Sailing Biloxi

[moonlight]

Wow, talk about a trip down memory lane!

I got involved with ComPac's ... 19 years ago!  I actually bought two CP 25's, and had a sailing school and "club" based around New Orleans.

(I am getting to the point here, albeit slowly).

The club program operated like many of the same type, so much annually, or monthly, and you bought a certain amount of time on a fleet maintained boat to use throughout the year.

I had to restrict it... and only allow 50% of the annual time to be used in March, April, October, November.  Those are the PRIMO months here, or at least they were then.

Another little known secret, and I've only come across one other professional captain who understood the same knowledge ... once the fronts start marching south in September, mark them on the calendar.  They'll establish a pattern; 5-day, 6-day, 7-day, or whatever based on the climate that fall.  You can then, in October, reasonably project the frontal passages in January or February. 

I do some offshore trip consulting as well; and proved to a guy when NOT to move his boat one year.  I hadn't been watching as close, so had to do some weather data research, but that particular year it was well established that we had a major frontal passage every 9 days with a minor front interspersed every 4.5 days.  LIKE CLOCKWORK.

Just yesterday, I turned down a charter request for today.  August, and two weeks either side of it, the only sailing you're doing is on the fringe (or in the belly) of a thunderstorm or tropical system.  When younger, I used to grab those opportunities to go practice heavy weather sailing.  I may again soon, the kids are almost old enough.  But then I'll have to see if I can remember how to sail; years ago Katrina came to town and I kept turning wrenches, pulling wire, and salvaging boats instead of sailing; the market never really came back and with the kids growing I never chased it.

Maybe time to start again; my remaining CP 25 has a fresh bottom job and impeller, so maybe this fall is the year!