There are unequivocal signs of the approach of a new season …
New fall collection spam is starting to pile in the junk mail folder:
The geese populace on my neighbor’s pontoon is dwindling:
And days are getting shorter, quickly:
These are all signs of the approach of the Equinox, and that means only one thing for us – WE GOTTA GO! South that is.
We are currently stationed at the 48N latitude. This is no sailor’s playground, you know. The higher latitudes are known for treacherous weather and seas. And 48 degrees of latitude is pretty high.
In fact, if we were at the southern hemisphere, this same latitude would put us well into the Roaring Forties, and just on the doorsteps of the Furious Fifties.
But there are plenty of good news on this story. First, we are in the Northern Hemisphere (hence, no roaring/furious latitudes here). Second, the wind blows mostly on the right direction for us. And third, it will keep blowing like this still for some time.
Up until the end of September, the wind tends to blow from the North-Northwest along the pacific northwest coast. This is perfect to drive us south from here. We just need to ensure we don’t miss this “weather window”, because from October onwards the Southerly winds start to blow, carrying storms with them. Add short days, and increasing cold – it becomes a no-go.
Therefore, we have started planning our sail south. We shall be leaving the Seattle area at the end of August, and start harbor-hopping towards South. I will be updating the blog as we advance with our plan.
