As the wags are wont to say, “Shit happens”.
Of course, sitting on a boat in the Caribbean during the middle of hurricane season one has to expect to have to run through the getting ready for a hurricane two-step. So it does go.
So, we’re getting both boats ready for a possible storm, keeping an eye out for a quick trip to the nearest hurricane hole (where we rode out Cat 5 Maria), and preparing for the sort of aftermath clusterfuck that big storms leave in their wake.
The latest weather projections look better than they did at 2AM and, hopefully, will improve with the next couple of forecasts. For those who wonder what forecasts we follow you should check out NOAA, Windy, and Predict Wind. We also keep an eye out for whatever Tropical Tidbits on the current situation as a huge help in understanding how weather systems work. Plus, once a storm gets named, How Close Can It Get is something we check far more than needful but it’s a big help.
Now we just have to wait and see how Ernesto develops…
OK, now here’s something of a political nature that can’t be said enough. NOAA is the basis of just about every weather forecast that is available to folks like us sitting in a storm’s path or just checking out the weather for a day sail or a passage across the Atlantic or Pacific. Weather is important to sailors. Spelled R-E-A-L-L-Y–I-M-P-O-R-T-A-N-T.
With me so far?
Now of the two political parties in the US of A only one of them is on record of plans to get rid of NOAA and, left to their plans all sailors worldwide would be affected in a really bad way. For instance, none of the weather sources I depend on would be able to provide the services that let’s me put together a plan that makes sense to deal with an approaching storm. Think about that for a moment because you don’t have to let that sort of shit happen.
Now, I have to go sort out some more ground tackle…