Just enough of a good thing

Tonight is a weird one. The sounds are all wrong. Maybe it's just the water. And the wind. I'm behind the dodger, so I can't speak for the feel, but the wind has more of a quiet moan to it than its usual pitched wind in the rigging sound.

The water too is different. It's more subdued than it usually is. Gone is the charging river, playful water gig. Waves roll by the boat and rustle like dry leaves in autumn.

I can tell you now what the difference is. We've spent many days beating into the wind. Tonight is the first in a long time that I've come on watch to find the wind coming from behind us. The wind and the waves are working with us rather than against us. It's a nice change, even if it doesn't last long.

Low pressure systems are parading across the north Pacific above us. Wind rotates around them in a counter clockwise direction. the low to our northwest delivers wind from the south. We're glad to have it. As long as we don't get too much of a good thing.