Drifting Through Paradise

I didn’t get to bed Saturday night till close to 0600. No I wasn’t on the phone all night, I was going back and forth from down below to up on deck.
As I said, NOAA stated the storms would end and the skies would clear after midnight and the weather would be good till at least Thursday. They were almost correct. The storms past, and the skies did clear. But another pressure system is moving in and they expect it to stall over the bay Tuesday night bringing more showers. They other thing they didn’t mention, was the near gale force winds that cleared the skies and allowed me a look at the beautiful full moon, though it was only a brief look or two at first.
After saying goodnight to that special Lady I spoke of before, I laid in my bed as the gusts hit my home. The anchor rode groaned with the pressure of 15 knot sustained winds and the near 30 mph gusts. The waves built through the night with the opposing wind and tide direction. I went up above to check my lines and assure my anchors held fast and true. My little sailing vessel was constantly being tossed about up and down with the waves, side to side with the gusts, and straight back in the wind. I was not alone in my late night vigil, the Captain of one of the other boats was just as concerned and aware of the dangers that the Father of the Four Winds could bestow of our homes.
He and I and a couple other Captains spoke between gusts. One keeping us update on the speed and force from his instruments. As the gusts died down we each returned to our cabins one by one.  I finally got some sleep, and when I woke almost all the boats from the night before where still where they started. Except one. One boat, about the same size as Emmanuelle, drug anchor and drifted, right onto the rocky bank.
This my friends, is the reason I don’t sleep much in the strong winds. Even though my anchor has held as long as I have been here, this vessel was here when I got here. Nothing about life aboard is constant except the constant change of conditions. Tides change, winds change, weather changes, the phases of the moon change, and the colors of the sunset change. With a boats wake, the tidal flow, and wind, the bottom of the seas and creeks change as well. Sometimes the bottom change can strengthen an anchors hold, but as you can see in the picture, sometimes it can weaken it as well.

Many things in life require dedication, commitment, vigilance. Things like a work ethic, a relationship between a wife and husband or a lover, to even being a responsible pet owner (if you don’t plan on breeding; have your pets spayed or neutered), to being a boater. Without dedication and commitment you can destroy the fragile ecosystem of the marine life, without vigilance you can destroy not only your own boat but another’s as well, with it you can also lose your life or cause the loss of another.

The small craft advisory in effect for the tidal Potomac and the area I am in, will end this evening, they are calling for clear skies  tomorrow. My laundry is done, the galley stocked with fresh fruit and canned pineapple, gear stowed, so with fair winds I will try to weigh anchor once again. The Almighty Webmaster will be aboard soon, and I have a bottle of Crown just for him. Memorial Day is coming fast upon us, and with that, another dear friend aboard.

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