First of all, a big thank you to Doug Frazer on Oxomoxo for sending me a Race Report on how they did sailing the virtual Blakely Rock Race, I should have reported on how we did on Tahlequah. As usual, we ended up second to Elusive but at least we made them nervous.
May 8 500mb 
May 8 Surface Analysis 
May 9 Surface Forecast 
May 10 500mb 
May 10 Surface Forecast 
May 11 Surface Forecast 
May 12 Surface Forecast 
May 12 500mb
Today reminded me of the 1969 Vashon Island Race where over 500 boats (Ed. note: Oh My God I wish I’d been here) were participating and there was no short course. It was truly a spectacle with spinnakers covering the Sound, all the way from Shilshole to the south end of Vashon. This included a two-wheel spinnaker reach (complete with knockdowns) from Pt. Robinson to just past the gravel pit. A very small light spot at the south end of the island and a solid beat all the way back to the finish. On the Columbia 50 Six Pack, we finished at 1730 hours, sunburned and tired from grinding in the 180% genoa using Barlow 35’s. It is still a great memory and I still have the Roy Montgomery picture of us beating up Colvos trying to catch the K-50 Nor’Wester. Yes, Professor Peabody, I did borrow the Wayback Machine!
The Pacific NW Offshore Race would have been probably the nicest race ever run with a nice offshore flow providing racers with a reaching easterly and very warm (70°F+) temps, lasting almost all night except for a relatively large light spot in the lee of the Olympics. There also would have been a very challenging light air beat down the Strait of JdF to the finish in Victoria. Oh well, Next year!
Today would have been a copy of that day in 1969, tomorrow as the ridge of high-pressure begins to break down, the wind will not be nearly as consistent. As the surface charts show, we’ll have a thermal trough developing over the area as the offshore flow develops and we get some compressional heating as the breeze comes downslope off the Cascades and Olympics. It should be a great Mother’s Day weekend as we await the arrival of another weak system late Monday into the middle of next week.
The 500mb, upper-level pressure charts show an interesting oscillation in the jet stream as it transitions from a meridional flow to yet another zonal flow directing systems into the Pacific NW. We are however also starting to see the jet stream move ever so slightly to the north. This will bring a warming trend to our weather and maybe a trend toward more summer-like conditions. Just in time for the start of Wednesday night racing! Let’s keep our fingers crossed.
Enjoy the 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)