Chess, Hermine, and an Interesting Weekend

I have not blogged for a few days. So I might as well tell my patient readers why.

I am still recovering from a pleasant but taxing long weekend playing in the Southwest Open chess tournament, the largest non-scholastic tournament to come to my South Texas neighborhood in many years. It was fun seeing my chess friends from both around here and from the Dallas Chess Club where I used to frequent in years past. Among the Dallas Chess Club friends is the current U. S. Open champion, GM Alejandro Ramirez. I am sorry if I appear to name drop, but we are always glad to see each other, and I am excited he is meeting more of his ambitions.

My chess itself was mixed, but encouraging. I started off Friday night by drawing (i.e. tying) Clemente Rendon, who was one of the favorites in my section and is rated almost 300 points higher than I. It was quite a fighting draw, so much so that it was the last game to finish at 12:30am, 4½ hours after it began. Amazingly, I stayed sharp both physically and mentally during the whole game.

My accomplishment became the talk of the tourney. In fact, after Alejandro had clenched first in the top section, he walked over and asked to see that game. I was honored that he chose to analyze the game with me. And he has the heart and humility to take an interest in the games of lesser players.

The rest of my tournament was a mild let down, however. I drew another game, lost one and won one. I gained a few rating points, some confidence, and more knowledge of what to work on. So I’m o. k. with it. But I was hoping for more, especially after a good start.

Two friends, including my rector, played in their first big chess tournament and did very well, which was nice to see. It is also good that now they will more fully understand when I groan about how hard chess tournaments are on me! (Maybe more on that one day, but I do not want to be a bore.)

Adding to the interest of the weekend was an announcement at the beginning of Monday’s play of the formation of Tropical Storm Hermine. I had been following the disturbance for several days. So I knew that it was not expected for it to become more than a lot of rain. Expections were mistaken!

To recap, Hermine actually began in the Pacific, in the Gulf of Tehuanepec. Yes, I had to learn where that was. It crossed Mexico and reformed in the Bay of Campeche. It was expected to hit Mexico again as a depression. But it went further north and strengthened explosively, hitting just south of Brownville at 65 MPH, just short of being a hurricane. A few more hours in the Gulf of Mexico, and it surely would have been a hurricane.

It was interesting watching the storm pass by from the chess room (which was on the top floor of a bayfront hotel – magnificent views!). The wind did increase and became an issue towards the end of the final round as it was creating a strange and distracting whistle in one of the big windows. I was finished, so I helped my fellow competitors by creatively jamming two chairs against the side of the offending window to mute the whistle.

I could go on. But it was indeed an interesting weekend with fighting chess, lots of good friends, and visit from Hermine.

Outer Banks Spared

God answers prayer.

Hurricane Earl weakened much faster than expected and stayed over 80 miles away from Cape Hatteras. There was some flooding and power outages. But that is just part of life on the Outer Banks. Damage appears to be minimal.

Thanks be to God!

Pray for the Outer Banks

Hurricane Earl is forecast to brush the Outer Banks of North Carolina late tonight. And that has me praying.

The Outer Banks have a special place in my heart and life. I’ve long been drawn by their remote nature. Even a cursory look at a map reveals how far they are from the mainland. The most outer of the Outer Banks are long narrow strips with Pamlico Sound on one side and the Atlantic on the other. You cannot even see the mainland. And long stretches of Hatteras Island especially are protected for the abundance of wild beach and birds.

I still remember my first visit there in my twenties. In part to save money and add adventure, I slept in my sleeping bag in the dunes. Little did I know in those pre-internet days that a tropical depression was to pass through that night. Once I got settled into my bag, it began raining and did not stop until near dawn. I did not sleep well. Thankfully, the day was sunny.

Another visit, the surf was so good and fun to ride with a nice swell coming in that for two days I caught waves until I literally was sick. I wore myself out that much bodyboarding (boogieboarding). Again, the timing of rain was merciful as I recovered while a hard rain gave me a good excuse to rest for most of a day afterwards.

I could go on, but you get the picture. I love the Outer Banks. But part of what I love about them makes them vulnerable to hurricanes. The OB juts out into the Atlantic and is very narrow and low. Really, all you have to do and stand on a dune and see the ocean on one side and the sound on the other. So it doesn’t take much of a tidal surge to overrun the islands, particularly Hatteras Island.

Now it appears unlikely (though still possible) that Earl will make a direct hit on Cape Hatteras. But a large Category 4 hurricane just offshore could inflict serious damage. Needless to say, a more direct hit would be devastating.
So please join me in praying for the Outer Banks.

For more info, here is my favorite weather blog.

Tropical Storm Paloma??

What’s this? A tropical storm likely to become a hurricane . . . in November??

Apparently so.

Post-Ike

Yesterday morning, I went to Bob Hall Pier in Corpus and I was shocked at the damage there. It was much worse than from Rita. All but two picnic tables were gone and the parking lot was torn up.

After looking around a while, I got my board and gingerly worked my way through the rubble to catch some of the dying waves from Ike. But I did so half-heartedly knowing the much worse damage inflicted on people to the North.

(By the way, other than mostly minor damage from high tides and surf (I received no damage.), all we got from Ike was a warm breeze. I appreciate those expressing concern for me.)

Now, this Sunday morning, the Houston-Galveston-Beaumont area is being hit by a solid line of heavy thunderstorms. As if they needed that.

Do keep praying for that area. Their difficulties are far from over.

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I took some photos of the otherworldly sunset before Ike’s landfall and of Bob Hall Pier the next morning. You may find them here.

Ike: Pray for Houston

It looks like I was right in my post Tuesday that Ike would move further north than then forecasted. But I don’t take much joy from that. For what I didn’t post is that I felt Houston was in more danger than Corpus Christi. And it looks like I was too right on that.

Fortunately, the winds of Ike have not increased as much as once expected. But this is still an unusually large hurricane with what may be a huge storm surge. And it’s predicted to hit Houston head on.

Please pray for the Houston area.

Feeling Better About Ike

Ike has now shifted direction to the north over Western Cuba. And I’m feeling better about it now. It would have to shift back to the south to hit me.

Now the weather forecasts actually do predict it will shift back to the south. But I don’t see it happening. Ike has been one weird hurricane, but I don’t think it’s that weird. Once hurricanes start heading to the north, they keep going that way.

I’m still keeping an eye on it, of course.

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This has been a busy day. So I haven’t been able to post on Anglican matters. I hope to have an timely post for you tomorrow morning.

I Like Ike?

I’ve been looking forward to Hurricane Ike getting into the Gulf of Mexico and sending more waves my way. (By the way, I caught one of the best rides in my life off of Gustav.)

But, I’m beginning to get a little nervous. It seems the forecasts keep missing the direction of Ike. The hurricane keeps going farther to the south than expected. If that trend continues, Ike could come a little close to me for comfort as a Category 3 hurricane. We’ll see.

Dolly Déjà Vu

Yesterday, I took some teenagers down North Padre Island to check out the after effects of Hurricane Dolly – which is why I didn’t blog. North Padre is the longest barrier island in the U. S., about 80 miles and you can drive down the last 60 miles of it on the beach. And that’s what we did.

But what we found was surprising. The first 15 or 20 miles, those nearest Corpus Christi, had a lot of seaweed, debris, tree limbs and trunks. I thought it would really be a mess and perhaps impassable as we drove further south. But then the beach cleared up remarkably. On the south 30 miles, those closest to Dolly’s landfall (which was on South Padre Island), the only clear signs I could see of Dolly were the steep banks on the bottom of the dunes from the storm tides, and the abundance of water behind the dunes.

My theory is that the arm of Dolly that stayed so long over the Corpus area focused effects on that area more than much of area actually closer to the hurricane. But that’s just my theory. If any hurricane experts want to add their thoughts, please do so.

Something else strange about Dolly. When I was looking for stories on the aftermath of Dolly, I came across this story. I noticed some details seemed off, then I noticed the date – 1996. I sniffed around some more, and discovered the Hurricane Dolly of 1996, which took a track similar to the track of Dolly of 2008 and provided drought relief to areas of South and West Texas.

Dolly déjà vu indeed!

Longwinded Dolly

Prayer was answered yesterday as Dolly landed to the north of Brownville. Yes, it was no picnic down there, but it could have been worse.

A surprising feature of Dolly is her reach. I’m about 100 miles from Dolly but a strong arm of her has persisted over the area for over 12 hours. The result: about 7 inches of rain and very strong winds, up to 50 MPH, maybe more. In fact, the winds got stronger right after she made landfall. I put some weights on my trampoline for fear it would flip over. The winds stayed strong overnight. Only now does the weather seem to be relenting.

I heard some surfers went out yesterday. Birds had more sense as they took shelter at my place. A flock of Black Terns hung out on my cove. I’ve never seen that before. They are definitely sea birds not bay denizens. Speaking of which, the bay got higher than I’ve ever seen it. It was strange seeing rough water where it’s usually dry.

Dolly is now moving toward Laredo to the upstream of Falcon Reservoir. Falcon has been very low for many years. So hopefully it will take a lot of the water from Dolly that would otherwise flood the Rio Grande Valley. The Valley has enough flood issues now as it is.

Hello, Dolly. Come a Little Closer.

It turns out Dolly wanted to be a Texan after all. For a long time, it looked like a direct hit on Brownsville, and that still might happen today. But now it looks like she might jog just to the north of Brownsville. I’ve been praying she would go to the north of Brownsville because that would make it a lot easier on them and put the worst of the hurricane over an unpopulated area.

The surf from Dolly came in very suddenly yesterday afternoon. I caught a few waves before it became too strong for me to paddle out. There were a lot of people playing in the crazy surf. No, I probably won’t paddle out today. :)

Oh, the sunset was other worldly with turbulent high clouds from Dolly overhead in the clear tropical air.

Yesterday was dry, but we got a lot of rain overnight and have a lot more on the way, which is quite welcome.

Dolly’s Leaving Me for a Mexican.

Well, Dolly’s path has shifted south. It now looks more likely she will hit south of the border rather than north.

Bummer. Jilted again.

By the way, there was noticeable traffic flowing inland yesterday, including more than the usual number of people towing boats. But the weather was calm and the surf very low, though Dolly should hit the coast tomorrow. It’s no wonder that in the days before weather and news technology, hurricanes caught people by surprise with deadly consequences.

Hello, Dolly!

We’ve just now been under a Hurricane Watch here on the South Texas coast. I will now panic and flee for the highways. NOT!

I hope the local politicians don’t overreact and issue “mandatory” evacuations. I’ll ignore any such, of course, but they are annoying and inconvenient to us outlaws.

Well, off to beat others to the grocery store.

(And don’t worry. The projection is for Dolly to be a Category One when it hits the coast. I can easily withstand even a direct hit from that.)

Taking the Last Wave In

I caught some of the last waves from Dean this morning. I had three excellent rides amongst other fun out there. It was great.

Hmm, didn’t I predict this? Yep. I’m good.

And obviously my health is much improved. Thanks for the prayers.

As I walked in from the surf, I thought this was probably my last session until next February or March. So it was kinda bittersweet. But I’m so glad it was really good waves.

While I was out there in the waves, the local head of the Surfriders Foundation suggested I surf Scotland. But that’s too cold for me. Brrrrrrr!

Well, I need to go find a new trunk. I discovered last night that the one I just bought has flimsy latches. Oh, well.

Pre-Dean, Post-Erin 2

It now appears (and all the major models agree) that Hurricane Dean will land well to the south of the border. And for that I’m thankful.

Normally, I’d be rooting for a hurricane to come close. Heck, I’d like to ride out a hurricane one day. But with my health being well below 100% and with this being my last week before Oxford, I really don’t want Dean too close, thank you. Not to mention that many people in South Texas have been dealing with floods most of the summer already.

As for Erin, she is a strange creature. Quite mild and pleasant when she landed to the north of here at dawn last Thursday, she decided she wasn’t getting enough respect and flooded areas west of San Antonio, went through West Texas and looped around and is even now hitting Oklahoma with severe flooding.

Anyway, please pray for people dealing with Dean and Erin, especially Jamaica, which is being hit hard by Dean as I type this.

And, if you’d pray for my health, I’d appreciate it. I really don’t want to struggle with it in Oxford (or until then for that matter).

Pre-Dean, Post-Erin

Well, Tropical Storm Erin came through to the north very quietly. The wind was actually less than normal most of the time. It was quite peaceful really.

My first hint that Erin was past was when I woke up before daybreak yesterday, went out on my deck, and noticed a gentle wind heading off shore.

I got only an inch of rain. As is typical of tropical storms the bulk of the rain was to the “right” of the center. And we were to the “left.”

The waves yesterday were excellent. (Before Erin hit, it was practically flat – kinda backwards.) And even though I wasn’t feeling 100%, I went out and caught a couple of them. One ride was excellent. Later, the sunset was spectacular. I’ve noticed tropical weather can be beautiful.

Today, I saw my first sign of Dean, literally. A TxDoT sign said something like:

HURRICANE NEARING GULF
KEEP GAS TANKS FULL

Good thing I filled up (not storm related) the past couple days. With signs like that, there will be gas lines and shortages in no time.

I probably will need to get stuff done Monday. The way governments like to panic post-Katrina, everything is liable to be evacuated and shut down later in the week.

No, I won’t evacuate unless it’s level 4 or 5 and heading toward me. That’s my policy. Evacuations scare me more than hurricanes.

Sometimes, I’m Good!

I was watching the Weather Channel yesterday afternoon (O. K. I’m NOT an old man before my time. I’m a bodyboarder who watches tropical weather with great interest. Because of the waves. Yeah.). And even though the National Weather Service wasn’t saying much, I thought that wave in the Gulf of Mexico was too strong to remain a just wave. So I fired off the following e-mail to my dad and to a local friend:

Hi. The National Weather Service isn't saying it but I am:

South Texas will be dealing with a tropical storm (but not a hurricane) later this week.

That wave in the gulf is looking strong.

*DING* Right again. A few hours later, the NWS agreed with me. We’re supposed to be hit with a tropical storm tomorrow.

It’s not the first time I’ve outpredicted the NWS on tropical weather. I’ve found common sense in following trends can sometimes trump the experts. (I’ve found that to be the case in finances as well.)

By the way, don’t be fearful for me. This is unlikely to become a hurricane. And really only a strong hurricane is a danger for me. I built my place with hurricanes in mind.

Do pray for those in danger of flooding as that is the main danger from tropical storms. And a lot of rain is predicted. But I’m not at risk from floods myself.

By the way, another prediction: I’ll be riding waves from Hurricane Dean shortly before going to Oxford.