Weather rules a good part of our life in cruising season and we spend an inordinate amount of time looking at forecasts. (I’ve learned that our cellphone data spikes just before a long run or a major storm, most likely from all the radar maps I download).

Elsa was working her way up the east coast as a tropical storm after hurricane status. It’s early in the season for a storm like this, but we’re always prepared. We knew the storm would be weakening as she passed through Maine, but forecasts for gusting winds ranged from 10 knots (barely noticeable) to 40 knots (time to tie off the wind generator blades and stand watch to make sure the anchor doesn’t drag).

We had spent the previous few days rafted up with friends Lawrence and Viviane, but opted to move to a guest mooring at their club. Luckily the storm brought more rain than wind and we only saw gusts of 22 knots. Whew.