Today is will be a combined weather rambling with updates from our end. The hurricane Raphael is spun up and proceeding northwesterly into the Gulf of Mexico. Now that it has formed and is an actual threat I will defer all information to the National Hurricane Center. These ramblings are not intended to be a life safety source and I will not pretend to be anything more than a weather enthusiast sailor. I will however just include the official NHC graphic here for quick reference (Note that this is an embedded image and may be removed at some point).

There are a few other points to note about the long range forecast as I noted a couple weeks ago. Many of the instances of the GFS have been showing tropical activity following Raphael. Some of which have been showing a storm brewing up and running through the Straights of Florida. However you look at this the GFS seems to believe that there is still lots of life left in the Caribbean for the genesis of storms. For those of us cruising the US coastlines it seems that we are also going to start encountering the fall / winter frontal boundaries moving across the country. These boundaries are going to create significant wind sheer and will start to provide rather effective shielding from tropical storms while bringing their own flavor of intense weather.

In my capacity as captain of a small sailing vessel I feel that it is finally safe to start moving southwards towards Florida but not too far south yet. As a sufferer of an unknown autoimmune condition dependent on remaining in warmer and dryer air we should have left weeks ago to get to the Golden Isles for the fall. The cold temps in the Carolina’s are now causing condensation to form inside at night, and outside as well (fog). While I appreciate the effects that nightly fog brings for an artistic and as far as lowering the daytime humidity I am not a fan of the cold temps which exacerbate my arthritis.

Part of our southbound delay now is waiting for Cana’s leg to heal up to the point that we can sail out. He had a pre-cancerous mass which needed to be removed and sent for analysis. As a member of our family there is no way that we could possibly leave this untreated. So the stitches can come out in 9 days and hopefully by then the weather is going to be perfect for southbound hopping.

Cana is on essentially bed rest until he is healed up. This means walking only, no jumping, running, or climbing. We are keeping him in his handy life jacket for convince. The handle on the back is great to life and move him around. Many times I just will carry him like a suitcase. The entire act of getting into and out of the boat for him is now a two person job for the best outcome. Next Friday cannot come soon enough.

We will be making stops along the way in our favorite ports, and even some new places. If you have any suggestions of where we can stop please comment below the article. Ideal stops include easy dinghy access to shore and nearby playground for Gordon.

As we start moving south I will be taking opportunities to stop and to photograph. All my work is still going to be posted to the Joe Clark Photographer website. If you enjoy reading these postings and want to browse my work please do so. In addition to fine art prints you will find functional items such as coffee mugs, calendars, and greeting cards. Many of my works are from coastal areas encountered in transiting The Great Loop or Atlantic ICW. Your patronage is essential for our survival at this time.

I will be continuing to write on my weather ramblings until our departure when I will be photographing more and posting other updates in addition to these. Consider subscribing below to be updated when a new post is published, as well as following us on social media.

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