Hurricane Heaven

As I write this, another hurricane season has passed. In hundreds of harbors and marinas, sailors are breathing a sigh of relief. I know the feeling, since I rode out eight spinners aboard my sturdy 30-footer. I can recall the precise moment when I said, “No more!”

It was in 2005, during Hurricane Wilma in Key West. My expensive Aries self-steering vane was being attacked by a 500lb freezer, filled with bags of ice. Both the Aries and my stern were losing the battle. What made it even more irritating, was the cutesy polar bear logo grinning at me from…”