The latest cruising news from the Northern Hemisphere and the world.
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11 Aug 2016 |
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  For when parallel is not dead straight!
 | | Parallel but not dead straight - view like this helps to provide the similarities John Curnow © |
I have been doing a lot of land cruising of late. It is not the same thing, by any means, but it sure does have some similarities. This was highlighted very much so when I read Maggie Joyce's pieces on Stockholm's Archipelago, which I have seen some parts of. Remember it is something like 1000 islands strong...
How is it so? Well there is the need to get near power and reliable Wi-Fi. Then there's meeting a vast array of people, the connections you build and all the many and varied things you learn to go with that. After that there's finding a nice place to stay and getting set up, for the back of the car is only for emergencies!
Sometimes you want to dine in, and then other times when you're itching to get out. You also need to find amenities from time to time, whatever they may be. Lately, my land cruising has been all about seeing natural wonders and exploring them. Yes, you could easily say I have been on a mission, and I have.
Many have been amazed, annoyed, intrigued, and captivated by the images I have posted here and there, of well, the here and there. Argh. Argh. Argh. I called the image above ‘The Office' and the reply from one great friend was, “Ha Ha...that explains why every second word in your copy is wonderful!”
I think I have to admit that line ‘joy to the world' has been on my mind a lot, and Beethoven's Pastoral Symphony is likely to get a run in the car tomorrow as I put down some more miles. Now boat watching season for the whales means they are about on Australia's Coast, as they too put down some serious miles heading up from Antarctica's cool and abundant waters.
Indeed I have seen them myself off Port Stephens only a little over a week ago, and then in the last couple of days FB has lit up with sightings off Ballina, as even more boats head up North for all of the season's joys and happenings. They range from waterspouts in the distance to up close and personal encounters of the Cetacean kind.
 | | Banana farming near Coffs Harbour John Curnow © |
Yet it was one headline that got me thinking about a very different kind of way to look at the region. Namely how the spate of East Coast Lows that have gone through of late have kept a lot of people busy. Talking with banana farmers just days ago, you could tell that seeing the stalks folded over like broken match sticks, with the bags covering the now-has-to-be-resurrected-somehow fruit on the ground, made them a little despondent.
So drawing the bow that little bit longer, it is amazing that with all the tech we now possess, which is truly remarkable, it still has you remembering golden old adages, like ‘Never turn your back on the sea!'
And the headline that got this commentary going was Jason Samenow in the Washington Post. “The U.S. Coast Is In An Unprecedented Hurricane Drought - Why This Is Terrifying?” Hurricane, Drought and Terror all in the same sentence. Yep, You got me interested. Just add in bushfire, flood and landslide and you've kind of nailed it, me thinks...
What Samenow is trying to point out is that the US Gulf or East Coast has not seen a major hurricane in over a decade, just under 4000 days to be precise. It is the US' readiness to deal with it, on the back of population growth and expansion along the coast that has her eyebrows raised.
 | | It's been 10 years since a major hurricane has made landfall in the United States. © NASA |
Yet, perhaps the most poignant element of it all comes down to Gina Eosco, who said, “I cannot overstate the importance of preparing before a storm happens. This starts with a conversation. Each resident with experience should share it with their new neighbours.”
And now to bring it all back to cruising, it was this that made me realise how lucky we are when we pull into a marina, anchorage or stroll along the beach. You will always get some good new information or experiences if you have an open mind. We have those very conversations all the time. So thank you to those that have shared so readily with me over the years.
In this newsletter you will find terrific material on rescues, that yacht rally in Sweden, SV Crystal Blues and time in Tobago, along with getting a good HF grounding. So please do enjoy yourselves...
Are you out there plying the seas and got something to say? We'd love to hear from you via editor@sail-world.com – In the meantime, do you love being on the ocean? Well remember to love them back too. They need our help. Now more than ever! Until next time...
John Curnow
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