or: Same as last year

It’s that time of the year again.

The time where we think back to what we did last time.

We question what we learnt from the experience.

We wonder if this time we should do something a bit different and if so, what and when?

We seek the opinions and advice of others.

Some experts, some not.

Then we decide what to do.

Yes, it is cyclone season again in Mauritius and we have one quite close.

And yes, it is also near the end of the year and a period for reflection…

Today we dived as the seas where we are remain calm.

Some of the other dive centres were sending their boats to Port Louis while others remained in their usual spots. 

A few went out too.

By the end of the second dive, the warning had increased and the fishermen began removing their boats from the water too.

We decided to do the same. 

It means a better night’s sleep when you’re not worried about what will happen to the boat.

Everyone seems to think they are a cyclone expert so there is a lot of conflicting advice about the path of the cyclone, when / if it will hit and what the likely sea conditions will be over the next few days.

The cyclone doesn’t care what anyone thinks and they all have the tendency of tracking wherever they feel like it anyway. 

Amongst all these experts, it is the fishermen that seem to be more accurate than others based on what I saw last year.

After all, they spend their lives on the sea.

I’m under it so what goes on up top, I haven’t yet learnt how to read quite so well. I’m also not so familiar with the coast line to be able to tell how the sea is impacted in my area with the winds from each direction and the bends in the coast.

Underneath however, I’m becoming a better judge of what the visibility is likely to be after a storm. Let’s see how I go with predicting it with this cyclone…

Like last time, I am impressed with how the fishermen all help each other to get each others’ boats out of the water and into one of the local car parks. It happens all up this stretch of coast, families coming out of their homes to help too in windy / rainy weather.

It’s a great community.

Not such a great cyclone.

Same as last year, it looks like we’ll have another wet New Year’s Eve.

There will still be fireworks, parties on rooftops and in the streets.

That’s my prediction.

 

Thanks to Baby Animals for the title to this post.