January 29 12:46 AM On anchor watch

We have spent the day playing refugee. Yesterday a large cat anchored close to us, this morning we moved since we did not dance to the same tune in the growing winds. Before we were able to re-anchor the gale hit with blinding rain at 30+ knots of wind. We found a clear spot and dropped the hook ... much to the displeasure of a boat directly ahead of us. They were jumping up and down waving all sorts of appendages. Their radio signal was garbled and not understandable. So we sat in the downpour working out our next move. Having been displaced by a larger boat earlier in the morning we were not about to be forced out of our current position without a clear plan. Once the rain subsided the forward boat managed to communicate their concern. There was a current that would force Pilgrim very close to their boat even though we were 300 feet apart, why we would swing with the current and they would not is beyond me. We decided to sit tight ... they were not happy. As it turns out the opposing shore had the final say ... a large gust of wind swung us into shallow water and we had to pull ourselves free with the anchor. Time to move again. Another gale hit just as we hauling. The water blew into spindrifts making it hard to pick our way through the anchored boats. After several failed attempts we ended up close to where we had originally spent the night. This time ahead of the cat but positioned for a wind shift forecast for midnight. It has become very clear that boaters in these waters are very protective of their personal space (anchor swing room). They make it very clear that strangers are not welcome in their "backyard". I had mentioned alliances formed by boaters during their trip down the ICW and across the Gulf Stream. Now I am beginning to understand their real purpose. Alone you can be bullied, with allies a radio call away you feel an increased sense of power to push your agenda. While we were looking for a new place to settle the radio chatter between allied boats
became a modern jungle drum ... here they come ... they had better not try to settle here ... can't they just stay away. So here I sit at midnight watching the wind speed climb to 30 knots, watching the distance to the anchor, keeping an eye on the boats around us and hoping
for that promised wind shift that will place the position game back in my court. Have a good night ... Brian

January 25, Day 3 in Bahamas

We made it across the Gulf Stream, have spent two nights at anchor and are spending the third in a marina. We observed a much lighter current flow in the Gulf Stream than expected ... less than 1 knot where 3.5 was the expectation. The water temperature was much lower than documented for this time of year, 70 degrees instead of 75 degrees. The winds have been stronger and have not followed the "normal" flow patterns. This afternoon we were hit by a major gale ... 30+ knots and blinding rain as we approached Crab Cay (a narrow channel into Spanish Cay). The weather forecast calls for 25 knot or higher winds for the next 5 days that go fully around the compass. Boaters that want to cross the Gulf Stream will have to wait another week or more for a weather window. What concerns me is the fundamental weather pattern shift and the diminished Gulf Stream effect that I have observed. What may have focused this issue in my mind was a book called "The Coming Global Superstorm" from which the movie "The Day After Tomorrow" was spawned. The book is mostly post-modern-scientific speculation BUT it has a kernel of truth ... If they had taken out most of the wild speculation it may have received more interest but in its current form it is close to a tabloid read. The main point that caught my interest was the discussion of polar ice cap melting and the effect on the Gulf Stream. Over the past year most of the predictions they have made have come true. Major ice loss in both poles adding fresh water to the polar seas resulting in a reduced Gulf Stream flow ... and they predict an eventual stoppage of the stream resulting in a new ice age. Borrow the book and have a read ... watch the movie to see how a simple but important concept is corrupted by Hollywood. Yes dear friends I'm on the Green House Gas soap box again.
The Bahamas ... an interesting place. Spoke to a fellow today that cooked our dinner ... interesting meal of Conch and Flounder. His main concern was generating traffic for his kitchen during the winter months. Some nights there are no customers, some nights only a couple. He enjoys his job so he stays open. His plan for coping was to start a major redevelopment program to expand His marina and resort site by adding condos and more activities. He owns the island ... it has an airstrip, hotel rooms, a marina, a restaurant ... etc. The cook is worried that by expending his island he will no longer be able to enjoy the island for the reason he bought it. To retire to a less stressful environment. Interesting thing about humans ... they can't stop developing, expanding and consuming ... Brian

January 21, 2007 Second last day in the U S of A

Sunday and here we sit waiting for our weather window. If all goes well we will be off to the Bahamas Monday at 11 pm. We have been sitting for a week in North Lake Worth waiting for South winds and watching the culture unfold. The Dolphins arrive at high tide on the ... the birds arrive shortly after to feed on the bits left over. The boaters descend on the local Publix and West Marine stores just after noon and the store staff scurries to get reorganized soon after. At five the cocktail parties start and end at sundown. We sit and wait in shorts and tees listening to CBC weather reports for Canada. Such is life in the retirement zone. The ICW has been avoided by choice, we prefer to go out into the Atlantic. It is a lot safer. We had to spend 30 minutes in the ICW today moving from North Lake Worth to Lake Worth and were passed by no fewer than 5 cigarette boats going full throttle ... within 20 feet of out hull. I wish they were in season. The ICW can be viewed as a microcosm of the North American social environment trapped in a linear flow of time. Boaters of all varieties enter the system, mingle, mix, form relationships, travel awhile, depart, remix and on and on. The trip takes a couple of months and with daily intersecting paths the possibilities are endless. If you travel outside you play the role of the loaner ... the outsider ... not in the mainstream. More on this later ... cheers.

Rant update

In yesterdays rant I singled out NOAA as a bad actor. Here is an example
of what they can influence with incorrect data. Their forecast for
Tuesday included a gale warning from the North. So being cautious we
decided not to venture forth into the Gulf Stream crossing staging
anchorage today. At 1800 today the forecast not only didn't mention the
gale but forecast perfect crossing conditions. In addition they are
forecasting that the rest of the week will not be pleasant for a Gulf
Stream crossing due to strengthening northerly winds. So ... I should
have ignored the gale warnings and gone to the staging area with the
full understanding that whatever NOAA says is totally incorrect. I plan
on monitoring forecast and actual conditions for the next week to see
how bad the forecasters really are. I guess experience equates to how
many grains of salt you can put to the recommendations of the "experts".
BTW ... what is behind the increased US hysteria toward IRAN? Does Bush
really want Armageddon as his legacy?
Brian

January 15, 2007 Lake Worth, FL

We are now in Lake Worth thanks to the intervention of a pod of Dolphins (Coryphaenidae). Pilgrim is equipped with the latest navigational tools but they all require a human analysis and interpretation. I made an assumption regarding the location of the 1/2 mile harbour entrance navigational aid based on data from the GPS and radar. The various electronic devices give a lat/long but not a visual picture. The pod intercepted us as we approached the shore (1/2 mile away) and through extensive jumping displays on our starboard side pushed us further to port to avoid them. Every time we tried to turn to starboard the activity increased as if they were trying to communicate important information. Well they were. Once we settled on the correct course to the channel the activity stopped. A job well done. I hope they never leave (ala... Good-bye and Thanks for all the fish). I think the aquatic mammals have developed beyond the homo-watevers ... they deal with and are in s
ynch with the natural forces of nature ... homo-watevers still think they are on top of the food chain. I wonder which species survives the next 100 years.
My current rant is directed to the NOAA weather folks. The forecast was for 15-20 East winds diminishing to 10-15 overnight with 4-7 foot seas for the Cape Canaveral to Lake Worth run. We observed and experienced 15-20 increasing to 20-25 overnight with 7-10 foot seas. I suspect that a large number of boating accidents are due to people believing NOAA forecasts. I'm not sure that a private company can provide better forecasting but it all goes to show that YOU need to know how to interpret various data sources to reduce the risk.
The truth is out there ... dig harder ... Brian

January 9, 2007

So here we sit in Cape Canaveral... awaiting delivery of a drilled prop
shaft. No space shuttles to light the sky ... no dropping humans from
the space between the stars. A time to observe the basics of life. Why
are folks so interested in the daily specials from the various fast
grease outlets? Why is there a pervasive sense that ones spouse is the
enemy? Why are guns more accessible than a good bottle of scotch? Why
are the Americans so paranoid? An interesting ... at least to me ...
observation ... Florida is a centre of war-vets from the Vietnam war.
They are easily identified by their pony tails ... tattoos ... skinny
frames ... and tendency to over indulge. These are folks that have
never re-entered the social stream and live on the periphery of society.
I wonder what will happen with the troops that come back from Iraq. The
US is not interested in vets regardless of the fuss and blunder of
public display. I only shutter at the number of trained killers that
will be walking the streets of the US once the Iraq fiasco is
terminated. Then again they may be sent to Sudan to continue the war out
of Iraq. It is only mid January and it appears that the US is headed
into another decade long quagmire. I have yet to hear anything from the
Canadian Government in support of Kyoto or against the latest US
stupidity. Have a great 2007. Brian.

January 1, 2007

We heard the shouts, the fireworks, the cheers and the gunshots. Another year is upon us. May we survive. I watched the Al Gore movie while we were back in the condo. He has made his presentation thousands of times around the world and no one is paying attention. Too bad ... with the latest news of a major ice melt down in the Arctic it may not be too long before the reality of global warming finally hits home. Happy new year... Brian