Real Time View

The strong turn out by the NonStop community for this year’s NonStop Technical Boot Camp was encouraging even as it was a testament to how strongly the NonStop system is supported by advocates spanning the generations. Could NonStop be viewed as a hobby for some and if so, did this contribute to NonStop thriving for forty years? Many years ago my father asked me if I would be prepared to give up my Saturday afternoons to help out a friend who had just bought a yacht. I have touched on this subject in other posts – to be specific, the post of July 16, 2008, Specialist! Am I still needed? In that post I described how I began my time on a 40’ sailboat having no experience whatsoever, and that, in time and with experience, I became the sole for’ard hand responsible for everything in front of the mast. For a couple of years running, in the early 1970s, we were overall season’s winners in the category we sailed and I came to develop a real love for this “hobby”. What I didn’t write...

Who knew? The lessons learnt on the rugby field could apply to NonStop! Essentially, we are all wired differently … For as long as I can recall I have had an interest in playing football. Not the round ball variety, but rugby. From the time I was six years old there would be a Wednesday afternoon practice at a delightful suburban ground, Primrose Park. By the time I made it to high school, I had become highly proficient at playing rugby league and my on-field heroics led to me representing first the district, then the zone, and finally, making the trials for the Australian schoolboy side. Even at a very early age, my instinct for the game was recognized by coaches at the highest level. While I missed selection to the team - losing out to a youngster who eventually captained the senior team for Australia - I did come away with an offer from my coach of a contract to play for a Sydney professional team. As happenstance would have it, my parents refused point blank to sign any su...