Astraphobia

OK. It’s time I started contributing to the blog. My son has done an excellent job of describing our day to day travel and related experiences. My entries will be simple and short, day to day (most of the time), thoughts I have about life on the water.

I’m going to start with WEATHER. It controls our daily life. It never goes away. It is 24/7. Joey has photoed the weather almost every day so you get a sense of what we are dealing with. So far this trip, the weather pattern has mirrored the long winter. It has been cold, windy, and rainy 60% most of the time. Kind of a disappointment. We should be sailing in a swim suit. There are days when we have rain suits with a winter coats underneath. It will get better as the year progresses and we get further south.

WIND and WAVES (created by the wind) are the two key factors of weather that impact us the most. The WIND has to cooperate so we can sail in the direction we want to go. It can’t be to strong. Over 20 knots, it can get uncomfortable. Over 30 knots, it can get dangerous. Big wind generates big waves. Big waves coupled with big wind spells potential trouble. These two factors also impact our anchoring decisions. We try to find well protected locations, i.e. land structure around us that protects us from wind and waves. No one gets much rest when you are getting knocked around all night.

Temperature really only affects our comfort level. Sailing in warm weather is always better than cold. The beer tastes better in warm weather too!!

We are always conscious of the sun. We put sunscreen on our faces and try to wear light weight clothing that covers our other exposed skin. We always wear hats. Better than covering yourself with chemicals.

We listened to the weather forecast on our VHF at least 4 times per day. It is the first thing we listen to in the morning. It is broadcast all day, every day. In Canada it is also broadcast in French. You often have to wait for the French version to end before the English version starts. The pertinent information is in Celsius (temperature), Kilometers (wind speed), meters (wave height),and kilopascals (barometric pressure). So, we’re learning a new language and the metric system.Comprendez vous? Ehhhhhhh!!

“One need only think of the weather, in which case the prediction even for a few days ahead is impossible.” ~Albert Einstein (1879-1955) German-Swiss-U.S. scientist.