Stars, Sails - the Parallax View

A family of astronomers at sea... coming soon to a galaxy near you...

28 May 2020 | Fort Myers, FL
13 February 2019 | SW Florida
25 May 2018 | Fort Myers, SW FL
02 September 2016 | Fort Myers, FL
11 July 2014 | Fort Myers, FL
04 July 2014 | Fort Myers, FL
01 July 2014 | South Jersey Shore
23 April 2014
11 November 2013 | Fort Myers, FL
05 July 2013 | Fort Myers, FL
25 March 2013 | Fort Myers, FL
11 March 2013 | Fort Myers, FL
25 February 2013 | Fort Myers, FL
24 January 2013 | Fort Myers, FL
25 December 2012 | Fort Myers, FL
15 December 2012 | Fort Myers, FL
28 November 2012 | Fort Myers, FL
25 November 2012 | Fort Myers, FL
07 November 2012 | Fort Myers, FL

Wind Coming

26 August 2012 | Fort Myers, FL
Heather / occ rainy and 84 F / ENE 20-35
Hi, everyone. Sorry about the sparse updates. We have been getting the boat ready for the storm. We expected 45 mph steady (forecast is now 50 mph gusts), so we are hoping that our preparations, which should be good for higher speeds, will be enough. Pictures after. What I did not do is take down all of the sails, which I would have if expecting 90 mph sustained. We've gone through 45 mph while underway (briefly, preceding a squall, and boy was that a surprising moment) and an overnight with 25-35 and lots'o'rain recently, and that was no problem for any of the structures on the boat. So instead, I got Grant to help by holding the jib sheet firmly, and we wrapped the jib carefully and tightly, with many turns of the jibsheet around the furled sail at the end. Then I crawled along the main boom and tied the sailcover firmly with dockline all the way along its length, rather than removing the mainsail. All of the loose stuff from the afterdeck went into the dock boxes and the cushions went into the rental car. The clear vinyl windows were removed from the hard dodger, the ladder and boogie board were removed from the superstructure, as were the garden lights we usually leave aboard in various spots to light us automatically at night.
GOES-13 image of Isaac
GOES-13 satellite image of Isaac, courtesy NASA

Last year at Palm Harbor in Pensacola, we remembered going through a sprightly storm system and taking those same precautions, but a fellow farther down the dock had his headsail open up (got caught by the wind and ripped open), and Derek spent like 45 mins with other guys from the marina trying to help get that under control. also, one of the dockboxes went right over in the wind (flying dockboxes can damage your boat's finish, doncha know), so I walked the dock around our boat yesterday testing the dockboxes - they are all very securely anchored.

We had a vacation week deposited with Interval international that was about to expire, so I "cashed it in" for a week now and moved us into a local vacation resort yesterday. The parking is covered, too, which should help with the rental company -- they get testy if their cars get damaged, even if it's by giant palm leaves driven at 60 mph into the car. So avoiding that is a good thing, too.
Weather Underground hurricane tracking map

I don't like being away from Parallax, but I have set things up so she should come through it all well (and indeed, Derek set up extra lines before we all flew to Colorado and Hawaii a few weeks back), there are dock lines to every available cleat and pad eye on the boat (and on the dock). I'll drive over there this afternoon when the wind gets cranking a little more, just to be sure she's handling it well. We expect the highest wind speeds late tonight and pretty much all day tomorrow. The storm surge is not expected to go over 5' -- that means the floating docks will rise up to 5' along with the boats, sliding along the tall concrete pilings that hold them in place. These were erected with hurricanes in mind, so they rise about 14' above the surface of the docks at normal conditions. So, they should look shorter tomorrow, unless Isaac moves farther west than expected. At the moment, they look normal. Here's a continuously-updated satellite image of the weather in our area, so you can check for the "now" conditions long after I post this :-)
accuweather satellite images of Fort Myers Cape Coral area

Comments
Vessel Name: Parallax
Vessel Make/Model: 37' Prout Snowgoose (1982)
Hailing Port: Pensacola
Crew: Derek, Heather and Grant
About:
Two astronomers, looking for variable stars and adventure. After cruising the Caribbean aboard S/V Paradox for 18 months in the early 90s, the crew swallowed the anchor and had a child, always planning their next Great Adventure: cruising under sail with Grant, showing him the world. [...]
Extra:
We knew that if we ever got a catamaran, we'd want a name to celebrate her twin-hulledness. Parallax is seeing the same thing from two slightly different points of view, which with our two eyes is what gives humans our depth perception. It's also a good metaphor for one of the benefits of marriage. [...]

S/V Parallax

Who: Derek, Heather and Grant
Port: Pensacola