Take a look at some of the weather links to the right. We continue to try to improve our ability to understand weather, because until this last year, almost all our passages were on the order of double the predicted wind speed and add 10 knots. Waves have been more like three times the height predicted and a quarter of the forecast period between each.
Okay, perhaps that’s an exaggeration, but back when we left San Francisco Bay, we had three forecasts from reliable weather sources predicting winds of 15 to 20 knots and 6 foot swells with 19-second intervals. Hmmm. Treble the wind, absolutely, and my, oh, my, what are those big water hills chasing us? Off Ensenada, I pointed left and said, “We’re gybing. Now.”
Then there was that crossing to La Paz from Mazatlan. Okay, granted, a lot of that was inexperience. Who knew the corumuels blew like that off Isla Ceralvo? Not the crews of Sea Venture or Thea Renee. Fifty on the nose? Yikes.
But each passage has been a learning experience. Yes, those 50 knot winds did encourage the theft of our bow planking, lovely wood that may have finally washed up in Equador. And, yes, we are still trying to polish out the grooves my grip put in the stainless stern rails from the passage south. But now that we have more weather sources, perhaps we will have more with which to average the data and pick a true weather window.
We have learned to stay far, far away from Bahia de la Paz and its environs after dark during the season of corumuels. All passages in that neck of the woods are planned for daylight arrival. We need plenty of time to set the hook so we can enjoy the winds from the security of our pilothouse.
