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Beyond work

Sea, snow, and elsewhere

What the weekends and the vacations are for. The house rule is the dive log's: stills only, each one picked so nobody else is in frame.

Sailing

ASA 103–105 — coastal cruising, bareboat chartering, navigation.

  • Sail and foredeck of a sailing yacht against the sunset, golden water beyond
  • Silhouette of a sailor hauling a line on deck against the low sun
  • A white dinghy lettered 帆海汇 008, crew in yellow life jackets on turquoise water, a green hillside behind
  • Closer on FANHAIHUI 008, blue and lime sails lettered HUI and FANHAIHUI, an Aquaman flag, and a sailor in a black vest
  • A fleet of colorful dinghy sails and a white catamaran under mountains along an overcast coast
  • Dinghies with red-and-black sails, hull 002 visible, on blue-green water with hills behind

Snowboarding

Winter weekends on board.

  • A skier in a pink jacket at the top of a valley run, golden light on the snow, peaks under a blue sky
  • A snowboarder seen from behind, board in hand, the sun flaring through clouds above a sea of clouds
  • A groomed piste and chairlift towers, orange sunset behind the peaks, skiers on the slope
  • A snowboarder sitting in the snow, looking out at a rugged range under the clouds

Diving

PADI Advanced Open Water.

Mantas owned the reef edges — the same glide line, over and over. Reef sharks patrolled the sand and hung in the mid-water haze; an eagle ray came through with a school in tow; a turtle rested on the reef like it paid rent.

  • Silhouette of a manta ray passing overhead against the sun, white belly with dark spots visible
  • A manta ray gliding low over a coral reef, cephalic fins unrolled
  • Several reef sharks and a school of jacks silhouetted in blue mid-water, a descent line crossing the frame
  • An eagle ray swimming through a school of small fish above the reef
  • A sea turtle resting on a coral head
  • A school of small blue-green fish over a sandy reef

Stills only, each chosen so no one else is in frame — the clips have other divers in them, so the video stays private.

Travel log

A few trips, a few stills.

Dusk in the towns — timber windows, harbor lights, a wet street strung with bulbs — then the aurora over the water, and a dog team in the snow.

  • A bare tree and a half-timbered building with warm windows at snowy dusk, beside a rough stone wall
  • Magenta and orange sunset over a snowy train platform, the side of a train in frame
  • Waterfront apartments at dusk, lit windows and a snowy hillside behind, dark water in the foreground
  • The Color Fantasy cruise ship beside the wooden SALT A-frame on a snowy harbor quay
  • Bergen from Fløyen: the harbor, red roofs, and mountains along the fjord
  • A narrow city street at blue hour, fairy lights overhead and wet pavement below
  • A person walking toward a Widerøe turboprop on a snowy tarmac under a clear blue sky
  • Green aurora over snowy mountains, with a lit cabin beside the water
  • A person seen from behind with a team of sled dogs in deep snow

Belgium

Leuven in the last of the sun — the library tower, the town hall over the square — then Antwerp: Brabo, Het Steen on the Scheldt, and a street still lit after dark.

  • Gothic clock tower of the Leuven university library in silhouette against an orange sunset, rooftops in the foreground
  • The Brabo Fountain in Antwerp: a figure throwing a hand, guildhalls behind, blue sky
  • Leuven Town Hall on the Grote Markt at sunset, cobblestones and café umbrellas
  • Het Steen above the Scheldt, with the Antwerp waterfront and skyline beyond
  • A high window along the Scheldt: the harbor, cranes, and sun glare on the water
  • A cobblestone street at night, lit façades and café awnings, a spire in the distance

A mosque lit like porcelain inside, and camel shadows longer than the evening.

  • The shadows of a camel caravan stretched across a rippled sand dune
  • A camel caravan silhouetted on a dune ridge at dusk
  • The carved doors and lantern-lit interior of the Hassan II Mosque

Water so clear the reef fish look lit from inside.

  • A school of yellow-tailed fish over a Red Sea reef, clear blue water beyond
  • Palm trees and yachts around a resort marina on the Red Sea coast

The next entry lands when the next flight does.