Unicorns and Dragons: confessions of an amateur weather router
The post Weather Routing for Passages appeared first on Sailing Totem.
Jamie will be the first to tell you he’s not a weather router. But weather advice has crept into the work we do with coaching clients. Here, he writes about what it’s like offering weather guidance, and offers a hint at the visceral experience of fending off dragons.
On this June day, I have two boats galloping north at 10 knots. The sailing is nice, boosted by 3 knots of Gulf Stream current along Florida’s east coast. This has elements of a unicorn passage. After dark, it’ll be all dragons. I’m anxious for both families. I didn’t exactly send them out into this night. But I didn’t stop them either. Realtime weather radar shows heavier rain approaching. Florida now has tornado and flood warnings. Damn. Lightning hotspots continue to increase along the coastline. The dragons are coming. 1,700 miles west, Totem bobs in softening afternoon wind waves in the Sea of Cortez. We haven’t had a drop of rain in 6 months. No dragons either. We’ll have a gorgeous full moon rising over Isla Carmen in a few hours. Nothing like my Gulf Stream boats speeding through darkness and dragon fire. I am the chess master, sliding pieces past danger. I am the fool, thinking I control the board.
Behan and Jamie Gifford
Behan and Jamie Gifford set sail from Bainbridge Island in 2008 and are currently aboard Totem in Mexico. Their column for 48° North has traced Lessons Learned Cruising during a circumnavigation with their three children aboard and continued adventures afloat. Follow them at www.sailingtotem.com
