She was young and impressionable. So I talked her off her limb and she demonstrated that she knew how to fish. She danced and dove, swerved and tumbled, and relished in her onlooker’s delight. Or so I believe. Her parents … Read More
Dancing on the Edge of the Storm
Our bow cut a frothy wake as Scotoplanes bit through four-foot swells, rising to meet the front of each swell, gliding down the backside of the wave into the trough, then rising again. Fixed at the center of both sails, … Read More
Gustav Spills His Guts
Just outside Windsor, Gustav’s guts started spilling. Gustav had slammed into Louisiana as a Category 4 hurricane, and plowed north through Arkansas into southern Missouri. By the time it reached Sedalia, the storm had devolved into an extratropical depression, which … Read More
When the Big Wave Washes Us Away
It was a windy day, like today. As I sit in my sun room and watch gale force winds sweep dead leaves from the trees, I think back to another wind that took a close friend. The grand roster of … Read More
Storm Front
A violent squall closed in fast, racing us to Everglades Cut. This was three weeks before the two young men were lost at sea. But it was a similar storm, intense, thrashing. We donned our Mae West life jackets in … Read More
12,000 Poles Down: Bootheel Disaster
Long before The Weather Channel began naming continental storms, this one will be remembered as The Ice Storm of ’09. Its widespread devastation covered Missouri’s Bootheel like a glacier. In the two counties that form the heel of the boot, … Read More
Mother Ocean
I’ve seen her angry. Squalls. Tropical storms. A hurricane. Each time is a reminder who’s boss. Sailing from West Palm to Everglades Cut, she reminded me again. Two thirds of the journey, dead calm. The last five hours was a … Read More
Dancing on the Edge of the Storm
First night, Tropical Storm Gordon formed over our heads. Next day, Gordon’s outer bands lashed us as we danced on the edge of the storm. This passage reminded me of a race against time ten years ago: We awoke at … Read More
A Tsunami with Joplin Winds
Scary spectre: “Stronger than Wilma, Katrina, Rita, Andrew. And it could become the strongest hurricane ever on the planet to make landfall when it hits tonight somewhere south of Puerto Vallarta.” Near its path, half a million people live or … Read More