Hi Carl,
"The Perfect Storm?" A book about sailing in a storm? Well, no, I haven't read that book, but believe me, there is no perfect storm at sea. Last July we were sailing a 197 foot three masted clipper and we were flying eight sails at the time. It's a fast ship and holds a world record for clippers at 22 knots. We were sailing north from George's Bay, Grenada to Carricou in the Grenadines and we were hit with a force ten squall around 10 pm. It only got worse as the night progressed. The winds were only clocked averaging around 65 knots on our wind speed indicator with frequent hurricane force gusts. The sea was rising and falling with white caps blowing off the crests. We were taking water over the gunnel on the low side and across the bow. I loved it, but it was work just standing up, and it was work just holding on. The wind was blowing the rain horozontal and each drop felt like bullets. The temperature dropped with the air pressure and it got pretty damn cold and wet. At 2 am, I was at the helm along with the first mate and three crew on watch. It was difficult to steer a compass course because the vessel was being pushed around by the sea. By around 4 am, things subsided and the next morning was calm, warm, and beautiful. Would I do it again? Sure, but if you ask my wife she has another opinion. Well, you gotta do what you gotta do. Pardon me for rambling, but this is a true story and you're asking me if I've read "The Perfect Storm."
The NAZ is sitting right on its 200 day moving average. Technically, the bull is still intact, even for the NAZ. But that may just be a matter of time.
You too, have a wonderful holiday. We can all count our blessings.
GZ |
