Christmas in March

 Christmas has come late this year…. This past week we’ve been sailing with good friends Wilson and Pam Gunn (Wilson and I were colleagues on the staff of Grace Presbytery nearly twenty years ago).  We’ve sailed together several times, including the lakes around Dallas/Ft. Worth and once in the southern Caribbean.

Marney, with Wilson and Pam

I can’t say that the Gunns brought Christmas with them, but I will say that the last (?) of the Christmas Winds appeared this week.

The weather here is dominated by winds that come mostly out of the east, sometimes slightly southeast and other times slightly northeast.  There is a large high pressure area to the north of us that remains pretty steady year round.  However, that high does shift and annually there is a period in December and January when it does.  The winds will shift more to the north.  They will increase from 12-20 knots normally to 25-30.  The seas become choppy and the swells deepen.  The winds don’t exactly howl, but the blow is loud enough and constant enough to hold your attention.  And the rains are more frequent.

 For people who are used to sunny days, easy winds, good waters and spits rather than showers, the Christmas Winds are worthy of note. 

We noticed this year that December and January had been most pleasant and atypical.  No Christmas Winds.  And we hoped that perhaps we would miss this weather surge altogether.  Then, in February there was a week when the winds picked up and we thought this might be all of Christmas for the year.  Until this week unfolded.

We’ve been sailing on the damaged keel with the insurance company’s permission and we’ve been sailing in higher than normal winds.   We’ve pushed the boat north and east into heavy seas, motoring much of the time.  One day we were sailing in 30 knots and 5 foot seas, rolling and bouncing until we could make the turn to the southeast and into Gorda Sound.  It was a great, but short, sail with the winds on a beam reach.  Then we started the sail west and south.  Even with the strong winds, the sailing has been wonderful.  In fact, we’ve not bothered with the main sail, but only used the jib (foresail) and been traveling at 5-7 mph!  The winds have been predicted to stay this way for the final days of our visit.  Yesterday, we motored out of the marina into the winds and then turned around for a sail back on the jib.  It was a pain going but a joy returning!

What’s unnerving is that the winds don’t take a break at night.  They can blow strongly.  And the squall lines can push the higher limits of this phenomenon.  You can be securely fastened on a mooring ball, but when you hear those winds coming through and you sway back and forth with a jerky motion, you are blessed with restless sleep.  So, for two hours last evening, we “slept” with eyes closed but ears on full alert. 

It’s not the train wreck sound of a tornado passing through.  But it’s loud enough, and in the dark disorienting enough, to raise your adrenalin.

Christmas came late this year.  Maybe it’s related to the global weather changes happening all over and this is the northeast Caribbean’s version of El Nino/La Nina.  God’s telling us something, if we have the ears to hear.

A blessed Easter to you this year.  Passover comes in late April.  The NCAA basketball tournaments are winding down.  And hopefully a new keel will be installed in a week.

Fair winds

Calm seas

No more Christmas Winds

Dave

PS – The palm tree has a name:  Bob.  Only two of you submitted a suggestion and “Mr.Roberts” was mentioned by both.  Bob has a nice ring to it!