| Log Entry - Friday, Jan 13, 2006 |
| |
|
|
Weather, Weather, Weather, And a Better Meal
I put my eye mask on this morning and slept in. Didn't wake up till 9:00. It’s very cozy inside my sleeping bag. No deadline, no need to get up. Better be careful, I could get lazy.
Amazing how fast a person starts to adjust to new surroundings and circumstances. They may not be what you are used to but they rapidly become yours. I'm still working on a good cup of percolated coffee. Can't seem to get the amount or time right. It would be nice to have a little heater on the boat, not so much for heat but to dry things out. Everything always feels damp.
The sat phone with email is a God send. What a joy to hook up and hear news from the ones you love. Of all my new gear, the sat phone is the most luxurious. The connection is slow, but for short text messages it is excellent. It only takes a few words to lift ones spirits.
My cell phone was working on roam, but I forgot my car battery hookup, so it is dead in the water now. I road my bike into town to connect my computer at the Internet cafe. The mayor of St. Georges, Mr. E. Michael Jones, served me, so we had a cup of coffee together. Turns out he is up for re-election in a little over two weeks. A very friendly guy, as are all Bermudians.
Here are a few Bermuda facts:
I bought the brackets I need to mount an additional fuel filter on the tank where we had the problem on our last voyage. I got home too late to install it- too dark. That gives me something to do tomorrow during the storm.
My meal tonight improved significantly. Karen emailed me a salmon recipe, which I did cook. That’s a first. Amazing, me cooking salmon in white wine and soy sauce. I must say it was very tasty, especially compared to the terrible pasta alfredo of yesterday.
I have two photos for today. The first photo is of me on my scooter with the ice chest I just bought full of food, including the salmon that was soon to become my gourmet meal. (Note, this is a second ice chest bigger than the first.) I even have some leftovers for lunch tomorrow. The woman who took the photo at the super market thought I was totally wigged out. Oh, I forgot to mention that my backpack, which is barely visible has my laptop in it. This is the essence of what is meant by being mobile.
The second photo is a weather chart showing the predicted situation on Sunday. The low pressure system is centered significantly north of Bermuda, but it extends as far south as Cuba. The Ocean Prediction Center (OPC) calls it a storm, which is one level up from a gale and just below a hurricane. Check out those wave heights of 15-21 feet. Remember those are the average of the top one-third of the waves with every two out of 100 being twice that height or 40 feet. You can see the weather for yourself at wwww.weather.bm .
What are the three most important words in sailing? You guessed it: weather, weather, and weather. This, after all, is the ocean.
|