“They Call the Wind Mariah”, Paint Your Wagon, Broadway, 1951 and the movie version from 1969.
Over here, at this time if year the wind is named Bora.
On board we have a much harsher term for her as it is this meteorological event that has caused us to miss our next two ports. We will not be calling at Koper, Slovenia or Split, Croatia.
Wind?
Not just any wind, this particular movement of airs consistently tops out at around 60+ mph, and that is plenty enough to wreak havoc on a ship at sea, or one trying valiantly to come alongside a pier!
So, the Captain is not taking any chances and we are bypassing those ports and staying close to the eastern coast of Italy, in the western Adriatic. This girl gets more intense the closer that you get to the coast of Croatia and Slovenia as this wind originates back in the interior of this section of Europe. High up on a much colder inland plain, behind the coastal Dinaric Alps, the air pressure starts to build up. As the air masses move outwards, in this case towards the sea, (where at this time of year, a relatively lower pressure system conveniently sits!) it looks for a channel to flow through. Much the way that water seeks its own level and will flow through a specific place with the least resistance, air is guilty of much the same behavior.
When it reaches the Dinaric Alps, it first starts flowing through the various peaks and passes, gathering speed as it compresses itself, racing towards that maritime low-pressure region. There is one more factor that really whips this baby up and that is gravity! As those airs come racing through the passes, she starts her fall down the mountain gathering speed as she sails along, headed for the coast and eventually out across the Adriatic.
“Yahoo! I’m headed to the beach!”
Hey! That’s where we are!
So far, we have successfully avoided any real issues. The seas are a tad larger than we’ve encountered before and the stabilizers are performing admirably. Today will be the test as we need to turn to our east and approach Kotor, Montenegro, so we may cross paths with %&#!@ Bora again! Report to follow.
In a way, I feel sorry for the Captain. Here he is trying his best to avoid dangerous and uncomfortable situations and the more successful he is the more people say, “This isn’t so bad! We could’ve made port!”
I kind of wish that even briefly we’d get tossed around like that toy boat in the child-induced bathtub maelstrom.
But then they’d complain about that too.
2 replies on “The Bora”
Bummer. Is that sea spray or fog in the pictures? I feel a bit queasy looking at the swells.
Sorry you missed two ports because of the weather. However, as the old adage says, “Better to be safe than sorry.” I’m sure your next port will be fabulous!