Wind advisory

Today I did six laps of the February strength circuit and 90 minutes in the boat.

The freakishly warm weather is back, with the high today predicted to be about 77 degrees Fahrenheit.  At this time of year, warm weather is usually accompanied by unstable conditions.  Today the NOAA has a wind advisory in effect for the greater Memphis area.  After my time down at the river this morning, I'd say they got it right.  The wind that was blowing on Tuesday was nothing compared to what it was doing today.  Today was one of the windier days I've ever seen down on the river.

I paddled to the mouth of the harbor, took one look at the river, and decided to stay in the harbor.  The mile and a half or so I paddled into the wind from the marina to the mouth of the harbor had me pretty tired, so I let the waves carry me back downwind for a while until I'd recovered.

One drill I like to do on windy days is to paddle in a beam wind by going back and forth across the harbor.  I try to keep the boat as "quiet" (free of rolling, pitching, and bobbing) as possible while dealing with the tricky balance issues presented by the waves coming at me from the side.  What I hope to accomplish is to keep the boat moving smoothly and efficiently while I'm a little off-balance.