Stormy weather at Dixon Entrance.
Conditions this morning were even worse than they were yesterday. The wind was blowing the tent around making it flap noisily, and the rain was still coming down hard. Sleeping last night was difficult with daylight till 11pm and the sound of waves crashing against the rocks combining to keep me awake.
Paddling today was out of the question. The day was spent hunkered down in the pyramid tent trying to stay dry and amused. I listened to the weather reports from NOAA on my VHF radio whenever they were updated. A handy trick I discovered was to take my digital voice recorder, place it in front of the VHF radio, and record the broadcast. This way I could stop the report every few seconds and make notes of what had just been said so it could be referenced later. Anyone who has ever listened to these broadcasts knows that the information is given so fast it can sometimes be difficult to comprehend accurately.
The VHF radio also revealed to me that commercial fishermen in the area were at anchor and not able to get out on the water to fish. By setting my radio to “scan”, I could find channels that were being used by the fishermen to talk with each other about their weather concerns. Overhearing their conversations about the local weather gave me some practical insights that were not apparent from the government radio forecasts.
I am hoping that conditions tomorrow will allow me to get off this beach and on with my journey.
