Year 5 Day 108 A Teaser Day
18 May 2012 | Stonehaven Anchorage, Hook Is. AU
Dave/Weather...Just Read The Blog...
Early this morning I posted a number of the pictures that I had taken when we were without Internet. While I was doing that, it was pouring rain. However, as the morning progressed, the weather cleared and the sun was shining. I checked the weather radar at Australia's Bureau of Meteorology and saw that while a number of rain cells were making their way toward us, they just might pass closer to the mainland and miss us. Ah ha...a snorkeling trip to Langford Island just may be in the cards today. I told Mary Margaret that low tide was going to be around 1430 so, weather permitting, we should motor Leu Cat over there around 1300 or so. She was as gun ho as I was.
As the morning progressed, the skies remained clear but the winds picked up and we started getting 25 knots. White caps had formed in the passage between us and Langford Island. This was not good as it meant that the water would be all cloudy and even a low tide, we would be fighting a stiff surface current pulling us away from Leu Cat and the reef.
Then... the winds died and I started getting excited again. However, in a few minutes a cloud passed over and it started raining again. But then... the cloud passed by and the winds were only 10 to 15 knots. Maybe, just maybe, the weather gods would stop playing with us and let us get our snorkeling trip in...
Well, what do you think happened? Did we go diving or was it another bust day? For those of you who are faint of heart, not made of tougher stuff, who are weak kneed or just big pussy cats, do not read any further. If you do, tears will flood your eyes and you will fall to the floor and pound the ground in utter frustration. At least that is what I did...
The winds came up and it also rained. It then calmed down and stopped raining only to repeat this cycle again. Mary Margaret looked at me down on the floor, one big puddle of tears; hands balled in fists and red from pounding the floor and finally realized, after 41 years of marriage, what type of guy she had married!
These weather gods are so cruel here in Australia. To make matters worse, the weather report now talks about an upper level trough heading our way to be followed by another upper level trough. Man o' man, a double whammy of upper level troughs! This means that the air is going to be very unstable through all of next week and some of the weather web sites are predicting rain everyday throughout the entire next week! We still may be able to sneak in a quick dive tomorrow. At least that is my story and I am sticking with it...
I was so fed up with the crummy weather I just fell off of Leu Cat to get into the water. Ahhhhh, it felt soooo good. I ended up grabbing the scrapper and a scrub pad and removed the green beard that was growing along Leu Cat's waterline. Of course, as I was finishing after being in the water for about an hour, it started pouring and the wind whipped through the two hulls.
On the positive side, last night before we went to bed the resort that is on Hayman Island, about a nm or so north of us had a great fireworks show. It was awesome and lasted a good 15 to 20 minutes. Also, our friends, Sue and Michael of S/V Infini sailed into our anchorage here this afternoon. We talked a bit on the VHF radio and hope to get together tomorrow. We have not since them for about 2 years so that would be great.