Weather Predictions . . .

. . .are worth exactly what we pay for them.

This clip was taken at noon today. From my house, through the trees, the sea suggested the wind to be blowing about 6 knots. I wouldn't have come home from work except for the fact that Trophy Wife called with this report posted somewhere earlier this morning:

..WIND ADVISORY REMAINS IN EFFECT FROM 3 PM THIS AFTERNOON TO
3 AM PDT THURSDAY...

* WINDS...AREAS OF NORTHWEST TO NORTH WINDS 25 TO 35 MPH WITH
GUSTS TO 50 MPH WILL DEVELOP THROUGH AND BELOW PASSES AND
CANYONS THIS AFTERNOON AND EARLY THIS EVENING...THEN CONTINUE
THROUGH LATE TONIGHT.

This information suggested to me that we might have difficulty backing Das Boot out of our slip this afternoon. Our perfectly scenic slip is located in an exposed position of the wind tunnel in the harbor. Last year, for that reason, we had taken to backing Das Boot in. Well, too late for that now. I resolved to deal with it when the time came to toss the lines at 4:30.

Suffice it to say, today's twilight race turned out differently. Huge rollers at high tide. (There were no walkers on the breakwater today.) Wind? Exactly what it was at noon. And not from the direction of the rollers. Conditions were ... er, challenging for Das Boot. We were able to beat up wind by surfing down the waves, and we carried a spinnaker on the second close-reaching leg. But when it came to a broad reach on the 3rd leg, I doused to save the chute from tying itself in a knot around the forestay.

The only thing that kept us from joining the DNF-ers was that we were able to pass my friend's C&C during that third reaching leg.

I was hoping to fight'em off with a tacking duel on the final beat but, alas, Das Boot was defenseless against Bob Marley's genoa. But only in today's conditions, of course!

But it was a good day to have cold beer on the boat and later in the bar.