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Perfect storm

10K views 52 replies 12 participants last post by  CharlieCobra 
#1 ·
I''m just not afraid of them, storms that is. I make them go away. Am I the only one???
 
#4 ·
I''m not so lucky. So I''ve got a boat that will sail right through the worst crap that can get thrown at her. I remember one time, sailing for the Isles of Shoals out of Annisquam. A buddy of mine in another boat chose not to leave the river and laid the night in Lobster Cove. That afternoon, his anemometer read 60 knots of wind, IN THE COVE! I don''t know what it was blowing out where we were but we were getting POUNDED! All I can tell ya is my girl didn''t creak or groan a bit. She just kept on till we were in protected waters behind Cedar Island.
 
#6 ·
Ahoy ye silly jesus loving nit wit, I be a personal consultant to both God and de Devil and dey both says you get what ye get when dey wants to give it to ye. Iffin yer good and ye don''ts need to be taught a lesson den it''s fair weather and calm seas, iffin ye be a mediocre prophet or an average criminal ye might just get a hurricane fer your troubles. Iffin ye be a Pirate ye knows der ain''t nottin that either of dem can do to you that you can''t do yourself so''s quit yer belly aching and read something wot''s got a plot to it. Pirate of Pine Island
 
#7 ·
Ahoy Big Red,

I told Claudette she would never flood my daughters apt in League City right on the water. I told her that the night before she landed, before I went to bed ''cause she was headed straight for us. Immediately she turned. Not a drop of water from the storm or storm surge came near my daughters home.
But the street over was flooded to the top of the apartments. I judge God to be faithful.
I don''t consult the devil ''bout any thing ''cause he''s a liar, n I''ll read what I choose thank you,

Faithfully yours,
Forever,
Brenda
 
#48 ·
Let me get this straight please.
A storm was coming.
It turned.
Your daughter's home stayed dry.
But "the street over" (this is the real question) "flooded to the top of the apartments" indicating to me that there was some serious water there.
I don't watch the news much but even if this happened in a place far from a TV camera I think I would have heard about it.

Would it be too rude to ask for specific times, dates and location? I don't want your daughter's address or anything but, well, you know, I am not going to take your word on this one, sorry.
 
#9 ·
To all sailors, be you God-fearing or not, here''s a saying I have engraved on a plaque and mounted prominently in the cabin. "The sea is a fickle mistress that does not coddle fools."

I was in the Navy for six years. The tin-can I was on (with a 47'' beam) was nearly broached twice. Once in the North Sea, and once in the (supposedly calm) Mediterranean.

Unless you boat is about the size of modern aircraft-carrier, it won''t be able to handle what mother nature can throw her way.

~ Happy sails to you ~ _/) ~
 
#11 ·
No disrespect Frenzy, in fact my thanks to you for serving in the Navy, but as with boats too, it''s not the size but what you do with it that counts. If you have read the book bearing the same name as this thread, "Perfect Storm", you would have read of the sailboat Satori and how the Coast Guard terminated it''s voyage. The crew was lifted from the boat, the captain/owner went in protest. What isn’t in the book is how the Satori survived the storm crewless and eventually washed up, quite intact on the Jersey shore!
 
#12 ·
Pirate:
What you failed to report is - that boat surviving the so-called "Perfect Storm" was the exception, not the rule.

With regard to a Destroyer (aka: tin can) taking in water from a heel of 40 degrees, it all depends on how good the hatches are battened down, and how good are their gaskets and seals. On our particular "Tin can", we were told we could recover from a 67 degrees roll. We made it to over 50, then the Captain ordered the helmsman to point it into the waves. Were were steaming at 20 knots and not making any headway. :^( We reached our intended destination a day later than scheduled.

~ Happy sails to you ~ _/) ~
 
#14 ·
Ahoy ye missionary zealot, I see''s ye can''t keep me outten yer thoughts and truth be told tis me ye need to be working with unless blowing smoke up dem other guys tailpipes suits you better. It always gives me heart a chuckle when ye christians shy away from the lost souls of the world and prefer to revel in your santimonious rehetoric. Of course to take on de likes of me ye''d have to admit de truth about yourself. Tell me about dem Lambs Brenda. AARRGGHHH , keep de cianti I be sticking to me rum . Pirate of Pine Island
 
#16 ·
Ahoy, De Pirate of Pine Island cannot be saved for any kingdom except his own vessel. Aye ye be challenged to any sailing test your god can dream up just so long as your vessl is next to mine, lets have at it. Iffin ye ain''t got de nerve or de vessel to go out in the big blue to speak wit me God, (Pirates don''t speak wit de hired help) den youse be de lost soul and de heck wit ye. Pirate of Pine Island.
 
#18 ·
This is God. I''ve been reading all these messages and just want to let you in on a little secret, just between us. If you think I''m sitting up here in heaven and waiting for a request from you to keep the rain from falling on you and yours, you''re in for a rude awakening. I created the world, not to mention the universe, with certain rules of operation that no one has yet been able to figure out. And if you venture out onto my ocean, you do so at your own risk. You think you have commanded the winds and waves to be still and that they have obeyed you. In truth, you have been nothing more than the beneficiary of blind luck and random chance. And, as a result, you think that I''m watching out for you more than the 3 billion or so other people who inhabit my earth. My, my, but aren''t you a special person!
 
#19 ·
Ahh... so, if you want to do well to avoid the wrath of the sea, you should learn to discern the hidden factors creating the weather. In one of Bernard Moitessier''s books, he talks about these guys who sit aboard cargo carrying Junk boats in the waters off Indochina. They sit and meditate and appearantly commune with the forces that be, and when all is clear they give the go-ahead. Boats will wait in port for several days and not dare to move until the signal has been given.

Personally, I don''t have one of those on board. In fact, my boat, which is the same make as the Perfect Storm boat Satori, a Westsail 32 seems to attract storms. The first day out on her and I ran into a squall line. Sailing her up from Florida to New York, we hit a whole conga line of squalls, and, after arriving in New york, we''ve had one of the biggest seasons for electrical storms we''ve had in years.....
 
#20 ·
Dearest Epiphany,
You may be a god, but you are not GOD, and you are not my GOD (Exodus 20:3, John 10:34-35, Psalm 82:6).
GOD, Who gives breath of life to all man, knows exactly how many human beings are on the face of the earth. He knows every hair on every head and has them all numbered )Luke 12:7).
His love is for every human being He ever made (John 3:16). Jesus is the abundant life (John 10:10).
And yes He does wait for me, you, and every other human being to come to Him (John 3:7, Matthew 7:7).
And He can find you anywhere (Psalm 139:8, Hebrews 4:12).
And I wait for Him (Psalm 37:34, Isaiah 40:31).
In truth, prayer, that is run by faith, that is generated by love, is unstoppable. So it becomes clear that love is the fuel that makes faith work, - Don''t ever forget that!!
(Galations 5:6, 1 Corinthians 13:13, Hebrews 11:1).
So I do not believe in blind luck, or random chance. I beleive in GOD. And as a result I am getting miracles in my life (and have for over 20 years) just like the all the rest of the human race has a right to do, If you''re born again (John 3:3-8). I didn''t start getting miracles till I turned to GOD. And they were small miricles, but they kept getting bigger, according to how much HE could trust me.
So If I pray till I walk on water, what''s that to you?? (Matthew 21:22, John 13:16, 14:12, 15:20, & 16:24, Mark 11:22-24)
For it''s certain that I am of the least of all the families on the face of the earth, and GOD, Who is love, is no respecter of persons. That means what He does for one, He''ll do for another (Acts 10:34, Jeremiah 29:13, Hebrews 11:6).


Faithfully,
Brenda
 
#21 ·
Dearest Brenda,

First, let me be clear that I respect your beliefs. Whatever is true for you is true in your own mind and perception.

Secondly, I was brought up from youth in a Protestant Christian religion. It was only after a profound and basic questioning of what I truly believed that I left organized religion behind. I am a firm believer in a Supreme Being who created the universe. I just no longer believe that he or she or it directly intervenes in my life by making storms go away or working other miracles.

I guess it comes down to a question of faith. If I accept the premise that, whatever happens to me, it is the providence of God that makes it so, then everything that happens to me is proof that he or she or it is working in my life. So that kernel of faith can do nothing but grow and propogate. Frankly, that seems a bit simplistic.

I believe that the Creator set the universe in motion, including the winds and the currents and the waves, and that regardless of my theocratic beliefs, those forces will act upon me in exactly the same way that they act on those who profess to have been somehow chosen as the elect. If I do something stupid, the result will be the same and for a "true believer" who does something equally stupid.
 
#22 ·
would concurr with Epiphany...

reminds me of this Hindu story...

A master and his student are walking along and the master tells the student that "God is in all things, in fact you (the student) are God too".

The student got all excited "I''m God?!" He was really encouraged to hear that, maybe even a little proud. Suddenly a large elephant with a small handler sitting on its back came charging down the jungle path.

"Get out of the way, get out of the way!" screamed the handler.

The student said "I am God, you get out of My way!" and promptly was trampled into the ground by the elephant.

In total agony, the student asked the master, "Master, you said I was God why didn''t the elephant handler listen to my command?"

To which the master replied. "Since God is in all things, He was speaking to you through the elephant handler. Why didn''t you listen to His command and get out of the way?"

It just reminds me that maybe if there is a God-like personality out there, with a white robe and big flowing beard, listening to your prayers (something I don''t necessarily believe), then maybe instead of making storms magically disappear, they give some bright fellow the inspiration to figure out how to forcast storms and make sure that you get that timely information soon enough to protect yourself.

Maybe the "voice of God" comes from a lot of different mouths, including your Accu-weather forecaster ;)
 
#25 ·
Yea, I know. It had been a long time and I probably should have checked my facts better. Sorry. Frenzy is right though, in that Satori was the exception. Unfortunately boats of her stature are few and far between. Also, just as the best tools don’t make a good carpenter, the level of knowledge out there appears to be lacking these days as well, regardless of the class of boat. I suppose that I could jump up on the old soapbox and voice my opinion of most fiberglass boats and how sailing has taken on “hobby” status, but I’ll save it. Instead, I’ll just say to Brenda and those like her who can control their environment, that you ought to get a grip on “plan B”. And Brenda, should you ever feel that for some reason you’re loosing your faith, come up to Gloucester and I’ll take you out on one of “those days”. That ought to reaffirm your beliefs and teach you how to pray again!
 
#26 ·
mdougan,

I found both yours and Epiphanys religious views interesting. I think in this day and age it''s important to know what you believe ,and why. I believe in God,and his word that is given to us through the Bible.I''m curious about your fairy-tale perception of what God looks like."a God-like personality out there, with a white robe and big flowing beard, listening to your prayers.(that you don''t necessarily believe in)" In the Bible,I don''t recall a description of God being given,other than telling us that man was created in his image.In the book of the Bible-Exodus 33:20, God told Moses "Thou canst not see my face;for there shall no man see me,and live." In regard to another part of your post,I agree with you concerning the physical aspects of a storms effects on a believer,versus a non-believer being the same. However, I like to think the mental difference is kind of like an anchor and rode used on a boat. My rode is the word of God that I learned as a child,and my anchor is the promise that God has given us that" for whom so ever that believes in him,shall have everlasting life." Speaking as a sailor, I''ve been in my share of storms.When things have gotten really bad,I''ve drawn on that anchor of faith for strength and it''s never failed me. I''ve found by doing so that I have no fear of the storm,because I''m safe no matter what happens.Someone reading this may be thinking,"another Bible thumping religious zealot." I assure you,I''m not worthy of such a title. I''m just a man with weaknesses and faults like we all have.I''m no better than most,and worst than a few.The only difference between myself and a non-believer is I know when my moral compass has developed deviation,and I make an effort to correct it. I hope to one day get it right.
 
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