A friend of mine always said that it is dangerous to view the world from behind a desk. I had a similar experience today, but I was just viewing the weather instead. I get very annoyed when friends tell me about the predicted weather for the day or for the next week. Being an outdoor enthusiast doing things that are 100% weather dependant I am constantly aware of the weather, checking it on TV weather forecasts, on iWeather, on Windguru, Windfinder, SA Weather..you name it and I have been there already. So telling me about the weather is like telling a skydiver that there is something called gravity. I am so good at the weather that I can sit in the comfort of my house and from the sound of the wind coming through my chimney I can tell whether the wind outside is strong enough to go kitesurfing or not. Looking at the trees outside I can even tell the wind direction. Well, so I always thought....
Today I was sitting listening to the wind and was sure that kitesurfing was not an option. Being on vacation and being very bored, I decided to take my car and go down to the beach despite my inhouse weather prediction. I wasn't expecting much so I headed for different spot this time. To my surprise I saw about 50 kites in the air. What a pleasant surprise. I realized yet again that when you want to know what the weather is doing, then you have to go and see for yourself. If you want to know what the surf is doing, go and see for yourself. If you ever miss out because you were too lazy to get up and thought that relying on your lifelong weather predicting expertise will safe you a trip, then know that it might just cost you a fantastic opportunity instead. Viewing the world from behind a desk might be dangerous, but viewing the weather from a distance might even be worse.
