What can we say except it’s going to look a lot like summer around here for the foreseeable future. Temperatures in the upper 70’s to mid 80’s and not really any extreme winds around even in the Straits. The surface charts show a nice high-pressure off the coast that is not going to move very far or very fast because the jet stream is simply going over the top of it. The only place on the coast that will be breezy is the section from the mid-coast of Oregon south to just north of San Francisco. There will still be a weak onshore flow coming down the Straits that could bring 15-20 knots of westerly this afternoon and Saturday afternoon as well. After that, the high will just sit over us bringing us dry and warm conditions. The perfect time to be out on the boat.
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For the folks leaving at noon on Sunday for Ketchikan in the R2AK, this will present some very interesting choices. It’s looking to be light for the start out of Victoria with a flood tide starting around 1430 hrs. This will be perfect for the rowers and the SUP folks and they can go the shortest possible course to get up to Nanaimo. The sailors will probably go up Trincomali Channel and then out Porlier Pass to get into 15-20 knots of NW breeze in the Strait of Georgia. Once you get north of Nanaimo the breeze will back off and stay light at least until Wednesday. Right now it looks like getting through Seymour Narrows and Johnstone Strait will be a challenge because of the lack of wind. We’ll see.
The plan is to update this forecast tomorrow afternoon when the new models are released.
In the meanwhile, enjoy what will be a glorious 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)