliging great grey shrike at Strines. The spring migrants trickled through with willow warbler, blackcap and little ringed plover at Potteric on the 5th April, and best of all a drake garganey (a lifer). The rest of the month saw the migrants shuffle in, with swallow, house martin, sand martin, whitethroat, pied flycatcher, redstart, wheatear, common sandpiper and tree pipit found before the month was out, and leading to a healthy running total of 133 for the year.

Great Grey Shrike

May started well with the first swifts (bizarrely on the same day as my last waxwings!), and my first ever sightings of the previously heard-only cuckoo at Wharncliffe. A trip to Stone Creek and Spurn on 6th May was another good day for mopping up much-needed lifers, with hen harrier, whimbrel, yellow wagtail and corn bunting all found, and common tern, sedge warbler and hobby added to the yearlist.

Cuckoo

Probably the highlight of the year so far were the dotterels on Stanage Edge, which were worth braving a thundery evening for on the 15th, which also yielded ring ouzel and woodcock.

Dotterel

Garden warbler was finally picked up at Tinsley on the 23rd, and a trip to Anglesey on the 24th turned up chough (a lifer), raven, puffin, shag, kittiwake, rock pipit, sandwich tern and arctic tern. The month ended with a singing wood warbler at Wharncliffe, and a final lifer in the form of two black terns skimming the water at Old Moor. The total was now a fairly impressive 157.

Chough

June started with a fairly disappointing trip to Thorne, that only turned up reed warbler and heard-only turtle dove as new stuff (although the cuckoos and hobbies on show more than made up for it). A weekend in Northumberland saw eider, little tern and spotted flycatcher added to the list.

A trip to Potteric Carr saw the first little egrets of the year, and I finally got my first decent views of black-necked grebe. A return visit to Anglesey included a detour to Fedr Fawr to see the black guillemots, and some lesser whitethroats were also found.

Black-necked Grebe

The first few days of the second half of the year were busy, with nightjar sighted on Wharncliffe Heath on the 1st July, and spotted redshank, greenshank and green sandpiper found at Blacktoft Sands, and red-necked grebe being a nice lifer at Hatfield Moors, all on the following day. The total is now 171 (170 if you don’t count heard-onlies!).

Red-necked Grebe

So can I make the 200? 30 species to find in 6 months, including a few relatively easy ones like whinchat, crossbill, merlin, red-throated diver, common scoter, brambling, whooper swan, little gull, short-eared owl… what do you reckon?

…so I had to find another way to trim the bead off 2 strips, to start defining the keel strips. I had a bit of an idea and it worked so well I thought I’d post it.

Some long strips of 16mm MDF gave me a consistent width on the strip, and I just used the block plane to trim off the bead. Noiseless, dust-free and a much cleaner edge than a table saw.

Hold the MDF strip perpendicular on the cedar strip

Then plane off the bead, leaving an even width and a clean edge

Some builders strip the hull in a matter of days. Well I don’t know how they do it. I must be doing something the hard way, because I find that the amount of twist each strip requires, means I can only do one each session (and that takes up to an hour):

Doing the twist - one strip needs all this attention!

Not that I mind, it’s a great excuse to listen to some good music (albeit in a 5°C garage).

Cheater strips might have made it easier (see this post). Ross Leidy’s blog of building a Guillemot shows how they look here.

My ideas on how to make it twist:

I don’t have a heat gun, and I haven’t bothered to try steaming. So it’s a matter of brute force to make them twist, and in cold weather too. Some strips need to twist 45° in only 1-2′.

It does mean that sometimes my strips refuse to naturally align with the forms, so I made up some U clips to fix that, an idea copied from heaps of builders out there:

U-clips make it easy to force strips to meet the forms

Brute force works too:

Overkill is sometimes effective to make them comply

Bungy cords are great for creating a twisting force on a clamp on the strip…

Clamp the strip, then use a bungy to twist it.

… and when you run out of bungies:

Sometimes I use an F-clamp in desperation in place of a bungy

I’m hoping the twisting will soon stop, as I work on the hull bottom.

On Friday, after work, I had a walk up to a site near High Bradfield to see if I could find a grasshopper warbler that had been reported there on the SBSG site. Sadly no signs of it, but I did get a pair of stonechats, several curlews including a particularly agitated pair, some juvenile goldfinches, a linnet feeding young, 8 stock dove, and a large flock of around 110 lapwings. Not a bad little walk at all.

The rest of the weekend has been taken up with a return trip to Anglesey – we were offered a free room in a cottage on Saturday night and decided it would be rude and foolish to turn it down! On the way I persuaded Laura to take a rather windy detour to a place called Fedw Fawr to look for black guillemots, which once the practical problem of squeezing into the tiny car park was solved were quickly found. Five were seen at once at one point, and it’s a great location to see a bird that’s annoyingly scarce in England and Wales. Despite the photo below they were actually showing very well, it’s just they were moving too fast or diving before a decent photo could be taken!

Fedr Fawr itself is quite a nice spot, but it was marred slightly by campers taking up the main vantage spot and having a rowdy barbeque. Surely this can’t really be allowed on National Trust coastland? (Sorry going all “Angry from Tumbridge-Wells there!).

In the evening we had a walk round the town of Moefre, which turned up good numbers of sandwich terns, and overlooked a kittiwake colony out to sea.

Today I got up early and had a walk from the cottage, which was located near Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch, would you believe. A number of lesser whitethroat could be heard around the area of the cottage, and I was about to put this down as a “heard only” year tick, when I finally tracked down the little bandit below peering through the leaves. Great to actually get a good look at one!

The cottage was fantastically close to the Menai Strait, which housed the usual things you’d expect such as oystercatchers and shelduck.

Most of the afternoon was taken up with a walk around the vicinity of Breakwater Country Park near Holyhead, where we ended up looking out over the stunning view of North Stack. Birds seen in the area included several noisy ravens (below), a flyover peregrine falcon, a single chough, and several razorbills and guillemots out to sea. Laura also won the small £1 wager to be the first person to see a seal (probably a common).

A great weekend, and I’m knackered now! Time for bed…

Weather watching for perfect conditions in Britain sounds like an oxymoron, but just occasionally the Gods relent, the zephyrs are calmed and the weather is perfect. So this years trip to the Farne Islands took place in a high pressure system that produced a full days sunshine and flat seas…

Before the all day trip began, a few local birds at Seahouses were seen, including a Goldfinch.

Goldfinch (Carduelis carduelis)

Swallows darted about, making use of the calm winds and sun, to collect as many flies as they can.

Swallow (Hirundo rustica)

On the sea wall, a Rock Dove rested.

Rock Dove (Columba livia)

The sunlight catches the irridescent sheen of green around his neck.

Close to the shoreline, but a little out to sea were Eiders Ducks.

Eider (Somateria mollissima).

The camouflage of the female ducks seems pointless at sea, but later in the day on the islands it becomes apparent why they display this way.

Out at sea, the calmness is palpable, and the views to the Northumbrian coastline are wonderful.

In the distance lies Dunstanburgh Castle, part of the 14th Century DMZ between England and Scotland, and much painted by Turner.

The concentration of wildlife increases the closer you get to one of the islands in the group. Shags are noticeable by their long necks.

They mostly fly very close to the surface of the sea, making towards Staple Island, our first destination on the trip.

One ventured to fly over the boat, showing off his wingspan and flight feathers.

Shag (Phalacrocorax aristotelis)

We’ll see more of these magnificent seabirds later.

Staple Island has nearby sea stacks, known as the ‘Pinnacles’. These are a perfect habitat for breeding Guillemot, Razorbill and Kittiwake.

The dark dolorite rocks rise vertiginously from the blue sea. They are, however, streaked with white seabird guano.

Kittiwakes make their nest on various ledges, which appear precarious.

Kittiwake (Rissa tridactyla)

Seabirds of different species have no option on land but to share close proximity (after all, they have the vastness of the sea for solitude). There are plenty of puffins nestling on the rocks.

Puffin (Fratercula arctica)

Floating in the sea are a pair of razorbills, together with a guillemot.

Razorbill (Alca torda)

Their white streak above the thickly set bill and darker plumage contrasts with the guillemot, which appears more brown.

Guillemot (Uria aalge)

Guillemots are gregarious and very noisy (hence the bazaar collective noun). This can be seen more fully once we land on the island and reach the top, close to the pinnacles, where the seabird colony resides.

Guillemots race in from the sea, carrying single sand eels for their mates, who brood the single egg resting on the rock.

They land in the colony, managing to find the right spot, amongst all the squawking.

A Shag sweeps past this spectacle, en route to its nest.

They display a degree of affection towards their partners

which is quite missing to their neighbours. The following bears witness to the demolition of a neighbouring nest.

No christian civilities, no love thy neighbour, thou shalt not steal. These are seabirds, and Shags particularly have the look of their Jurassic antecedents.

On top of the grassy mounds, waiting for Puffins laden with fish, and for unweary youngsters are the Islands prime predators, the Lesser black-backed gulls.

Lesser black-backed gull (Larus fuscus)

They attempt to trap puffins on land by the legs, who move slowly. In the air, they are quite another thing…

… even when laden with fish.

They emerge from the sea as single small dots, which grow in size until they swoop swiftly overhead to their burrows.

Finally, the Island is home to many small pools. One of these is occupied by Eider, with their new hatchlings.

That’s what all the camouflage was all about…

Next post, more from Inner Farne Island.

Before I get on with today’s excitement, a quick update about what I got up to yesterday – a walk from Meadowhall to Blackburn Meadows brought up a year tick in the shape of several garden warblers, and other warblers around included whitethroats, blackcaps and sedge warblers. A walk on patch later in the day didn’t yield too much of interest, except for another garden warbler singing in a clearing near Little Matlock Wood, and a grey wagtail near the Fisheries.

Right now that’s out of the way… today Laura and I had a crazy day trip all the way to Anglesey, a beautiful part of the British coastline I’m ashamed to say I’ve never been to until today. The first stop was South Stack RSPB, an absolutely picturesque place which very quickly yielded a much-wanted lifer in the form of choughs. After a few close fly-pasts, we eventually saw eight performing in the air at once, and one was obliging enough to pose for a photo.

Elsewhere ravens swooped over the cliffs sending panic among the assembled gulls, fulmars glided over the sea, and squinting among the guillemots and razorbills finally revealed a couple of puffins (sadly providing a photo too terrible even for this blog – hopefully a trip to the Farnes in a couple of weeks will get some better shots!). Other year ticks were rock pipit, kittiwake and shag. Some more pics…

 
South Stack

Just one ot two guillemots…

Spot the choughs…

Raven (dodgy shot, sorry…)

During a quick detour to Holyhead I had a scan round the harbour for black guillemots, with no joy, but leaving the Holy Island area an overhead sandwich tern was another year tick. On a whim we took a road to Cemlyn Bay, which turned out to be a fantastic National Trust reserve, with a colony of terns that included both sandwich and arctic terns, and other birds around included oystercatcher, ringed plover, dunlin, red-breasted merganser, shelduck and, um, some particularly manky Muscovy ducks!

Terns and stuff

Red-breasted Merganser

Oystercatcher

Uuuuurggghhh!

A long drive (thanks Laura!) but a great day in the best weather of the year… I’m stupidly sunburt now though!

I’ve just realised that my strips have not been meeting form 16, which I think will cause a problem.

Form 16 is 1′ from the stern, and has a concave section. The strips should pinch inwards and flare vertical to form a gentle skeg. (A skeg is a vertical section at the stern, to help the boat track straight.) But as you can see, my strips are about 1/4″ from the form, so they are prescribing a rounded stern, not a pinched stern:

The stern is too rounded - strips not meeting form 16

(I have exaggerated the red and black lines a little.)

Spot the gap between form 16 and the strips ...

I’m not quite sure what to do about it yet. I did try squeezing it…

The stern strips bend from near vertical to near horizontal, and back to near vertical again, in a very short distance

…which helped, but I think it’s too little too late. I should have done this for each strip. It’s really hard to make the strips behave at this point on the hull, so I bet plenty of Guillemots out there have this rounded stern, not the pinched stern of the design.

Why bother?

There are plenty of posts online about the Guillemot tracking poorly, so I think this is probably a significant mistake on my part.

Will report back with the solution!

The fix

I posted some questions on Nick Schade’s Kayak Forum here and Ross Leidy’s Blue Heron forum here, and the members were really helpful. (Click each link for the respective posts.)

The general consensus was to heat the area either with steam or a heat gun. I don’t have a heat gun, and Sarah’s hairdryer wasn’t powerful enough, so hot water it was.

First job was to soak the area, using a tea towel soaked in hot water.

Next, squeeze the strips. Thanks to Charlie for suggesting the use of blocks, very effective!

Finally, heat the area, since it's winter. That's an upturned hand washing basin sitting on the hull, covered with blankets.

It’s worked, and I’m glad I have used PVA, since this softens in water, allowing the strips to move. (It seems to re-harden too, fingers crossed!)

Ways to avoid this problem

Reading the various forums, this is a pretty common problem. I don’t think cheater strips would have helped. Basically I should have heated the strips when applying them, and used more force to make them align to the forms.

The other thing I should have done was use strips of a lesser width. I’ve used 3/4″ strips so far, but the chine (line where the hull transitions from vertical side to horizontal bottom) would have been a LOT easier with 1/2″ strips.

A few days ago I reached the point where you might use cheater strips to ease the bending force on the strips.

Cheater strips are long, wedge-shaped, strips used to transition from a tight curve strip to something closer to a straight edge. For example, you can see a wedge gap between the top (most recent) strip and the previous strip in the picture below (taken from John Caldeira’s terrific kayak build website):

John Caldeira's Guillemot S - leaving space for a cheater strip

In Nick’s book, he recommends using cheaters if you’re having a tough time making the strips conform to the bow and stern upwards bends. Most of the blogs I have read imply you require them, but I can’t really see why.

If building without staples, I imagine cheaters are a good idea, to reduce the stress when bending the long strips.
But I did find a Kayak Forum post suggesting it’s no big deal to omit them.

So I’ve decided not to ‘cheat’, to save time working out how to make them. I also think it looks smarter without them. Five strips so far:

Bow with no cheater strips (yet!)

Hopefully I won’t find out later why they are a good idea! e.g. maybe the bow will flatten over time as the strips try to adopt their former shape. We’ll see.

The first shearline strips are on. Feels great to be starting the real boat building at last. Things I’m learning:

Scarfing

I copied Ed Walsh’s idea (see Other Builders’ Tips) and built a jig to create a scarf joint. It’s simple to plane off each end, then glue them together using some loaned clamps. (Thanks Gary!)

Jig for planing strips to create a scarf joint

Shearline strips

It was too hard to bend the strips up at the ends. Trimming these strips to about 16mm across made it much easier.

First shearline strip on

I bought my cedar a while back, but paulownia seems to be a good alternative. Lighter, close enough in strength, and grown sustainably here in NZ. And cheaper. Steve likes it for his microBootlegger.

I might use some for detail strips, if I can source a small enough plank to do it with.

Buying the wood

Timspec were great, lots of planks to choose from, up to 6m in length. They sell direct to the public, too.

Timspec Christchurch cedar selection

I was quite nervous about milling my beautiful, expensive cedar planks ($300 for one 3.4m plank 50 x 150mm and one 4.2m plank 50 x 200mm, plus $50 to bandsaw and dress these into 21mm planks).

I'd forgotten how light cedar is

Ripping the strips

I bought a 210mm diameter, 1.6mm kerf blade, to minimise waste for my Dad’s home table saw. But then a friend with a professional table saw offered to cut it, and despite the 3mm kerf, I went with that. Thanks Dave for the use of your saw. I now have immaculate 6.4mm strips, ready for the router.

Dave preparing a straight edge

You can't beat a long table for accuracy and saving time

Ready to mill the bead & cove

Milling a bead and cove

I’d read up lots about building a jig for the router. It was easier than I thought. The hardest part was sourcing the router bits. In NZ, they would have been $NZ160! Eventually, I bought one for about $NZ90 incl. postage from One Ocean Kayaks. It’s a purpose-built bit with both a bead and cove cutter:

Router bits available from One Ocean Kayaks

Next Dad and I made up a jig to mill the bead, then we’ll do the cove:

Router jig. It was easier to put the bit opposite the fence, since I have uniform width strips

Dad cutting the bead

Milling the cove

Hope I've got enough!

Building the jig has been quite a big job. What I learned:

Strongback (beam)

• I used a reasonably true piece of treated timber (H1). Apparently it’s better quality wood, so more likely to hold its shape. $23 for a 4.8m beam.
• Build the stands per Nick’s design (in the book). He’s thought through the gap between uprights, working height, etc.
• Plane the top surface perfectly level.
• It doesn’t matter if the strongback curves sideways, even by an inch or two. Mount it on the stands, and wire up fishing line from one end to the other. Mark this as the centre line and leave it for a few days to be sure the beam has adopted a final shape.

Note the curve in the strongback

Mounting sectional forms

• I used low grade custom wood (MDF), only $25 for a 1.2 x 2.4m sheet. A jigsaw worked just fine cutting each one out.
• Drawing the forms on grid paper worked out to be really helpful. The gridlines were a handy reference when using a spirit level to check alignment.
• When cutting the hole in each form, carefully cut the waterline edge. Then, when you place the forms on the strongback, it’s only a matter of aligning them horizontally. The other edges can be as rough as you like.
• I had to cut some extra width in the holes to allow for the beam’s curve. This doesn’t matter since you only need to fix them from one side anyway.
• Align the forms perpendicular to the marked centre line, not the beam!

Align sectional forms to the centre line, not the strongback

• I found aligning by eye was the most reliable method, using the waterline and centreline marks, working from the middle out.

Aligning to the waterline

Centre line marks all in line (phew!)

• A spirit level was handy, especially on forms closer to the ends. (Not so much to make them perfectly horizontal, but to make them all match.)

Use a spirit level

• When finished, cross your fingers and flip the strongback over, just to be sure the deck centre lines are in alignment too:

Checking deck centrelines (before end forms)

Mounting end forms

Aligning the end forms on the centre line was quite a challenge. It’s hard to use the centre line marks on sectional forms because the ends are so curved.

• [Edit: Important - when you fix the end forms, fix 'em real good. A lot of stress is placed at each end, and now that I am stripping, I just hope I fixed them firmly enough.]
• [Edit 2: having flipped the boat now to do the deck, I am relieved to say that she is still perfectly straight]
• Wire up some more fishing line from one end of the workshop to the other, and use a plumb-bob to check the alignment along the strongback.

Final alignment using fishing line and a plumb-bob

• Use a spirit level to be sure the end forms are horizontal along the water line, and vertical to match the sectional forms.

Make sure the end forms are vertical

I’ve finally started fixing the forms to the strongback, and I discovered a small discrepancy between the end form offsets and the adjacent cross forms:

Bow end form doesn't match form 2

Form 2 is adjacent to the bow end form. So you’d expect the heights to deck/bottom to be the same.

In the book, the keel bottom offset is -0.41″. But the relevant offset for the bow end form is -0.68″. Same at the stern (-1.62 for form 15, -1.78 for the stern end form).

What to do? I found some posts on the bulletin board hosted from Nick’s site. Here’s the relevant post:

There is some disagreement between the longitudinal form and the cross-sectional form. Although it appears big, at that point of the hull it does not make a big difference in the shape of the boat. You can either grind down the longitudinal [end] form to match the sectional form, or leave it alone. It won’t effect the shape much. I would leave it alone.

As shown above, I decided to plane the end forms anyway, to match them up:

After planing and bevelling the bow end form