I'm not THAT Sandy...

At first I was excited to learn on Twitter that there was a tropical storm named "Sandy" and it initially appeared it was going to do the right thing and head out to sea, causing as few problems as possible.

 This 'snapshot' of the Other Sandy was off the wunderground.com site courtesy of NASA.

But the latest possibilities are considerably more sinister since it has been classified as a hurricane, and I just want to go on the record and say, "I am NOT that Sandy!" The worst possible scenario is a repeat of the Halloween storm of 1991, causing the loss of lives in a 'perfect storm' which was the basis for the book and then the movie of the same name (link is to the extensive Wikipedia report on that storm). I do recall exactly where I was that weekend - in Scituate, Massachusetts, watching my (thankfully) heavy duty sailboat wrenching and tugging at the anchor lines and praying she would be able to stay connected.

We had done all the right things to avoid chafing and splitting of the lines, set out anchors in two directions knowing that after the eye passed, the sudden shift in wind direction could pull up an anchor and set her free. She stayed in place. But plenty of other boats did not. As the eye was passing, we managed to drive down to the harbor and saw a pretty little red boat dashing herself to death on the rocks. The wind turned suddenly and caught my son off-guard, (he wasn't 6'3" then) and billowed out his raincoat like a sail, lifting him a foot up in the air before I grabbed him and pulled him into the lee of the wind behind a building.

Me at the helm some years ago...

There was a lot of chatter around the marina about the "May Day!!" calls for help from the fishing boats and others caught in an almost unbelievable and catastrophic event; three systems coming together. It could happen again, according to the meteorologists. Recreational sailors don't understand the drive for commercial fishermen (and women) and the risks they take daily to bring home the catch. But I had a cousin who spent some time on a fishing boat in the Pacific and got a much better appreciation for what it is all about. Sadly, the drive to stay out a little longer to bring home a full boat of fish may have been partly the cause of the sinking of the Andrea Gail.

I certainly hope that mariners of all kinds take the weather warnings seriously and stay in port until this storm passes. There will be a full moon on the 28th, so tidal rise will be higher and the potential for storm surge flooding increases. I  miss sailing, but I don't miss the anxiety of trying to find a safe harbor!

NOTE: as of 10/28, this storm was measured to be 900 (!!) miles across, so when it makes landfall, wherever it is, people who live inland will feel the effects. Looks like Sandy will be a record-maker. And at least 10 flights from Colombia have been suspended due to the storm. None of these affected me this time, but it goes to show how a Sandy in New England could possibly affect a Sandy in Colombia....

Flooded marina from storm surge of Hurricane Sandy on North River
 near Scituate, MA. Photo by Greg M. Cooper, U.S. PRESSWIRE.

IWITNESS WEATHER