Finally, the Pacific High is setting up in a normal position and with a thermal low-pressure trough inland, the onshore flow will continue down the Straits keeping the smoke from the wildfires in eastern Oregon, eastern Washington, and east BC on the other side of the Cascades. So once again breezes in the central and south Sound will be light while afternoon breezes in the Strait will be brisk with the possibility of small craft advisories.
There is also some discussion that a frontal system will move over the area on Monday and into Tuesday bringing the possibility of RAIN? I use the question mark because it just doesn’t look like this system has that much moisture and will degrade as it encounters the coastal buffer zone. We can always hope for rain because we can use it as the fire danger is extremely high with no other real rainmakers in sight. We will keep watching.
As usual, boats from the Pacific NW are doing very well in this year’s Pacific Cup. As we said, the early starters got hampered by very light air leaving San Francisco. The later starters scored with more normal conditions. No big surprises in the results as the TP 52 Saga was first to finish in 7 days 12 hrs with the mighty Rage from Portland only 7 hrs behind after having given Saga a real run for the first-to-finish trophy and then beating them on corrected. First overall will be the J-125 Velvet Hammer finishing in 8 days 14 hours.
In the Team Standings CYC Seattle is leading with Royal Vic in third place. Other boats doing well are the J-35 The Boss (Wayne is smiling), Morning Star, Joy Ride, Moonshine, Pell Mell, The Fugitive, Gilligan, the Westsail 32 Hula, Wilder, Fiasco, Planet Express, and Chinook.
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)