On Weather and Timing

"functionoverfashion" (functionoverfashion) 08/14/2019 at 14:04 • Filed to: None

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As we’re staring out at the water, it’s amazing how dead calm it is - like a swimming pool - and despite the fact that this week is among the very busiest on the lake, only a few boats have passed since I got home at 5:00pm. The thing is, when the forecast shows rain - and especially when it’s right - people just don’t go out. Not just when it’s raining; they tend to write off the boat for the whole day. But if you’re paying attention and READ the forecast discussion, you’ll know that the showers will stop. And THAT is precisely when you go out.

Like this, but darker. And with a moon. And not this part of the lake. So... not at all like this

From the porch we can see across the water to the far shore just about 300 yards away. It’s hazy; you can see clouds of mist just lingering around the treetops, and the far shore is almost blurry in the dim light. Around 8:30 I looked out and noticed a little breeze. Not a minute later I could see the far shore clearly, even though it was darker - the air had cleared up a bit and it was drier, as predicted by the forecast if you know what a dewpoint is. The clouds were lifting and pushing off to the east. Here comes the dry air, slowly but surely.

We went out in the boat and the nearly full moon was rising, in fact it had already risen high enough to illuminate the landscape around the lake with its blue-yellow glow. Some spotty high clouds acted almost like a lampshade; very few stars were visible as the remaining haze was lit by the moon, obscuring the deeper sky where the stars would be. But looking back to the west, we could see it was clearer. About 3 miles out, we stopped. There was not a breath of wind on the water. You could have lit a match and let it burn down to your fingertips. Total silence, utter calm.

OK kinda like this, but again, at night. You get the idea... sort of??

I stood on the swim deck of my boat for probably close to an hour, with the water lapping against my feet. My friend and I each had a cigar, and the smoke was just lifting around us, going nowhere. This must be what it’s like to smoke a cigar indoors, only better. All the time I could see a clear gradient from hazy to clear as I looked left - west - and back across to my right - to the east. We were literally watching the front approach, but it was coming so slowly that it didn’t disturb the surface of the lake. Clouds up high could be see to be moving against the backdrop of a few brighter stars and of course, the moon. The air up there was changing already, but down here we were still in the eddy.

The Perseid meteor shower was also at its peak last night, and due to all the added light of the moon and opacity of the clouds, we didn’t see many. Still, there were a few that were so prominent we could see them anyway. Sometimes just out the corner of your eye. There can be one visible every minute on a clear moonless night.

And all this time, I think we saw two other boats.

That is to say, on a 7,000 acre lake during its busiest weeks of the year, on a spectacular night with no wind, the whole lake bathed in light and meteors streaking up the sky... no one was out there. That’s not to say no one was out in some other cove, somewhere on the lake; I’m sure there were a handful of others out there. But it amazes me how few people will make the effort to get out there after dark. It’s a magical, beautiful place. Being outside in the dark can be scary, but being in the middle of a huge expanse of open space in the middle of a densely-forested state is liberating and exhilarating, relaxing and rejuvenating. We also had beer.

All you have to do is pay attention to the weather, both near and far, and the reward is a scene like no other. An expanse of water whose property values are eye-watering, whose exclusivity has made it nearly impossible for “regular folks” to even access the water, despite the State’s best attempts at maintaining public access. And on a night like last night, it felt like we owned the place. There wasn’t another human for 1/2 mile in any direction, certainly not one who had a clue what they were missing by sitting inside, scrolling through facebook on their cellphones, or whatever.

Get out there and explore the world, people. It’ll pay back in immeasurable ways.

Oh, and no pics because a) they never come out from a moving boat even on the calmest nights and b) I go out to experience the night, I don’t want to mess with a camera.

ITA97, now with more Jag @ opposite-lock.com > functionoverfashion 08/14/2019 at 14:21

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The calendar has a similar impact in NM. For some reason, most folks stop boating after labor day despite the best boating part of the year being September through early November. I don’t know why they stop going out, but there are hardly any boats after the holiday weekend.

Night boating can be magical. One of my favorite experiences ever on a boat was water skiing by moonlight. Running the lake at 55 +mph at night is a pretty cool experience as well.

Also, the idea of shoreline exclusivity is foreign to my New Mexico mind. Out here all navigable lakes are state parks or otherwise on state or federal land. There is largely no such thing as someone owning shoreline here. There are houses along the boundary of the state parks line, but they’re hundreds of yards from the water and are actually barred by regulation from having direct access to the beach. The state runs a cable and post barrier along the property line where houses have been built near the park boundary.

Pickup_man > functionoverfashion 08/14/2019 at 14:23

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This just makes me want a boat worse than I already do. I love the water and don’t spend nearly enough time on it. I take an annual fishing trip up into central MB that is my home away from home, my happy place. Even on bad years I’m always happy to be there .

Somewhat related, my cousin is selling his ‘96 Super Sport Nautique, I wan’t it so desperately bad, but spending more money on a boat than the pickup I just bought would be unreasonably irresponsible right now. Plus I’m more of a fisherman so it wouldn’t really fulfill my wants anyway. But they’re just such good looking boats.

functionoverfashion > ITA97, now with more Jag @ opposite-lock.com 08/14/2019 at 14:33

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I get the Labor Day thing now that I have kids in school. It gets busy and unless you’re local, you just won’t get out that much. We’re lucky to be so close.

Let’s just say that my ski rope (wakeboard rope) is glow-in-the-dark. Yes, it’s quite an experience, and I considered riding last night actually. With a full moon, it’s pretty safe.

It sounds like NM has the right idea with their shoreline protection. I’d love to get out there sometime. 

functionoverfashion > Pickup_man 08/14/2019 at 14:36

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That looks like a spectacular place!!

Indeed, a ‘96 Super Sport is an excellent boat. It’s the same basic hull and layout as mine (in fact, “wetted” surface is the exact same). They ran that same hull through 2006 in the Super Air and Super Sport 210, and it’s still regarded as one of the best all-around boats they’ve ever made, especially by those who own one, haha.

My kids love fishing off ours, but they stand on the swim deck. Yeah, it’s not a great fishing boat. 

MasterMario - Keeper of the V8s > functionoverfashion 08/14/2019 at 14:38

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Some of our best days on our boat has been when there was a threat of rain. The one day that I love thinking about we were out on the lake and there was practically no one else out on a Saturday, there was a chance of rain but we had decided to go any ways. As we were out there we watched storm clouds develop just off to the east of us, and they stayed there for most of the afternoon. While it was sunny and beautiful on the lake, 10-20 miles east they were dealing with thunderstorms. We could actually hear the thunder every now and then. It was a fun day and we had most of the lake to ourselves.

Also,

We also had beer.

Pickup_man > functionoverfashion 08/14/2019 at 15:00

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When it comes to fishing boats, I lust after Rangers. T he cousin with the Nautique, his dad has a Ranger Reata 212ls that is absolutely gorgeous , and an awesome fishing boat. Rangers are hella expensive though.

Being more realistic I want to pick up a simple older fishing boat with in the next few years and make it into a bit of an all rounder. 16'-18' would be plenty, and the little bit of white- trash in me wants to get an old, brown, Sylvan/Lund/Crestliner, make it way nicer than it has any right to be, then take it to all the places you usually see fancy ski/sport boats.

ITA97, now with more Jag @ opposite-lock.com > functionoverfashion 08/14/2019 at 17:43

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I didn’t know glow in the dark lines are a thing, but I do now. I can buy the “pretty safe” part, and a full moon is must (that’s the only time around here there’s enough light to run at speed at night, and even then only late enough that the night fishers have gotten off the lake). Tying a chemlite to the life vest helped improve the safety part for me. The first time we did it at night, it was two adults and three kids on the boat. The three kids didn’t bother to tell me (and/or they didn’t notice) when their dad let go. I eventually noticed since  he was a good, aggressive slalom skier and it had been awhile since I felt him tugging on the back of the boat when he made cuts. It was a bad feeling when I stopped and had no idea how far back he had let go. After about 10 minutes of retracing our wake back at low speed I hear a “hey, asshole... decided to come back and get me...)“ off in the distance.

davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com > functionoverfashion 08/14/2019 at 18:20

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Fantastic. 

functionoverfashion > ITA97, now with more Jag @ opposite-lock.com 08/15/2019 at 10:29

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We bought that line after we lost a black one, at night. Maybe more than one. Most of the time I’ve ridden at night has been just with one other person, so you really have to watch for when they fall. Glowsticks on the lifejacket are a great idea but I’m not sure we’ve ever actually made that happen. 

functionoverfashion > MasterMario - Keeper of the V8s 08/15/2019 at 10:31

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Lots of times we’ve had storms pass nearby but miss us, or we’ve driven to another part of the lake to avoid one. One time in particular we gambled and lost, got hit by a serious squall. Not major lightning but hail. We both had to lie down on the floor of the boat for a minute holding wakeboards over our heads it was so brutal. Oops...