PERSPECTIVE by Rolynn Anderson

PERSPECTIVE

Think of this. My husband and I have spent 103 days together on a 42 foot trawler, traveling from Anacortes, Washington, all the way to Glacier Bay, Alaska, and back! So many days and so many nautical miles, favored by light, kind winds.

Listen, if the winds hadn’t been light and kind, I’d be singing a completely different tune in this blog entry. Our boat doesn’t take kindly to high winds, especially if those winds blow against tide. A favored weather report tells us that winds are ‘light.’ Next favorite: Winds will blow 10 to 15 knots. When the NOAA weather report tells us winds might crank up to 20 or 25, we’ll think about remaining on anchor or at a dock, waiting for the weather to improve. If NOAA predicts 25 to 30 knots, we’d be hunkering down, even considering a more secure anchorage or dock; at the very least, we might recheck our dock ties or let more rode out for the anchor.

Normal reaction, right? Not so if you operate a sailboat. Up here in the British Columbia hinterlands (the setting for my novel, LAST RESORT), sailboats pray for a good 20-25 knot wind so they can hoist their sails and enjoy a perfect ride, tacking back and forth on Queen Charlotte Straits. As a matter of fact, we see scores of sailboats up here in Northern B.C., but most of them move up the bays, passages and straits by motor, their sails wound tightly around their masts, hoping for stronger winds.

Sailboats yearn for wind; we trawlers like flat seas. But we do agree that tricky currents and the resultant rapids and whirlpools are problematic for both kinds of boats. Hit rapids at slack tide to avoid being thrown to the rocks! Exception: if you’re a fast boat, able to speed OVER the tricky seas, you might not care at all about rapids, current and whirlpools. In fact, in some cases, these sea conditions, horrific for our trawler, are a kick for a fast boat.

Each boat (depending on type, size, and speed) ‘plays’ differently with current, tide and wind conditions.

Same with people. We all come with a variety of perspectives…and I appreciate them all.

Learn more about the incredible beauty and enormous challenges of the isolated reaches of British Columbia in my suspense novel, LAST RESORT.

SUSPENSE SPIKED WITH ROMANCE

LAST RESORT – on sale now, print and download

The Wild Rose Press: http://tinyurl.com/682vwgv

Amazon.com: http://tinyurl.com/3cq6d7b

Web: http://www.rolynnanderson.com

Blog: http://blog.rolynnanderson.com/

Facebook: http://tinyurl.com/63vsnmt