Conditions improve on the Chesapeake

From this morning's NOAA forecast:

 SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY REMAINS IN EFFECT FROM 4 PM EDT THIS
 AFTERNOON THROUGH LATE TONIGHT

 THIS AFTERNOON
S WINDS 15 KT. WAVES 1 TO 2 FT.

 TONIGHT
S WINDS 15 TO 20 KT...BECOMING SW 10 TO 15 KT LATE.
WAVES 2 TO 3 FT...SUBSIDING TO 1 TO 2 FT.

I do TOO have a day job!

Few phrases make my heart jump more than "Small craft warning." Or "advisory," in this case. They save the "warning" for even stronger conditions.

I have on my desk at work a stainless steel bolt with a pronounced arc to it. This 1/4-inch thick piece was stressed and bent solely from the pressure of the wind on the sail of my small boat. Partly that means that even a small boat in a fresh breeze can generate surprisingly high stresses.

But it also reminds me of the real world outside the office, where wind bends steel and bats flutter and herons stalk the shallows. Is it any wonder my characters often end up in boats? That's me bleeding through into the story.