NUTS & BOATS

 The twice monthly newsletter for to-be and already-are cruisers

Issue #3 - August 1, 2003
Publisher: Trish Lambert
www.takehersailing.com
(C) P. Lambert 2003

Welcome to new subscribers who have  signed up through www.takehersailing.com!

IN THIS ISSUE

• A Little Controversy:  Beware the "Go Now" Evangelists!

• Cruising Strategy: Back in the ITCZ

 THIS ISSUE'S COOL CRUISING QUOTE

The sea is dangerous and its storms terrible,
but these obstacles have never been sufficient reason to remain ashore.
Ferdinand Magellan

(Note: Send me your cool cruising quotes and I will include them in future issues!)

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A LITTLE CONTROVERSY
Beware the "Go Now!" Evangelists     By Trish Lambert

I feel a rant coming on. I was browsing today on one of the cruising discussion boards I participate in, and came across a message that has gotten under my skin. Rather than reply on the board to a group of people who don't know me from Adam, I decided to share my thoughts with you. As a subscriber to Nuts & Boats, I figure that you've browsed my web site enough to get to know me to some degree, and that will hopefully give you some context for my rant.

The message that got under my skin was in reply to someone who had asked about how to produce alternative income while cruising. The requester, call him John, is looking at how he and his wife can get going sooner rather than later, and recognizes that going sooner will mean that they will need to keep producing income somehow. There is no question that the message I saw today in response had really good intentions -- the responder, call him Dave, observed that perhaps John is imposing artificial limitations that will keep him from going cruising. He seemed to assume that John was trying to maintain a high cost of living while cruising, and that was what was prompting his question.

Dave shared how he and his wife were selling their house, moving aboard their boat, and thereby reducing their expenses dramatically -- and that perhaps John might consider changing his way of thinking so that he could see the way to make his dream a reality. He was obviously very excited about this life change, and wrote to John in the spirit of encouragement and support.

"Trish," you might be saying, "what is wrong with that? Isn't that what cruising is all about? Supporting one another, sharing our own experiences to help others? What is there to rant about?"

Well, I agree. That's what my web site, my ebooklet series, and this newsletter are about: sharing my cruising experiences, insights, mistakes and successes in ways that inform and spark your own thinking. To get you out here sooner rather than later, and to have your cruising reality match your cruising dream.

The problem that I have with the message I saw today is that Dave has no way of knowing what John's circumstances are, and that his words of encouragement could inadvertently put pressure on John. To me, Dave's words included a hidden criticism, an implication that John's need to produce a certain level of income or to maintain a certain cost of living is guaranteed to derail the cruising dream. This is what gets my goat: the "if you don't do it my way, you're wrong" kind of message that so many of us who actually have made the transition unintentionally convey.

Here's the thing: Neither me, nor Dave, nor anyone else can truly tell you how to set up your cruising plans. YOU are the only one who can do that. The only contribution we can authentically make is to share ideas and suggestions that might work for you. That's it.

It would be great is there was one recipe we could all follow to make our cruising dreams come true -- or would it? Isn't one of attractions of the lifestyle the fact that it's NOT a "cookie cutter" world? It's the call for individualism within a community that I find attractive, and I think that's probably true for most of us.

That call for individualism means that each one of us has to think for ourselves in the end. Perhaps we gather a body of information before we make our decisions, perhaps not. The best any of us who already have some experience living in "the world's largest village" can do is to share our own observations and experiences in the hope that they will help shed light on your situation.

Okay, I'm done. Thanks for listening. I look forward to seeing you out here - as soon as it makes sense for YOU. Sooner would be great, but later is alright too!

ANNOUNCING!

PUBLICATION OF BOOKLET #1 OF THE TAKE HER SAILING CRUISING SERIES!

 I am pleased and excited to announce that the first booklet in the Take Her Sailing Cruising Series is available for purchase.

"Cruising in a Boat: Joining the World's Largest Village" deals with the cruising life in general, and the unexamined assumptions and (possibly) unrealistic expectations that may be operating that can stop you from going or cut short the cruise once it starts. Downloadable within minutes of purchase, the booklet is in Adobe Acrobat PDF format.

Check it out at www.takehersailing.com/booklets.htm.

CRUISING STRATEGY
Back in the ITCZ: Cruising the Hurricane Zone   By Trish Lambert

The location and movement of the Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ) is of great interest to cruisers. This is the almost-continuous planetary belt of low pressure where the northeast tradewinds of the Northern Hemisphere converge with the southeast tradewinds of the Southern Hemisphere. It is characterized by strong ascending air currents, a great deal of cloudiness and frequent squalls and thunderstorms. The zone seasonally migrates from the "winter hemisphere" to the "summer hemisphere," reaching its northernmost latitude in August and its southernmost latitude in February.

In addition to being what has historically been known as "the doldrums," the ITCZ creates "hurricane season" in parts of the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. It spawns the cyclonic air masses that can turn into tropical depressions, storms and hurricanes, weather phenomena that cruisers watch closely. The ITCZ also contributes to the summer thunder showers that are common along the U.S. East and Gulf Coasts. Clouds build and darken as the day passes, and rain usually occurs in the afternoon or evening, often accompanied by lots of lightning.

To deal with hurricane season, we have two options: 1) stay out of the hurricane-prone zone between June and November; or 2) keep track of cyclonic activity and have a plan for weathering the storm if it comes our way. Skip and I have elected the second option this year, in company with lots of other cruisers who are staying in Florida and the Caribbean.

To keep track of meteorological reports, I recommend starting with the National Hurricane Center's web site (www.nhc.noaa.gov). There are a lot of resources here, including downloadable tracking charts for the Atlantic and Pacific at the bottom of the home page. If you have regular access to e-mail, you can subscribe to a variety of NHC advisories by signing up at www.nhc.noaa.gov/signup.shtml. The NHC radiofax schedule is also on the site if you are set up to download weatherfaxes from your HF radio.

As far as planning to weather a hurricane, an excellent resource on the web is an article by David Pascoe at www.yachtsurvey.com/finding_refuge.htm. Pascoe does a nice job explaining storm dynamics and how to find refuge.

Skip and I are tied up at a marina in Tarpon Springs, Florida for the season. We decided to hunker down on Florida's west coast in the hopes that any cyclonic nasties would either pass us by and expend most of their fury by the time they got to us. Our plan for protecting Nehalennia focuses on the effects of storm surge, high winds, flying debris, and other boats. All of our dock lines are doubled and we have a large supply of fenders to deploy. In the event that a storm or hurricane is heading our way-and we will have a few days' notice-we will strip the deck of canvas, sails, wind generator, lines, and anything else that isn't bolted down. Then, after stowing everything below and making sure dock lines, fenders, and chafing gear are all in place, we will head inland and find shelter until either the storm or the warning has passed.

Locals in Tarpon Springs and the whole Tampa Bay area seem pretty laid back about hurricane season. It has been several generations since a cyclonic storm threatened the area, and the folks we've talked to say that the area "doesn't get hurricanes." I don't know, though. As noted in the article above, I've been sailing long enough to acquire a pretty good dose of superstition, and I don't want to anger the gods with that kind of blasé attitude. So I'm going on record just in case: I take hurricane season seriously, and will be very grateful to get to November intact!

SEND ME YOUR QUESTIONS
Do you have questions about some aspect of the cruising life? The change from land to sea can be complex, and I might be able to help you simplify the process. Please drop me a line at trish@takehersailing.com so we can "talk."