It’s pretty cool to be sitting at the computer looking out on a very wintry landscape complete with snow. It’s not going to last of course but it was probably just the right amount of snow for just about the right amount of time.
As you can see from the surface charts we’ve got another low pressure area off the coast with another front that will be coming through this afternoon bringing warmer temps and more rain. The lows off of our coast are fairly weak and north of the jet stream, see the 564 line on the 500MB charts. I mention this because the Tuesday 500MB chart shows the possibility of more cold air coming our way from the interior of Canada.
Why Winterize?
Have you gotten your boat winterized yet? Also, don’t think that just because you’re moored in saltwater that freezing won’t be a problem. The reason is that since the soil above the marina’s is super saturated with rain water it will continue to run off the hills and into the marina’s. Since it’s freshwater it will stay on top of the warmer saltwater and on still nights when it gets below freezing, it may freeze especially next to the shore. So freshwater can also be in your thru-hulls and if you don’t have a heater running or if you leave the locker doors closed over the thru-hulls, they can freeze and cause real problems.
As far as this weekend goes, it is simply going to be wet and while not too windy in the central and south Sound, the San Juan Islands and the north Sound are going to be breezy thru Sunday afternoon. In other words, if you want to go winter cruising and have the moorages all to yourself, head to the south Sound.
Crabbing at 2300
The other interesting feature this week will be the tides on Wednesday. We’ll have the lowest tide of the winter on Wednesday night which will be a -3.2ft tide at 2300 hours. If it’s calm you can actually go wading on the north side of Meadow Point and get Dungeness crab in the eel grass beds. Needless to say, dress appropriately and even though you’re just wading, wear a life jacket.
Have a great weekend!
Bruce has raced and cruised the Pacific Northwest his entire life. He earned a Bachelor’s of Science from the University of Washington in Biological Oceanography and learned meteorology “to keep from getting kicked around on the race course.” Bruce spent nearly two decades as Associate Publisher for Northwest Yachting Magazine, retiring in mid-2015, and was the chairman of the board of trustees for the Northwest Marine Trade Association in 2014. (photo of Bruce driving Playstation is a bit dated, but cool)