Sowell Family's Travels on Gijima - The Tropical Afternoon Shower Decends

The Tropical Afternoon Shower Decends

Sowell Family's Travels on Gijima

Skipper: Tim Sowell Admiral Tracy Crew Sean & Alex

Fri 3 Dec 2010 21:23

As I sit here in the cockpit mid afternoon the sun has been shining and heat beating down, the boys and I were swinging and swimming off the back of the boat, in ideal conditions. Now The boys are asleep and as I look forward the gulf disappears into a white gray the land no more visability. This wall with dark cloud front is moving up the gulf at about 6 to 7 knots, and engulfing it's path in what appears to heavy rain, we will fin out in a minute. The birds start to make big noises in the jungle behind us, I thought it was a buzz of a car but it is the rising birds. The wind chop rises a head of the rain, but I put out an aft line tying to a large rock on the coast 200 feet away so as to keep the bow into any seas or weather coming up the gulf. The weather here is hard to understand we have had rain come from every side, the clouds do not move in the same pattern any one day, but the locals say the Gulf of Dulce and Osa Peninsula have their own weather system. I look at the weather files but to be honest they help with the bigger picture and miss this local weather, and we not exposed to the sea other than 30 miles of gulf which could raise a nasty wind chop.
I had planned on diving the other half of the bottom today for the final cleaning, but the water is too murky (the water here in one hour is clear next murky all to do with the upwelling off cool water from the deep gulf), but I scrubbed the water line, and now hope this shower will wash off the solution I used with fresh water.
We also need to fill the tanks after 3 days of solid swimming and showering which we have used excessive water.
The tropics is so different to cruise in, compared with the temperate climate of Mexico etc, everything is moist, the lines and sheets turn green, you wash things down, dry them out and then it all gets soaked again, but the weather is warm, water warm so you do not put foul weather gear on you just strip to bathers and go out into the shower.
It looks like this one does not have any lightening which is a relief.
We had visitors this morning on jet skies some Americans staying up the Gulf, said we were the only boat they had seen, they powering around the jungle coast exploring the bays, found it interesting to find us here, but liked our position and outlook.
As the storm approaches you always question are you ready, and no matter how many I have been through I still get feeling, it is a safe feeling as I circuit the boat again checking, confidence can be your worst enemy. But you also feel alone, out pitting yourself against the elements, but in a safe boat. One thing I so pleased about in the last 12 months is the performance of Gijima, she works, the functions we have built in her for the last 10 years work, she is fast as a cruising boat, as all cruising boats get loaded up, and these fast cats, and racing mono hulls soon slow down under the load, and we move well, and good speed not really finding our equal except in Sun Sation when sailed with both sails, she stays with us.But we feel independent able to go places in confidence, and the systems to sustain us in comfort, the boys consider Gijima a part of the family.
So out comes the book and let us ride this one out in a safe feeling!!!