Lulled by the wind, I didn't check this weather chart
Waves from the north
Picture of Arnd

Arnd

2023-03-14 Lulled by the wind

I’ve been lulled by the wind into making a tactical error. The dead calm yesterday led me to believe that the anchorage would remain calm for a couple of days until the typical trade winds fill in again. I didn’t look at the weather and now I’m paying the price.

Lulled by the wind, I didn't check this weather chart
Waves from the north

The weather model pictured here shows a 2.8m north swell with a period of 13 seconds. That is a huge amount of energy and conditions like this one should seek a protected anchorage.  The only one available here is inside the lagoon, but I would need to transit the drawbridge.

 

Morning

The waves started rolling in as I was making my first coffee shortly before 6AM. My monitor is glued down with Velcro and isn’t going anywhere. Unfortunately my coffee cup isn’t and I have to interrupt typing frequently to keep the cup from sliding and spilling.

There are 3 openings for inbound traffic today, and I have business calls during the first 2 of those. That means that I need to work in these conditions all day and I know I’m not going to be in a good mood later on today. I will have to head inside the lagoon before the 5PM opening and scout out possible anchoring locations for Zanshin. This is due to the shallow waters inside and my deep draft which limits my possible anchoring spots. If those are taken, then I’m in trouble. And if I take the last inbound bridge at 5PM I’d have to wait until the next morning before I could exit.

Noon

It hasn’t gotten any better out there, unfortunately. I really wish I’d looked at the weather more carefully and not let myself get lulled by the wind.

Afternoon

After work I was happy to escape to shore. I walked around the main street for a bit and replenished my dwindling supplies of cash at an ATM. In the end I had a beef carpaccio salad at the SMYC before returning aboard. I carried my camera ashore, but had neglected to insert a battery so I’ve no images of my trip.