Gene came by the neighborhood

Gene tried to pay us a visit the other day, but was turned away by a high pressure trough, I am happy to announce. Upon see the satellite photo all I could think, is my what large cloud coverage you have and upon seeing the pressure gradient all I could think was oh my, this might get a little wet. She was a category 2 at her highest, still nothing we care to content with. I have waited to post about this until the saga was finished, as cyclones are carious things who do not always follow what the computer models predict.

New Caledonia was on pre-alert and level one alert, but Gene (pronounced either the Anglo or the Francophone way- the radio hosts here were a bit confused as the cyclone was named in Fiji), and therefore the name did not make much sense to Francophone eye/ears. I sent out a rather terse email stating what could be the eminent future just before the model changed and Gene was no longer on a direct course for us, but rather visiting our general area.

Everyone in the marina went into cyclone preparation, sails were dropped, canvas taken down, everything taken off decks, tires acquired. Why would one acquire tires, well they act as excellent cushioning between boats in the event of high winds. Cyclone preparation means a lot of hurrying up and waiting. You take things down far in advance before the winds pick up and the rains come, but then what does one do afterwards? Mill about of course and chat with ones neighbors. All this milling about meant me talking with neighbors more than I usually do, and I actually got a compliment on my French, that it is improving, albeit in regards to weather discussions which like directions seem to come naturally. I was however able to explain to the people at the various garages I visited why it was that I wanted old tires and not in fact help with my own tires. Apparently this is quite normal as there are many boats in the area. Nouméa has a population of roughly 90,000 with five marinas of various sizes, so as you can imagine the boat to person ratio is rather high.

Gene finally did disappear as she headed south and moved into colder water. If you think of me, think cold water and high pressure thoughts for me (things which reduce the chance of cyclones).