2017 Life Logs, Day 261: Galapagos, Pooh, Jose, Maria
Date: Monday, September 18, 2017
Weather: Another Foggy Start, Mostly Cloudy; High 77, Low 62 degrees F
Location: At Home in The Studio, Falmouth, MA
Galapagos, Pooh, Jose, Maria—What do these names have in common? Nothing, except that I was connected to all four today. I invited friends, Karen and Peter Baranowski, over for lunch to talk about the Galapagos. They are interested in going there and wanted to hear about my experiences. Since the Galapagos is one of my favorite places on earth, I’m sure they heard more than they bargained for! Mid-afternoon I met Bruce Woodin and we headed to Pooh for a sail and to then to batten her down for the approaching tropical storm. Enter Jose. Yes, that hurricane that I naively thought went away is coming back for a visit. It has been so very unpredictable, but at this point it looks like we are going to have tropical storm conditions over the next couple of days. Unfortunately, Bruce and I could not get Pooh motor started, so we never made it out for a sail this afternoon. Bruce worked for a very long time trying to start the engine. He would pull a few times and rest, pull a few times and rest, try something different to no avail, and on and on. Finally, he did it started, but by this time we had decided that if we managed to get the motor started, we wouldn’t go out. We agreed that we would just sit on the boat and enjoy the view while waiting for the motor to cool down and then try to start it again. That worked! So maybe after the stormy weather from Jose passes, we can give it a go again. We did get things buttoned up and left Pooh to ride out the storm. And this brings us to Maria. Maria is now a Category 5 hurricane with sustained winds of 160 miles per hour. She is currently battering the beautiful island of Dominica in the Leewards and by Wednesday noon she will arrive in Puerto Rico. I cannot believe that so soon after Irma, the islands of the Caribbean are having to deal with another Cat 5 hurricane. It looks like this one is going to give Puerto Rico a direct hit. Justin and Jo are doing everything possible to prepare, but naturally they are very apprehensive. Please join me in sending your most positive thoughts their way.
