Is this the Perfect Storm?

It's 4:30 p.m on Tuesday, January 12th. The National Weather Service has issued a severe thunderstorm warning for Palm Beach County until 11:00 p.m....right where we are. There's also a tornado watch in effect. Winds are expected to gust to 60 mph. There will be thunder and lots of lightening.

I'm writing this post to calm myself down.

The rain is coming down in sheets. The boat is rocking and rolling. It's our first big storm aboard Sunshine.

We had planned to have dinner tonight with my brother and his wife. We dinghied to shore right after lunch to run some errands. Even then, there were white caps and the dinghy ride in was pretty choppy, but we made it safely, just a little damp. We walked about a mile to West Marine to donate some more of our money, then stopped at Publix grocery to replenish the pantry. The skies were beginning to get dark.

The waves were a little stronger on our way back to the boat and there was light rain. Just as we pulled in to our boat, the skies opened up. By the time we tied up the dinghy and got our purchases aboard, we were soaked to the skin.

After we stowed the groceries and dried off, Phil and I discussed our options. We could probably make it safely back to the dinghy dock in time for Allen and Dorie to pick us up for dinner at 6:00 p.m., but the dinghy ride back to the boat after dinner, in the dark, was problematic.

We could leave the boat and spend the night with Allen and Dorie, but what would happen if the anchor began to drag and we weren't here? We discussed the fact that there were going to be storms and we might as well get used to it. We weren't always going to have a place to run to.

I called Allen and postponed the dinner. We will stay on board for the duration of the storm. We have battened down the hatches and secured everything we can.

I am scared. Always have been scared of severe weather. But there's also something exhilarating about storms.

I'll let you know how this comes out.

Thanks for listening.

Margaret


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