Best Memory - Temperate or Tropical

[oldragbaggers]

Funny thread, but also very informative. PNW is on our bucket list, just not sure how to get there from here (Baltimore).

[FamilyVan]

Okay, I changed my mind, a little warm would be pretty nice right now. Tied up for the night about 40 minutes ago (in pitch black night). 25 knot winds, 5 degree c air temps, was pelted by big hail stones for about half an hour while tieing up/settling in for the night. The hail has switched to rain for the next few hours.

My little alcohol heater and Kero lamp has the cabin at about 20 Celsius, but I don't think my hands are ever going to warm up and the outside temperature is supposed to drop another 8 degrees to -3 by morning and i really dont want to leave either heat source burning after going to bed. YUCK!

Luckily I was able to find a downwind dock so my wife and son could stay below any way- they're warm and snug.

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[FamilyVan]

Some more fun temperate weather sailing pics from- you guessed it- today!

Quick description:

1) Check out the elevation of the snow squall over The Van in Prescott

2, 3) How we dress to make sure we enjoy our temperate days.

4). Totally unrelated to the thread but could this guy have given me a little more room when over taking? I had rocky shore line not 50' to starboard, his wake actually pooped me with 4' of free board on the stern and got me wet- so not totally unrelated to cold weather sailing.

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[Jim Cate]

I grew up (???) in Chicago. I hated winter there, and when I went to Palo Alto for Uni, I thought it was heaven. Stayed in California working for my entire career, but a bit inland (Livermore) where there were occasional freezing days. Hated them. So, when I pulled some duty time in the Marshall Islands, I loved the weather, and resolved to enjoy that sort of clime when I was retired. Hence most of our cruising has been in the tropical and semi-tropical SW Pacific, and we have hundreds of very fond memories of our experiences there.

But some SOB told us that it was nice in Tasmania, and we ventured there one summer... and we loved the place... in the summer. But around April, it started getting bloody chilly by our standards so off we went northwards towards the sun. And so, we have, I guess, joined the ranks of the much-maligned "snowbirds" who ply the east coast of the USA each year, except that we go from Tassie to the Pacific tropics, either north Queensland in Oz or some offshore island group like New Caledonia (where we are now), Vanuatu, Solomons, etc.

Where are our best memories from? Hell, at our age it is hard to remember anything, let alone where it happened or when... just that it was bloody good. I'll settle for that!

Jim

[Pelagic]

Great post Jim.....
From what you can remember
Are remote anchorage memories in the tropics more active oriented, while in Tassie, more reflective?

[FamilyVan]

Jim just didn't like great lakes winters because he didn't have bear ears on his hat



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[Jim Cate]

Originally Posted by Pelagic

Great post Jim.....
From what you can remember
Are remote anchorage memories in the tropics more active oriented, while in Tassie, more reflective?

Interesting question...

I reckon not so much difference in the amount of activity, just the type of activity. In the tropics we spend more time in water oriented things like snorkeling while in Tassie more i n land based things like walks ashore. As we have aged, the magnitude of all those things has been reduced. At times, this seems cruel to us... can't do what we used to do sorta thinking, but then I reflect on the fact that we are still able to do the sailing and the miles when required, and all seems well again. I still love this life!

Jim

[Jim Cate]

Originally Posted by FamilyVan

Jim just didn't like great lakes winters because he didn't have bear ears on his hat



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FV, it would take far more than bear ears to make me like any place where water assumes the solid state with no intervention from my fridge!

I know that logically one can keep adding clothing to accommodate colder environs, while there is a practical limit to how much you can remove for the warmer areas. I reckon that those formative years in Chicago warped me permanently, for my dislike for cold is sorta pathological.

Jim

[Pelagic]

I hear you Jim.
We emigrated from Scotland when I was 12 to Alberta. The first winter I just did not understand the concept of "below zero and wind chill factor" :what:.....thought that when you got to zero, that was it...

So as a tough kid from a mining village, I shunned ear muffs and (tuks)? as being girlie and sissy.

First trip on the back of a skidoo at minus 30, froze my ears solid and once that happens, any subsequent freezing is incredibly painfully

BC/Alaska in summer, Baja in winter became my cruising schedule in my 20's and to me that was the right balance.

While I love scuba diving, once you dive tropical, that article dry suit rarely gets used.......but I am addicted to salmon and steelhead fishing in those cold waters.