Yay! It's hurricane season!

[Riley Smith]

So far, so good, despite bubbles that keep coming off the TX coast. It always seems to break up around us on the MS coast though, although others in the state and area have gotten some really good storms. Early weather patterns still but I watch those "bubbles" this time of the year. Later the Caribbean and Cape Verde season will show up.

 Shrimp season has started and reminds me when my brother worked a boat off TX early in the season. One of those small hurricanes formed and headed directly for them, but my brother was telling me the closer it got the more shrimp they'd catch. There ain't nothing more pleasing than pulling up a whole net full of good gulf shrimp. other than to live to tell about it, and he said the captain stayed glued to the weather and watched as every net was dumped. He said he soon enough insisted to the captain trying to pay off the big boat that it was time.

The boat was a big 80' wooden hull double rigger. Nice boat, can't remember the name but they came over for the Mississippi season and we ate some of the first shrimp that were caught that year. Big ole hoppers! Broiled in butter. Oh yeah!

[Brian N.]

Getting into the summer weather pattern here. The day usually starts off slow and calm and as the day heats up so does the sea breeze often building to 15 knots late afternoon. Wind dies down around sunset. Morning mist/fog always possible and thunderstorms build with the hour of the day. Hurricanes most often reach us early fall.

The South Shore of Long Island faces the open Atlantic, and can get quite rough. Luckily, many stretches have barrier Islands as a buffer. The North Shore mostly faces Connecticut (forming Long Island Sound) and summer sailing can be perfect 8-12 knots, and virtually flat seas. I like those days best!

[Jim B., CD-25]

When we lived in the Tropical Tip, I did a daily check on disturbances coming off of Africa during "the season."  Now that we live in the desert, a quick look at the summer forecast: Hot.  Followed by Hot.  More Hot after that.  But... "It's a dry heat."  That's kinda like saying, "I wasn't puking, it was just "the dry heaves."

103º right now at 2:45 in the afternoon.  Keep an eye on the Gulf, Riley... but, you know that.

[Riley Smith]

It hasn't gotten really hot yet. Yet. So far it is actually pretty nice, although rainy. And buggy. The skeeters almost ate me alive when I got off into some underbrush that hasn't been cut yet. I'm thinking bulldozer after looking at the azalea jungle. Lay their souls to waste; they're huge after 50 yrs and seem intent on consuming my house! That calm water and nice wind come in October here. And it is actually cool then too.

[Norm L.]

Shrimp boats that size were nice. I only remember freezer units in steel boats that size. and the risk of slipping in slime or ammonia getting you.
Most southern boats would go out for a week or 10 days. Some of the Vietnamese, carrying 3 generations of the family, would stay out longer if necessary. It was nice getting shrimp straight off the boat but some of them were caught 5-10 days earlier. any many didn't have a freezer.
Yes this spring has been amazingly nice. Warm, but lower humidity and fairly constant breezes.

[Riley Smith]

Fresh gulf shrimp are one of the finer things in life. You can do so much with them or even not. I can dig boiled shrimp! There isn't a soul in the family running a net anymore, other than a brill net. Times change, but you can still get supper off the water

[noelH]

I guess it is what you are use to.  But Hurricanes scare the poo out of me.  Even with better forecasting. Stay safe.

Windsurfing friends moved to FL a few decades ago.  The house they purchased but have not moved into needed new roofing material. They went on holiday. Tropical storm or hurricane hit their new home's area. Mess. Trees down. Debris. Water. But on the bright side their new home was intact. The trailer/container housing their possessions was undamaged. Except. Most the old needed to be replaced roofing material was torn off by the winds an deposited somewhere downwind. He was not looking forward to removing old roofing material under a hot FL sun. Now nature reduced that task, but added tons of debris to clean up. 

[Riley Smith]

Yeah, heck that's why I say those hurricanes are nothing BUT work. We got sideswiped by one and had zero damage, but couldn't get in the driveway because it was three feet deep in twigs and branches!