Packing up or heading South? Or shifting gears? September 22 is the fall equinox and for us that means time to shift gears on the sailing scene. The sun is right over the equator today and and tomorrow it will be shifting its sunny rays towards Southern Hemisphere sailors. Lucky them. Sailors in the Northern Hemisphere need to think about either putting boats away or hustling South to some warmer climes. It's still hurricane season in the tropics but that ends 'officially' on November first and generally that's been reliable enough for insurance companies who want to insure anyone cruising South. So if you can plan to head South.
Cruising rallies will be taking off from Europe (ARC Rally) and the Eastern US (Caribbean 1500) to the Caribbean and from the West Coast of the US to Mexico (Baja Ha-Ha). Up North sailors will be putting boats back on trailers, hauling at the yard and generally battening down the hatches to wait for spring. We've hauled an Ensign, a Hobie Cat and a Laser on the coast of Maine. On the West Coast we do get to keep our boats sailing all year long though the days are shorter and cooler there's still plenty of good sailing to be had. What will you do with your seasonal sailing shift?
Of course, the official end of the America's Cup was to be Saturday, September 21 but due to too much wind, not enough wind and wind from the wrong direction (sounds like a sailing event doesn't it?) the Cup continues on the Equinox with the score ETNZ 8 and OTUSA 3. Can the Kiwis win one of the next 6 races to claim the Cup? We'll see.
Sailors have just about flipped over the current AC competition and the sun is also now flipping to the Southern Hemisphere.
The Equinox also means it's only three months until the Southern Hemisphere is celebrating their own Summer Sailstice on December 21. Right in the middle of Christmas/summer vacation - a difficult concept for us Northerners to get our heads around.
Enjoy what's left of the season because we know what's coming! This at Newport Shipyard in Newport, RI.
And as we cross paths with another celestial event it's not a bad time to mark your calendar for Summer Sailstice 2014. The good news? In 2014, June 21st the summer solstice falls right on the Saturday of Summer Sailstice! Put it on your club, class or fleet calendar now and plan to help us all get the whole world sailing the weekend of June 2st 2014! Though it may not seem that way now summer will be here before you know it!
Of course good old Wikipedia has all the details on the equinox itself.
