Pensacola FL Sailing Blog – sailingnightwatch

So much for our nice 3 day weekend. The latest has it going just west of the mouth of the Mississippi River. We are about 25% of the circle away. It is suppose to be beautiful Sat and Sun and go down from there if all goes as the NHC says. To tie the boat off takes a hard half day. To move off takes a hard half day. To get ready to move off takes a real hard quarter of a day. That means unbolting and removing TV, VCR, Home Theater System, VHF, SSB. Then we work on papers, pictures, some clothes. Unpack refer and put in ice, stash my car. Put the rest in wife’s car.

Did I mention the taping of all hatches and lines and anything else that could move. Putting out hundreds of feet of line and 5 anchors. I need a nap already and I am just thinking about it.

Other than that, I was hoping to sail further then we usually go. Eat at a new restaurant, have a nice long peaceful weekend. Life is good, even at times better. This may not be one of those times.

Saturday I woke early, Formula 1 qualifying was on and had to watch it. Got the computer up to see if Fay was moving and turned on the weather radio to listen to the latest. Fay was still coming and now winds in our area were to be 50 knots. Well after breakfast, we took down the biminni.

Back when we still lived in a house, a tropical storm went by us and circled around Orange Beach AL for a few days. It had wind in the 45-50 MPH range. My home insurance agent was heading home and saw me in the yard and stopped. This was about the 3rd day of the storm sitting off Orange Beach. He said he had been over there looking at the damage. I said I would think everything could handle those winds. Wrong. Most of the homes had vinyl siding and the constant wind had caused much of the siding to slowly break apart. Then the rain starts getting into the homes and things go down hill from there.

A weak slow mover can do a lot of damage. The rain from Fay was tremendous. I feel for those in the central part of Florida and parts of Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana. You just know many of them did not have flood insurance. For us it was a non event. The best kind.

Well now we have to worry about Gus.

TS Fay keeps churning off the east coast of Florida. There is a high pressure area north of the Carolinas that is to send her west. Most of the computer models have it inland and passing over Pensacola. The winds are to be around 30 MPH. No problem you say. What about the 3 other lines of models that get Fay 10 miles or so into our 85 degree Gulf.

I remember a girl named Erin. I swore to many of my acquaintances that she was an Atlantic storm. It was in the Bahamas heading NNW. It can’t get here from there. This was late morning. By dinner time it was passing the northern part of Florida and headed into the gulf. Heading west. No sweat. Went to bed about 2 A.M. It slowed down to next to nothing but was going to SW Louisiana or Texas. For some reason I awoke at 4 A.M. and checked the weather with trusty plotting chart in hand. Still going west as far as they could tell, but drifting. Oh and now a cat 1 hurricane. Up at 6 to work out. Flipped on the local weather girl and just pick up the end of a sentence that says,”30 miles SE of Pensacola heading NW at 15 knots. Oh Sh–!!

That is another story. Somewhere I do have a videotape of the inside of the eye as it passed over the house. This morning I watched the same local weather and the weatherman assured us it will pass to the north. I got on the computer and checked the National Hurricane Center. Same as the weatherman. I checked the models and noticed it was not 1 but 3 lines that took her over the Gulf. Earlier in the week I had turned the boat around as per my hurricane anchoring plan.

There is not a puff of air stirring outside. I make the decision to take down all the sails. All the sails on Nightwatch are roller furling. Getting them down is a lot of work. Folding them is a major project. I needed help. I called and woke up a retired friend who has his boat in the next canal. Two people laying them on the lawn is easy work. Thank you Kent. We took his sails off next.

Why now? No wind. My Genny is large enough to wrap my little sports car twice. Without going out and pointing into the wind, taking the sails down in more then 5 knots of wind is a hazard to your health. It is like reefing. Early is a lot better then late.

It is late in the afternoon and it looks like it is finally starting to move back inland. I feel for the people who have been under it for the last 2 days. Much of that part of Florida is as flat as a pool table. The rain water just has no place to go. Looks like the first rain bands are just starting to get to Panama City. The weather channel say we are 2 days away from it. Saturday night. Computer models still have 3 models in the Gulf. Looks like lots of rain.

You really did not want pictures on this subject.

One of God’s little creatures that help clean up the earth…, I guess. I never counted myself as part of the refuse. One of those rare things happened this weekend, a front got this far south. It meant 70 degree or less nights. The wind was not so good, but you can not have everything. The front was not strong enough to overcome the sea breeze, and only cancelled out any wind till very late in the afternoon. Even on Saturday the sea breeze hardly made it through cocktail hour. But the sleeping was fantastic. I sat and watched the Olympics till a midnight.

We sailed out into the gulf about 5 miles and we did encounter a few flies. Enough to make us dig out the trusty fly swatter. We anchored at Red Fish Point and there were a few more flies that joined us for cocktails and dinner, but not enough to really bother us.

I have never been able to understand why when the wind is out of the north, the flies get real thick. North of Pensacola is rural, but I can not imagine flies fly 20 miles to visit the beach and feast on our bodies.

Sunday dawned beautiful and windless. We had breakfast and by the time we were enjoying our second cup of coffee, our uninvited guests had got to the point that it was time for us to leave. Again the wind was light and variable so we motored or motor sailed home, and got home and put the boat to bed about time the sea breeze overcame the front. Ah, but the sleeping was good. And at home the Olympics are on 4 channels and the computer. I just cannot stand the thought of going from the greatest athletes to Political Conventions. From the best we humans have to offer to the absolute other end of the spectrum. My wife, our resident political junky, would say I am being very civil in this description of politicians. I will cease before I offend, for now.