Weather Driven Choices

En Route, ICW

My friends Bob and Darrick are both weather junkies.  Every morning they check multiple source of weather reports.  I'm different.  I spend the same time scouring 8-12 news sources for articles that interest me.  I only look at the weather when I am thinking of departing.   I did that yesterday, thinking we would depart on Sunday.  Whoops, there will be too strong unfavorable winds Sunday-Wednesday next week.  There is not enough time to get to Marathon before that.

So, the next question is where to hang out for that 4 day window.  Vero?  Nah, we did our stuff in Vero (including a delightful afternoon and dinner with dear friends Walt and Pat).  Miami/Dinner Key?  Nah.  There is no place in the Lauderdale/Miami/Coconut Grove area that interests us.  Both of those options include a sail in the Hawk Channel which is a best-of-the-best sailing passages in the world.  Then I thought of a very different strategy.  We could cross Lake Okeechobee and spend a couple of night in Labelle, and two more in Fort Meyers.   The unfavorable winds are forecast for offshore only; the interior of Florida will have fine weather.

So, that's what we are going to do.  Yet again, cruisers make drastic changes in plans at the last moment; because of weather.   That is why cruisers are so reluctant to commit to any promise of future plans to other people.