Odd Weather.....or is it?

[Bad Obsession]

This has been an odd April so far this year. The cold temperatures and now the wind are just putting a damper on my spring rituals. The only thing that I can say itsn't really that obnormal is the high winds. I hit the same winds last year on my way back from Deltaville to Colonial Beach. We hit 40 mile per hour sustained winds and eight foot seas at the mouth of the Potomac River.Anyway, the weather has definately put a hold on spring rituals. I still have woodwork to do and I haven't even de-winterized my boat. I am almost scared to with all of these cold temperatures.Has everyone else had to put their activities on hold for this weather?

 

[Don s/v Tellico]

Odd isn't the word for it...

it just stinks. Who can clean/varnish/putt around in this stuff? Wind, cold, it's just not fun.

 

[CalebD]

It is and it isn't

Four years ago when we bought our boat the Spring had been very rainy, stormy and cool until we headed west down the LI Sound and Summer took hold with a vengeance. There was little wind or rain and it was quite warm and sunny so we motored most of the way towards the western Sound. I remember this because I way over-provisioned our boat as I was expecting a bit of a rough trip judging by past weather. I pictured being wet and miserable but it ended up being quite different than my expectations. That was Spring 2003 and we left East Hampton's 3 Mile Harbor in late June with our new old boat. The point I am trying to make is that the weather is cyclical (whether the avg. temperature is increasing) and always variable. Big storms can almost change the season a little prematurely. I have seen this on eastern Long Island, NY after hurricane Bob passed through dropping saltwater on all the vegetation. It was if Fall or Autumn came over a period of a day or two as all the leaves on the trees had become brown or blown off. In 2003 it went from Winter straight to Summer and Spring was a washout in my memory anyway.The folks on this board from the south may not notice as much seasonal variation as we do up north but the occasional big weather system hits them as well. There are frost warnings in Florida from time to time although they are rare. They also enjoy a lot of wind when a hurricane happens by. Weather is by definition always variable. Donna Lange, the solo circumnavigator has been forced to head for Bermuda with the bad east coast weather before heading home to RI. A bit of a nail biter going on with her voyage and the sea state out there.

 

[grigs]

Rain & Cold

I have made this comment on another thread, but every time I plan to take the cover off , either its raining or it 20 degrees , We can,t catch a break in Rhode Island.Altho a couple friends have managed to get their boats in first part of April.

 

[David10790]

About Two Weeks behind here

We have not had a day warm enough to wax or paint yet. Usually it is about 12c/53F this time of year, which is no roaring hell, but at least you can work outside without freezing. Last weekend it didn't get above 6c/43F and it has been rainy off and on since then. Hope is held out for this weekend however with sun and seasonable temps forecast.

 

[Ross]

This is April!! I have seen snow on the daffodils

in April and I have seen peaches blooming in March. The geese left early this year on their spring migration and the robins wintered over here. But I have never seen so intense a spring storm as the one this week. I wonder what this summer will bring. It is going to be interesting.

 

[CalebD]

I would add that the weather has been bad

for working on a boat in the NE and the mid Atlantic coast. I was driving through fog and rain a few days ago in NJ on my way to my boat. I have still been able to do a little (mostly cosmetic) epoxy work on a new through hull hole and even a little teak toe rail prep and oiling although the rain seems to wash the oil away pretty fast. I also did some limited sanding of the hull and epoxy patches in the wind and rain and was happy that nobody else was around and the dust was largely captured by the elements. It also helps that I don't currently have a job and was able to be there on a Monday afternoon.Our club has us scheduled to go in on 4/22 but they wisely did not launch any boats on Sunday 4/15 as they were scheduled to do. I cant wait to hear what the launching committee has decided about the boats that were not able to go in on their scheduled date. The weather and rain have kept me from finishing my knot meter through hull and other projects and bottom painting as the rain water runs down the hull by my through hull hole from our cockpit drains. More work tomorrow perhaps.

 

[Don S/V ILLusion]

What's so bad about global warming!! *o

nm

 

[abe]

Proof Global Warming is B,S,,,,,

..next time you see Star Trek and they show the Enterprise in orbit around earth...Florida is still above water.abe

 

[Alan]

abe,

...you've been listening to that right wing propaganda again. It's time for a reality check.

 

[Bill Roosa]

All this does me no good,

I need numbers. Like EXACTLY how high is the water going to rise? Once I know that I can use a topo map and find that perfect beach front property when the water rises. Heck I could even install the dock now and just wait for the tide to come in.

 

[higgs]

I got the itch

The weather on the West of end of Lake Ontario has been horrible, but today started to look a little better, and tomorrow I may go take the cover off. they are calling for a dring weekend in the 50's and almost 70 by Monday. Being retired, I can get over to the boat pretty much whenever I want.

 

[Scott]

Last week ...

we were still a little on the dry side. The lake needed to come up about a foot. Today, the water is washing over all the docks. We had about 6 or 7 inches of rain on Sunday followed by some snow on Monday. Nobody has a boat in the water yet. It is definitely a very late spring!

 

[Don s/v Tellico]

Anybody work at WM?

I'm guessing their sales are really lagging, partically due to this weather.In Annap, I noticed unusual sales last weekend, not sure if it was the weather or their overall troubles.Would be interesting to hear from anyone who actually works there in E/NE?

 

[Peter]

at some point it was 2 weeks early

Bad Obsession, you know, at least on this side of the water, one measure of spring's arrival is the pollen. This year the Virginian Pilot made a big to-do about the pollen coming out in force 2 weeks early. My allergies and car won't argue with em, but this turn in the weather almost balances it out. It's still miserable, but at least I got some great sailing on Saturday!

 

[Ross]

This morning at Chesapeake City

weather station the winds are at 8 gusting to 11. Air temp is 46 and the water temp is 45. There is a red oak out in the front yard that hasn't broken bud yet and until the leaves are as big as a squirrel's ear I won't start planting seed. I have a magnolia in the back that for 35 years has bloomed a little earlier each year. When we planted it in '72 it would break bud and start showing some color about the first of April and we would get blooms by the 5th now it is usual for it to show color by march 15 and have blooms by the 21st. It usually gets hit by frost around April 5th. We moved here in '71 and planted spring bulbs on Christmas day, there was no frost in the ground. so I don't think that pointing out one year is going to tell us anything but seeing how the trees and birds change their habits over the long term will give us a better picture. The kids used to go ice skating on the ponds but we haven't had enough ice each winter for anyone to try skates. I think that the weather is less consistent then it has been. This storm that just moved along the east coast had barometric pressures equal to a category 2 hurricane and it moved more slowly than a tropical storm.I think that we should expect more extremes and less predictability in the wearther patterns.

 

[tom]

Strange in Alabama

We were on the boat the last week of March sailing the TN river. On Wednesday it was 87 degrees. We drove up to TN on the weekend and it snowed. I stayed at my brother's mountain cabin and had 2-3 inches of snow. It was cold enough in Birmingham that all of my bushes lost their new growth and my Crepe Myrtles seem dead. A Japanese Magnolia had been in bloom and now seems half dead. Even worse is that Alabama seems to be in a drought. We recieved some rain but the soil is very dry and the rivers are low. We were actually very lucky the last week of March. The front stayed north of us for the week and we had nice winds most days. We stayed one night a Pickwick Landing State Park and had the weather channel that night. I sure hope that this year isn't a drought year in Alabama but it is getting off to a bad start. BTW I highly recommend PLSP marina. It is back up a narrow channel so it is super well protected and had modern floating docks. It only cost $12.50 to tie up for the night. This was 1/2 off because we stayed in a room at the lodge. The lodge was very nice with a restaurant and two swimming pools. We spent the afternoon on their hiking trails. The Lower end of Pickwick Lake is very nice for sailing. A little too developed but overall very scenic. I mention this mostly because a lot of boaters go through Pickwick on the way to the Gulf. We stayed at a commercial marina that wasn't anywhere as nice and protected as PLSP and cost more.

 

[oldiesrocker2001]

"April monsoons...Bring boats with pontoons..."

The title line should be sung to "april showers"... I usually have a lot to do on my boat in the spring, but this year is really only minor stuff and fully expected to have the boat ready to go by memorial day. However, it's too cold and rainy to even loosen the tarp to board the boat. Not that I have time - just finished shop-vaccing the second dozen gallons of water from my family room carpet..neighboring town had to be evacuated over the weekend but our town wasn't hit as bad...

 

[tom]

It Seems Strange

Living in the south it seems strange to have people talking of putting the boat in the water by Memorial Day. People were swimming and waterskiing on Wheeler the last of March. I waded in the Warrior river and it didn't seem cold and there were some kids swimming. My daughter who now lives in Boston seemed a little miffed when I said that it was cool ...in the 60's here in Bham and she replied that it was about 40 there in Boston. I guess around Boston the water temperature gets up to temperatures in the summer that aren't far from what the water temperature gets down to in the winter along the gulf coast.  The worst thing about the weather around Birmingham is tornados. When it is too warm in the spring and fall inevitablly a cold front comes through generating major thunderstorms and tornados. We have had several less than 10 miles from our home already this year. Hurricanes are easier to deal with because they are more predictable.

 

[Scott]

Boats on pontoons ...

are now floating over the docks on Lake Hopatcong! Well pretty close to it right now. We might take the shrink wrap off this weekend if they can put the boat in the water within a week or so. Last year, while the boat sat on the hard into May, waiting for the water level to rise, the yard put my boat near a maple tree that shed the gooiest maple colored sap off the little seeds that carpeted the deck. After walking across some of it, it was almost impossible to get the stuff off, even with acetone. I'll never leave the boat uncovered near that tree again!