What a Beauty

There she is. What a beauty!

OK I give you that she's not as sexy as the Brenta 30 or as exciting as a VO70.

But she's one of my favorite craft. She goes by the glamorous name of NDBC Station 44039. More commonly known as the Central Long Island Sound weather buoy.

It still blows my mind that with one click from my desktop I can immediately see the wind and wave conditions in one of my favorite sailing areas.

It seems that it's popular these days to complain about the federal bureaucracy especially in the aftermath of FEMA's inadequate response to Katrina. But I, for one, think that the National Data Buoy Center (NDBC) is "doing a heck of a job". An agency within the National Weather Service (NWS) of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) you can find out more than you ever wanted to know about NDBC at their website.

So let's see what 44039 says right now. Currently 13.6 knots gusting to 17.5 knots with waves of height 1.6 feet and a water temperature of 57.9 degrees.

Just perfect Laser sailing weather. Why am I sitting here at my desk?