Here is the story morning glory. Yesterday two Catamarans, Oasis and Mer Soile pulled chocks to leave. I have herded along with them generally for a few weeks. I was overcome with that herding instinct and almost made the mistaka. You see when you have several forecasts, some good some bad you tend to favor the good. It's that optimistic nature of mine. However in the realm of weather it pays to be a pessimist. I headed out to the channel entrance and anchored with the two Cats. The plan was to wait until 11pm, give the winds and seas time to ease. So at 11pm I was standing on the bow watching the two Cats ease out the entrance. I decided this was not a prudent move. I went back to bed and then early this morning weighted anchor and went back to my snug mooring. I was most heartily congratulated for my apparent courage in calling it off. In all honesty I gave myself a 50/50 chance that I would actually move. I am so glad I chose to stay. Today the trades were up in the 20's. May not sound like alot, but remember on the north coast huge capes jut out and excellerate the wind. Please recall my post on 2/2/08 where I quoted the forecast coming for this weekend. Light and variable......excellent opportunity to motor to Puerto Rico...yada yada. Things can change rapidly and often do. The deal in meteorologist terms is the Atlantic High, really a permanent fixture on the scene pulses north and south and east and west. The closer it is to the Caribbean and the higher the pressure the more the isobars are compressed creating more wind. Since the high is in a circular pattern the curves in the isobar field increase the wind at said curves. Now when a cold front exits the east coast all hands in my neighborhood start to tense up. Could be a weather window in the offing. Here is why. If the cold front is strong it will do battle with the Atlantic High and push it east and sometimes north. The distance gained from the Atlantic High allows the trades to ease or sometimes even die altogether. If the cold front is a wuss it just slams into the high and falls apart or as the weather people like to say it "dissipates." For whatever reason the weather people have trouble gauging the strength of the cold fronts as they move off the coast. So day 1 they say it is strong enough to move the Atlantic High, but then again the Atlantic High may strengthen and change the relation or vice versa. So many things in play. As summer approaches the Atlantic High naturally centers itself further north in the Atlantic allowing lighter trade winds in the Caribbean in the summer. Each year is different but it is entirely possible that I won't be able to move for quite sometime. Or I may move 125 east to Samana and then get pinned for x amount of days. So be it, I'm retired.

So the picture needs some explanation. Those are the pieces from the dreaded rear seal failure. The center piece is the failed seal. And by the way if any mechanics can tell me why a seal fails I'm all ears. I am worried that my new seal will fail due to some internal issue I'm not aware of. Or maybe the seal hit its service life. Anyway the piece on the left is the piece that Roberto put in backward and the gasket was the piece not being compressed. You will notice on the nut a small nick on the thread. I thought this was damage, but when screwed onto the shaft your tap down a small flange of metal and it locks onto the shaft. It is intentional damage. Those three pieces caused me much mental anguish. So.....still hanging in the Lup.

Capt Chris