Thunderstorms and catching rain

So this morning around 7:30 am it started to pour down rain. It fell in sheets, and the boat was buffeted by strong gusts of wind that varied by as much as 100 degrees of the compass. I tried to roll over and bury my head under the pillow, but soon I noticed that Carrie was up and in the cockpit. Then I heard Griffyn up. I figured I had better join the party.

Unbelievably the rain increased in intensity, and water was running in sheets off our bimini cover (which covers our cockpit). Soon we were getting pans and buckets catching the water. It's always nice to catch some fresh water to use in the solar shower, or use for laundry. In fact we spent part of yesterday sewing our big fancy rain catcher. In minutes we had collected a gallon, then two. Of course we were in swim suits and were drenched in moments if we stepped out of the cockpit.

Carrie lowered our dinghy - which was hanging above the water suspended by a spare halyard. It was rapidly filling with water. Then I went forward to get some big five gallon buckets. Our neighbor S/V Balena, only one hundred feet away, was almost invisible behind the sheets of water. The rain actually stung. At least it was warm.

The period of intense rain in most big squalls usually lasts an half an hour before it settles down to a steady moderate rain. Today's rain lasted six hours, and was punctuated by frequent peels of thunder. We ended up putting over thirty gallons of fresh water in our main tank. we also filled the solar shower, and put some water aside for laundry.

As bucket after bucket would fill up, I would go forward to the deck "water fill" and pour the new water into the tank. Then I would get back under cover and after a few hours soaked and exposed to wind, I began to get cold. Carrie kept serving coffee which kept us going.

Below decks Carrie not only made breakfast (corned beef hash and potatoes), but she baked 2 loafs of bread, oatmeal cookies, and a chocolate cake (to share with our guests Joel and Christine from S/V Balena who are soon to jump to New Zealand). It is now late in the afternoon and thunder still rumbles, and rain still comes down from time to time. The kids are dong school. I will soon help Tamsyn with math.

Tomorrow I'll be working much of the day. I've got to finish up the big Teatown job and then get cracking on a nice little illustration for Fort Lauderdale by the Sea. I can't wait to be in one place for a while again to push out the work. Another couple of weeks. Hopefully the rain tomorrow will be moderate, and not Biblical.

More later.

Owen

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