We plan our Friday afternoons based on how many people sign up. If you signed up for Friday afternoon, it can be tempting to cancel based on a Thursday weather forecast – this is a often a mistake.

In Southwest Florida, weather models are notoriously fickle; an easterly surge or a Gulf front that looks menacing on Thursday afternoon often stalls, breaks up, or shifts just enough to leave the Bay perfectly sailable by the time Friday afternoon rolls round.

We like to call it from the dock.

Sarasota Bay is a land of microclimates and thermal shifts that no app can perfectly capture. You have to be standing on the squadron dock, ready to launch, watching the actual sea state and seeing if those predicted conditions actually materialized or if the wind has laid down into a sweet spot. 

Don’t let a pixelated map steal your tiller time – show up, and make your move based on the reality hitting your face, not speculation from yesterday’s forecast.