@JLeslie I know. I can sense bad tropical weather days away. There’s a thickness in the air, a stillness and a hue, but it’s not an exact sicence by any means. There are old guys out here that are more exacting. Hurricanes have been taking sailors by surprise since the beginning of time. For the big stuff days away I have satcomms. I’m on the net. Just like everybody else, I can access any weather radar on the globe, pick up local doppler for the smallest shower, check on large shipping in my area at night, and Fluther at will. I also have my own radar which can pick up anythiing weatherwise or in shipping within abut 12 miles. And then I have sonar for fishing and depth confirmation. And then there’s the satcomm EPIRB sensors/transmitters which will put out a Mayday/SOS and give location via satellite as soon as they touch salt water, in case I’m incapacitated for some reason. Each life vest has an automatic, local EPIRB as well, which sends a signal to the first responders when they get within a few kilometers of the scene. It’s pretty hard not to find me if I run into trouble.
Sailing isn’t as mysterious, exciting, or as dangerous as it used to be in that respect, and that’s both a blessing and a shame. You can lose your skills out here if you get too dependent. With all that and programmable auto-pilot, you really don’t have to be much of a sailor to run a 50 footer anymore. And it shows when you pull into a touristy port of call. Billionaire maniacs with big toys and no etiquette. But once again I digress.