Rain! Wind! Hail! Tornadoes! Lightning! And A Partridge in a Pear Tree!

SHIPS LOG:

Today we are supposed to get weather of biblical proportions or dimensions or something. I say "we are" because at the time of this writing, they are still forecasting "nasty weather." Then a\gain, it is NOAA who is doing the forecasting. Also by the time of this writing the "Tornado Watch Level 7" is over. It appears that we will still get some rain and some high winds, but all the rest seems to have given us a pass. . . . unless it shifts and then all bets are off.

On radar, on a line from Tampa to Daytona, everything north of the line is green/yellow/orange/ red none of which are colors you want overhead. Whatever it is, it looks nasty and I am glad I will be missing it. I still have to deal with the winds and the rollicking seas, but less than what i had anticipated. It doesn't look like we will get the 30 - 50 mph winds gusts tonight. I had anticipated spending the night in the nav station again, like that night up in Brunswick, GA, watching the depth sounder and the "little sailboat" on the map on the GPS. If something spectacular doesn't happen and nothing dangerous is called for by the Weatherunderground, I may get to bed at a decent hours. I am up for that for while today was a relatively non-active sort of day, the tension generated by awaiting the onset of the nasty weather was/is actually very fatiguing.

I was lucky enough to be able to get in to take a shower and do laundry at Jerry's place. I even got to the market to pick up a few consumables, but the row back was not like the row in. By the time I headed back out to the boat, the wind had really picked up, probably gusting to 25. Of course, in the shallow "Bay" in which I am anchored, it set up a nice chop. Getting out to ABISHAG meant rowing in "a beam sea," that is waves striking the side of the dinghy. Approximately every 5th or 6th waves hit just right and sent a spray into the dinghy and upon the rower. That be me! it was also pushing me sideways, I was making "leeway" in nautical parlance and the dinghy was also bouncing around a lot. Rowing an inflatable dinghy is really an exercise in futility. They row lousy in flat, calm water and really don't row at all in any "sea." It was a wet, not too cold, one hour, one mile row, fighting all the way to keep the laundry and food stuffs relatively dry. It was not fun.

A big old trawler anchor right next to me, and I mean right next to me, for the night. "Paydirt" bothers me in that while not unreasonably close, he seems rather too close for the "potential of the weather." It would seem to suggest to me that he doesn't or didn't know hat the forecast was when he dropped the hook. He has lots of room around here but he had to anchor within spitting distance. Like I said, it isn't unreasonably close but considering the forecast . . . . . and when the wind swings west tonight, if he drags . . . .. . "WHIPLASH!"