s/v Field Trip

“Come on over.  I live just down from the Two Seasons Hotel!”  “Oh, not the Four Seasons?”  Mark joked.  “Right, we’re in the Philippines - wet and dry - only two seasons!” We’d just met him in the bakery, and already, Ganny was showing us that Filipino warmth we’d encountered so often throughout the Philippines. As COVID-19 travel restrictions begin to ease up, we are witnessing the change of seasons here.  Scorching hot days and weeks without a drop of rain have morphed into overcast days scattered with thunder showers and wild lightning storms. This change occurs due to a switch in wind patterns.  Monsoon winds now blow from the Southeast, rather than from the Northeast.  Roughly from June to October, the Southeast winds bring on the rainy season.  Overlapping the wet season, typhoons typically show up between June and December.  This wind change means two things for us… First , it means we must carefully monitor weather ...

Heat inside the boat with sun blaring in, 126.2ºF. It’s 7:30 a.m. and the thermostat reads 32ºC inside the boat (that’s 90 ºF). Given the 75% humidity, that makes the apparent temperature 106ºF! Hatches above us are open, but there’s not a wisp of breeze blowing in.  Sweat trickles down my back, soaking the elastic waistband of my pajama shorts.  The air inside is heavy.  It feels like I’m sitting in a steamy sauna at the local gym, only... I’m not.  I’m sitting at our salon table, stubbornly sipping my morning coffee, determined not to let this heat rob me of my morning indulgence. We haven’t had any rain since the lockdowns started - nearly two months ago now.  The sun rises blazing, and continues to turn up the temperature throughout the day.  Moods turn irritable on board.  The heat is oppressive, and we are all struggling to carry on with our regular routines. How Do We Beat the Heat When Living Aboard? Staying cool during school....