Many years ago I went with my brother-in-law Ty and an Australian friend named Graham
across Florida to the east coast, where we picked up a yacht to deliver for an elderly man on the west coast at Sanibel Island.
It started out as an easy trip; the weather was good and the water was pretty calm off the coast — a little too calm.
As we worked our way along the coast in the Atlantic Ocean to the south, we debated whether to sail around Key West at the bottom of the state or cut through a canal to the large Bay of Florida and shave some hours off the route.
The weather forecast dictated our decision. A big storm was coming so we chose the shorter route.
As we made our way through the Bay, our rudder kept snagging on floats that had been placed there by fishermen. We would have to stop, free the rope from around the rudder, release the float and continue on our way. It was laborious work but also it kept interrupting our progress as the storm clouds approached.
We had hoped to make Sanibel before the storm but that was becoming only a remote possibility.
At dinner time, we pulled up one of the traps connected to a float wrapped around the rudder to discover several lobsters! Since I was not very skilled as a sailor my main role was to cook meals below decks. I also didn’t get seasick so it didn’t bother me to sway back and forth during the cooking process like it might some people. We had a delicious dinner of lobsters and beer.
By sunset the water was really getting rough, the winds were high and the sky filled with black and purple clouds. We could see flashes of lightning on the horizon. Soon we reached the coast and sailed out into the Gulf of Mexico.
The other two guys were almost always at the helm, except in the calmest waters but now that the going was getting rough, Ty took over as our captain.
He is an excellent sailor and knew what he was doing as we raced at high speed way out into the Gulf. Due to the contours of the coastline, we had to go far to the southwest before we would reach reliably deep enough waters to turn and head north to Sanibel Island.
Ty knew the route pretty well but this was his first time sailing it in this boat or under these conditions. We had navigation maps and a radio and we knew that the storm was a pretty big one. As the first waves of rain started to fall in sheets, Graham and I retreated below, leaving Ty alone up top. We were dressed in rain slickers and hoods, but the rain beat against our faces when we were up top.
(To be continued.)
***
THE HEADLINES:
* World’s Growth Cools and the Rich-Poor Divide Widens -- The International Monetary Fund says the persistence of the coronavirus and global supply chain crisis weighs on economies. (NYT)
* U.S. to open Canada, Mexico land border crossings for fully vaccinated travelers (WP)
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* J&J Booster Dose Increases Protection Against Covid-19, FDA Says (WSJ)
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* A new poll found that over half of Bay Area residents plan to permanently leave the area in the next few years. The cost of housing is propelling their departure. (SFC)
* 40 years ago, San Francisco lowriders organized to fight police harassment — and won (NPR)
* European and U.S. cities planning to phase out combustion engines over the next 15 years first need to plug a charging gap for millions of residents who park their cars on the street. For while electric vehicle sales are soaring in Europe and the United States, a lag in installing charging infrastructure is causing a roadblock. (Reuters)
| * A ‘hidden epidemic of babies and kids being raised in cars’ -- Most homeless families in Silicon Valley sleep in cars, RVs and motels just blocks from major tech campuses for Google and Apple. With more than 48,000 people in Santa Clara in line for a housing voucher, officials have their hands full trying to find more stable shelter for kids and parents trying to survive. (SFC) * ‘Squid Game’ Is Slammed by Kim Jong Un’s Propagandists |
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