Gli appuntamenti padovani del "XXI International music meeting" fino al 21 giugno 2011

Per la XXI edizione dell'International music meeting, organizzata dall'Orchestra giovanile del Veneto, vengono proposti una serie di concerti con artisti provenienti da ogni parte del mondo, oltre che da tutte le Regioni italiane.

In programma una rassegna di concerti che si tengono a Padova e in diversi Comuni dell'area circostante, toccando anche la provincia di Treviso.

    

Prossimo appuntamento
Giovedì 17 marzo

Padova - Fornace Carotta, piazza Napoli

Nelson High School Band - Canada

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Giovanni Allevi: gli Alieni siamo noi che con la nostra sensibilità, cerchiamo lampi di poesia tra le pieghe dell'esistenza quotidiana sabato 5 marzo 2011 al Gran Teatro Geox di Padova

Giovanni Allevi, stella della musica classica contemporanea italiana, sarà in concerto, piano solo, al Gran Teatro Geox il 5 marzo.

Il nuovo live segue l’uscita del lavoro “Alien”, disco di inediti di piano solo di Giovanni Allevi.

"Alien è il disco più dolce, impetuoso e passionale che sia mai uscito dalle mie dita. Ho lasciato che la musica fluisse senza alcuna limitazione, verso una costruzione complessa, dove la tecnica compositiva è sempre a servizio dell’espressività. La creazione musicale - racconta Giovanni - mi porta in luoghi talmente lontani dalla quotidianità, astratti e al tempo stesso emotivi, che ogni volta mi ritrovo a guardare il mondo con occhi nuovi, tanto da sentirmi un alieno circondato da alieni. “Alien” è un lavoro sperimentale, dove la ricerca musicale è tesa verso la dilatazione delle forme e il raggiungimento di una purezza maniacale del suono, volti ad esaltare le sonorità e i ritmi della contemporaneità".

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Not on a Friday

The document have finally arrived. Not a day too early. One thing very important to know about Spain is that you need a hell of a lot of patience when you're dealing with bureaucracies and administrative institutions. The fact that you will have to wait for things/deliveries/letters/emails/people much longer than scheduled, is something you just have to get used to and put into your calculations from day one otherwise it is very easy to go completely crazy over here. But Spain is, on the other hand, good in so many other ways so it might even out.

Anyways, the important boat document is now here and we are ready to go. Or at least I am but Alex refuses to leave today as it is a Friday and apparently it means bad luck to leave for a sailing passage on a Friday. Everyday you learn something new about the people around you. I never seen a superstitious side in my man before today. Very interesting. Or maybe just all sailors are living by this superstition. Who knows?

"In some cultures, Friday is considered unlucky. This is particularly so in maritime circles; perhaps the most enduring sailing superstition is that it is unlucky to begin a voyage on a Friday" - cut out from Wikipedia.

/Taru

Thoughts about the crossing

No we're not in the tropics yet, although these little friends looks like they are just from there. The document is still missing and we will have to wait here for it's arrival. Someone was asking about our feelings now when we're just about to begin the long crossing and I have barely thought of it from another perspective  than how interesting it will be and how great it will be to have it done. Am not worried or scared or anything like that as I cannot see any greater risks out there than in any other sea we sailed. I'm sure those nights in Golf of Leon with 5 meter seas and 35 knots of wind or that night of constant thunderstorm and 30-32 knots of wind while surfing on huge seas and praying for my life for us not to get struck by the massive lightnings which were all around us, were much more fearful than an Atlantic crossing can be in January. We will follow the established trade-winds anyway so there shouldn't be too much of surprises, at least not from the weather perspective. Some rain has no one died of and yes the waves can be a bit uncomfortable but that's something I've calculated to have to deal with anyhow. What we could be a bit worried for though and which Alex slightly is already, is the autopilots tiller arm and it's strength after that shock it had to experience in Morocco. The bracket is reinforced a bit but we would definitely have to get it replaced completely and that we haven't had the time for as yet. I am not too worried as I think we will be fine with it and also the Sailomat windpilot, and would both fail - well then it was our bad luck and there's not much else to do than hand-steer and even that is not a major concern from my side. If people have sailed around the world singlehanded without autopilots for almost thirty years now and someone sailed across the Atlantic with a 20-footer by himself for more than 150 years ago, well then we would easily be able to do it without self-steering if that would be our luck. 

I am sure everything will be fine and I'm confident knowing that we will always find a way to solve problems that might arrive. It is a new type of challenge after all and if we wouldn't love great challenges, we wouldn't live this life to begin with.

We feel well prepared and ready, just that goddamn document which has to arrive and then we're ready to go. Will call UPS now again and check what the hell's going on. /Taru

What we're occupied with at the moment

So what do we have left before we can leave? This is one of those things. Alex have designed and mounted new teak seats in the cockpit and these gaps needs now to get filled with sika. Will show the final production once it's finished.

Rest of the list below. (and bear in mind that this is only what has to get done before we leave, there is another long list for not so super important tasks to fulfill when we have more time on some tropical island. ) So:

- Install a new cooler plate for the fridge. We'll be able to produce ice with this new one. Yes!

- One sail is on repair and needs to get back to the boat asap.

- Install the gps antenna for the MaxSea.

- Replace one of the navigation lights.

- Refill with more sika on some of the portholes.

- Fit the battery isolator.

- Install three new battery cables.

- Improve the earthing of the satellite unit.

- Install a larger engine starter battery.

- Clean out the boat and store everything properly.
- Await an important document that should have arrived today, better luck tomorrow I guess.

And.. that would be it for now. /T

Hallucinations

I know I know, all you sailors out there would wish to see a bit more of the boat projects and such but bear with me for a while as we are in a very messy (literally) situation right now when our to-do-list seems longer than that one we started on for one year ago and we are supposed to begin our ocean crossing in about ... 24 hours.

Le Pastis d'Amelie is a cake that Alex sisters friend Nico sent home with us from France and it is one of the most delicate piece of pastry that I have ever tasted. It is from a special bakery in Mazerolles outside of Pau which nowadays are so famous for this round, sweet cake that they only have these on their baking list. When you take a bite of this buttery, creamy dream of a vanilla cake, you instantly get transported to the cake heaven beyond any you've ever visited before. I swear, it feels like you're hallucinating when having the pleasure of having this mixture on your tongue. It is simply ridiculous how buttery one cake can be and I'm mourning in this very moment as we've just finished the grand cake of 700 g this morning. I will definitely have to try putting together something similar asap.

Some other food notes from Las Palmas: I never thought that living with a Frenchman would mean that I would eat this much of foie gras, I think that we two together have eaten around 1 kilo (2.2 US pounds) only since NYE and let me tell you that that is some serious amount of goose liver. My only problem now is to figure out how to get rid of these many extra pounds which these cakes and livers have meant to my body. And somehow that has to get done before I get over to the Caribbean. Will keep you posted. /Taru

Preparing for the Atlantic passage

Pan fried chicken legs with chinese mushrooms and scallions in a hot pepper-sauce.

And that was today's lunch.

As we're about to leave for the Atlantic crossing very soon (tomorrow or Thursday that is), we are now busy with the final planning of the food provisioning for the 18-22 days we will spend on the ocean.

It is a pity that fresh meat isn't lasting for more than the first five days or so and that many vegetables will go bad after 14 days, but we'll manage well with other reserves. What we've been focusing on mostly is to make sure there is enough fresh water (around 100 liters ((26 US gallons)) of reserves in bottles and folding water jugs in case the watermaker would fail), enough pasta/rice/potatoes/beans/noodles/cous cous/cereals/dried fruit/dried vegetables/dried mushrooms/juice/UHT milk and cream for the double of the time we'll be spending on the sea, plenty of baking supplies in case I get baking cravings and obviously everything needed to make some nice fish dishes like lemon juice, coco flakes, garlic, spices, dried basilica and other herbs, soya, wasabi, rice vinegar etc.. With these things we'll be perfectly settled. Will show some pics of how we're storing all of this in the boat, later on. /Taru