Congratulations to Kirsten Neuschӓfer winning the 2022 Golden Globe Race in 235 days, in a Port Townsend-built Cape George 36, OUTSTANDING!
Finally, the spring we’ve come to expect has arrived! Today’s surface analysis chart and sat pic show a thermal trough along the coast and as this builds, offshore flow will increase, and combined with downslope compressional heating you have the record temps we are enjoying today. While this may impact our snowpack, it’s not going to last as this trough will drift inland and onshore flow will develop on Saturday. Sunday a weak front will drift over the Salish Sea allowing the cooler, onshore flow to continue. We should enjoy a week of mild weather with little or no rain until, of course, Opening Day! That’s still a ways off so we’ll see.
All of this is pretty good news for the Protection Island Race as we will probably have a downwind start in 8-12 knots of wind which should hold until Marrowstone Island, where the onshore flow coming down the Strait of JdF will bring WNW of breeze to the race course somewhere between 1200-1500hrs. This breeze will continue down the Sound to about Elliott Bay and hold until about 2200 hrs on Saturday. Then the next front will bring SSW breeze of 12-18 knots to waters south of Pt No Pt for the rest of the weekend and into next week.
The other part of the Protection Island equation is the tidal current in Admiralty Inlet and this weekend, the tides won’t be bad and with the current weather forecast, you will have enough wind to counter the anti-water. Since the current will be against you around the course, you will still have to play the usual back eddies.
Tidal Current Admiralty Inlet, off of Bush Point.
0800 Slack
1048 Max Flood 1.34 knts
1336 Slack
1618 Max Ebb 1.26 knts
1912 Slack
2242 Max Flood 1.77 knts
0300 Slack
0612 Max Ebb 1.53 knts
The tough part of this race will be the transition zones, especially the ones between Pt No Pt and Pt Townsend on the way up and between Pt No Pt and the finish on the way back. Keep the eyes out of the boat and let the trimmers trim and the drivers drive.
Have a great weekend! Get out that sunblock and use just like do like you do voting in Chicago, early and often.
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)