Cherish the rain

As someone hyper-aware of Auckland’s hyper-fickle weather – it’s unavoidable when trying to coordinate photographers, video crews, writers, owners and agents for boat reviews – it may come as a surprise to learn that I’ve recently adopted a far more accepting view of the rain.

The trigger for this “Paul-on-the-road-to-damascus” conversion is the catastrophic drought playing out in Cape Town – a city I’ve always considered Auckland’s twin. The two cities share the same latitude and are subjected to very similar weather patterns. Both have wet winters and dry summers, and both are built around the sea, with strong maritime industries, cultures and traditions.

For those unaware of the scale of the drought in South Africa’s mother city, analysts are now suggesting Cape Town is likely to be the world’s first major city to run out of water – and D-day is mid-april – long before the winter rains arrive. If, indeed, they ever arrive. The catchment dams are all but empty, and locals are rationing water on a scale never seen before.

Multiple factors are responsible. In addition to the lack of rain, the city has experienced a massive increase in population over the last two decades (it’s now around four million). It also seems there has been little maintenance of existing facilities, nor any investment in new infrastructure.

I don’t know what meteorological factors are keeping the rain at bay – but Mother Nature’s delivery of a relentless drought seems a cruel, spiteful development in a country which already has so many troubles.

Cape Town’s drought also resonates in other parts of the world, where a lack of water holds far more significant implications for world peace. An underlying cause for the ongoing conflict in the Middle East, for example, is often attributed to the fight to secure access to fresh water.

All of which brings me to regard our climate in a new way. It’s still bloody frustrating trying to organise boat reviews and crews around the weather, but these days I’m far more likely to roll with the punches.

Maybe we don’t know how lucky we are.

May your boating be dry-ish.