One of our guests from last year shot this, at the end you can see the “catch of the day”.
One of the great things about cruising is the day to day freedom to go and do what you want to do. You quickly learn that to enjoy those carefree days you have to choose whether today you will head out on a nice downwind run, stay in the harbor, or tuck yourself and your boat in a mangrove canal in preparation for a passing front or tropical system. The key to making those decisions and the root source for weather information is the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s forecasting. There are many places that take NOAA’s data and repackage it, some with great insight, but the 1st place I look each morning is NOAA.gov.
On of the critical skills that Margie and I teach couples that join us on for our cruising classes is finding and applying today’s weather forecast to our days activities. It is an inexact science and having different viewpoints when big systems are coming is great. There is some really wonderful computer modeling out there but, and this is a big caveat, you still need to be able to interpret it to for your area with the knowelege that things can change. Getting different viewpoints is a big part of the interpretive process.
Back to NOAA, I was reading a post this morning from Dr. Jeff Masters of Weather Underground, he is visiting the national hurricane center this week as a new tropical system (Tomas) ramps up in the Atlantic;
Since this is such a large increase in intensity from what was forecast–Tomas was not supposed to have 60 mph winds for another 24 hours–this necessitates issuance of a special advisory package. A full set of forecast maps, a marine advisory, wind probability forecast, and a discussion just went out to the world. While all this was occurring, several phone calls to Barbados, St. Lucia, and Martinique were made, alerting the islands to the fact that a Hurricane Warning may be required with the 11pm advisory tonight. NHC has both French speaking and Spanish speaking meteorologists on staff that can coordinate with the islands that don’t have English as their main language. I listened in on a 5-minute conversation in French between the weather service in Martinique and NHC meteorologist Mike Tichacek, as they discussed when Martinique may want to issue a Hurricane Warning.
What a great job our government does in providing this information and making it available to the world. Sometimes it’s hard when you get your tax bill to immediately appreciate all that we get, Noaa is one of the unsung heroes in the US.
Want to learn to sail around the world? Buying your dream boat for offshore passage making? Already bought it and want a little help learning its systems? Our friends Captain Jeff and Captain Jean take couples who have some sailing experience to the next level of sailing on their Skye 51′ sailboat. In addition to both being ASA instructors Jean is a marine surveyor and Jeff is an expert in marine electronics. They are also happy to join you on your new boat. Visit them at Twocansail.com.
If you are not quite ready for advanced sailing classes and want to learn what its like to live on a sailboat in calm and protected waters come Sailing with Captain Margie and I in the Florida Keys. In any case don’t wait to start cruising, it’s a lifestyle that can’t be beat!
Sailing Cruising Consultants
After having talked to taught many couples about sailing together, and of course boating with Margie for the last 30 years here are some ideas to help you work together;
1. Listen when she speaks- when Margie hears a sound thats different, wants to reef the sails or just doesn’t like the way something is going, I find after my instinctual response (what do you know), that she is/was right.
2. Don’t lay the boat over on its side (heeling more than about 10 degrees). The boat will make less leeway and go faster this way as a bonus.
3. Take your time, explain whats happening, enjoy the serenity of sailing. If you are in a hurry get a boat with 3-300hp outboards.
4. Know what the weather is, the boat can probably handle much more weather than you want to be out in. Know and teach her how to make the boat safe when the wind and weather picks up.
5. Show her where the safety equipment is, the basics of how to use it, and what to do when you fall overboard. If you have been nice maybe she will come back to pick you up!
6. Teach her about navigation, charts, and markers. When you know where you are going you feel much more in control of your environment.
7. Give her the helm, when she gets comfortable go make lunch for her.
8. Sailing is all about where is the wind coming from. Make sure she knows this first. Then you can teach how to set the sails.
9. When you do something stupid don’t lash out at her. Yelling is a sign that YOU do not know what you are doing.
10. I just asked Margie for some input, she suggested that if the above does not work you might try just lying about how great it will be. I guess that means I must have made some of the mistakes above in the past!
Island Dreamer sailing on a close reach
Margie and I have spent the last few days sailing the backcountry of the Florida Keys on our journey to Key West to pick up our next couples sailing charter. I am reminded once again how pleasant it is to sail along at 6 knots in 15 knots of wind and still have calm seas and not have the boat heeled over to the rails. The combination of having the sails reefed and set properly and the protection of the many small islands and shallow water makes it easy to relax and enjoy gliding through the water.
We are looking forward to spending some time before our charter with our friends Captain Holley and Captain Denny who own the Schooner Conch Pearl. They do Liveaboard sailing scuba trips based out of Key West. We got to be good friends when Margie and I were running the Schooner Heritage of Miami for the Boy Scouts High Adventure Seabase and our days off coincided two summers ago. Because they have a compressor on board to fill their Scuba tanks they are able to dive locations that diving day trip boats don’t go to in the Florida Keys Marine Sanctuary.
We have just a couple of weeks open before Dec 15th and would love to have you join us sailing Biscayne Bay and the Keys. Couples will learn about living on board a sailboat while staying on board and anchoring in a new place every night. This is one of the best times to sail the keys, it isn’t crowded, the winds are fair, and the weather is delightful. Any charter that ends before December 15, 2009 over 5 days will receive a free additional day. Sail with us in the clear calm waters and enjoy a relaxing vacation learning about sailing and cruising.
View from the Bow of our Sailboat in the Florida Keys
It was hard to do a ASA sailing class with no wind but South Beach was pretty fom the ocean
Now that the weather has started to “cool off” in the Keys it is quite pleasant to be out at anchor again. The sailing winds are on the lighter side, the water is warm enough that even Margie is willing to go snorkeling, and there are lobster around to catch for dinner. We are offering a special on our fall couples cruising live aboard classes. Include an extra day on the water free with a charter of 5 days (6 days for the price of 5). Overnites at the beginning and end of your trip are included. This applies to any charter that ends before Nov. 15, 2009.
Where we practice docking with couples