My Poor Barometer

I know that being British we are naturally at one with the weather. However after the last two weeks I am giving up with it, My Barometer has spun off its dial and how come we can have extra warm off season weather one day and typhoons the next. I use to pride myself on my knowledge of the weather. When I took my Glider pilots licence I even sat an exam on weather, but this lot has me completely Flummoxed

In the past week the boat has taken a right old bashing, yesterday quite early we took Buggerlugs for a pump out, Early as I take the opinion that the wind gets worse as the sun heats up the land. So before the wind really got started we were off. Noreen was on the bow dressed in all her weather safety gear looking like the man on a packet of fisherman's Friends, I was on the tiller when I heard her shout "turn her into the wind helmsman, drop the foresail, get ready with the anchor (I love old Naval Films) but honest it was like rounding the horn, all we needed was Capt Ahab on this whaler Piquod cutting across our bow shouting “their she blows” the rest of the marina must have been waiting for some fool to test the wind and the immobility of a 60ft craft (yes I was it) I have just done a quick calculation 60ft boat minus 7ft of cratch and 3ft of trad stern that leaves 50ft x 5ft of boat equating to 250sqft of sail to assist in sending the boat where you don't want it to go. Anyway because they saw that I managed to get there and back to my mooring without hitting anyone. Well actually We let the wind take us back I could have cut the engine. The upshot of all this was I finished up assisting another three boats across before the wind got really angry, then even polling was not an option, So every one now has been pumped out and filled with fuel lets hope in two weeks time the gales have subsided so we can do it all over again. Today we had four hours of torrential rain and 70mph winds I have sent a video of the best part of the storm. Today the waves were so high they were washing water over the stern, broadside on water was over the gunnels’ and washing the windows. I believe that's what they call the Joys of Boating one thing about this boating lark is you never get bored

As we are now in Advent I am starting to get the excited about Christmas and jobs we have to do, by we that I mean me and my boss (Noreen) are doing the Christmas fate on Saturday at least I have not been volunteered for Santa just the food I would rather clean gutters than do Santa I am looking at solar Christmas lights for my new garden we are even decorating the outside of Buggerlugs I don’t normally like too many Christmas decorations but hey lets go for it. Lets celebrate.

All of you keep well

Big Al