The Christmas Winds

We’re still here in St. Thomas. There are several reasons for that: a) we like it here; b) Troy is playing a gig Saturday night; and c) The Christmas Winds have set in. There are a few other reasons, but those are the main ones. We’re enjoying our time in the busy harbor of Charlotte Amalie, watching the mega yachts and cruise ships, walking Luna, shopping (getting some provisioning done before we get to the expensive BVIs) and spending time with our other cruising friends – Pipe Muh Bligh, Illusions and Alternate Latitude.

The Christmas Winds affect the Caribbean every year, around some special holiday, I forget which one.  Anyway, we knew that there would come a time when we would want to find a place to wait out these winds, and here we are.  With about 25 knots of wind, straight out of the east, which is the way we are headed, it makes a lot more sense to stay put for a while.

In technical terms there is something called the Atlantic subtropical high, or Bermuda High, that is always around in the Atlantic, shifting with the seasons and varying in strength and size. During the winter months of December and January, the high shifts further south and results in increased gradient pressure and higher winds in the region. 

Anyway, all that scientific weather talk (the whole two sentences worth) just means that we are planning to enjoy St. Thomas for a bit longer than planned and hopefully sneak over to St. John before too long to see what we can find there.

Oh, one other big benefit.  All of the wind and sunshine have our battery bank in a happy place because our new solar panel and our wind generator are making power all day long!

Don't knock the weather; nine-tenths of the people couldn't start a conversation if it didn't change once in a while. ~Kin Hubbard

There is a muscular energy in sunlight corresponding to the spiritual energy of wind. ~Annie Dillard