A Thought on Weather
It’s easy, this time of year, to keep yourself aware of the weather. Fronts come through like freight trains (hmmm, remember last hurricane season?). You have to know what will be happening to be sure to have the right clothing, etcetera and so on. During the summer, it’s different. With the predominant weather patterns we live with on and around the St. Johns River, it’s easy to be lulled into a sense of security about the weather window.
With a high pressure system sitting over us for days, or even weeks at a time, the weather changes little from day to day. The only real interruption would the afternoon showers. Unless we are lucky enough to be living aboard, they don’t really effect us except on the weekends. Then, a pleasant afternoon sail can be turned into a nightmare in less time than it takes to think about it.
Picture this: You and a few friends have taken the SS Friendly out for a summer afternoon sail. The day looks like partly-cloudy skies, temperature in the mid to high eighties, sea-breeze is the major wind machine, coming from the southeast to east. From the west side of the river, a particularly thick set of clouds seem to gather. Soon a steady rain is falling, coming across the river and cooling off the boat and all aboard. Without warning, the sea-breeze reverses and quadruples in strength. You look sideways and see your spreader tips punching holes in the surface of the river.
It could happen. It has happened. All of us know at least one person that it’s happened to. No real point or hidden meaning, just something to think about while waiting for the ‘summer thaw’. But, if you do think about it, I bet it’s a while before another of those summer ‘thunder bumpers’ sneaks up on you to ruin an afternoon: reef early, reef often.