Strange as it may seem, our weather is the envy of the country. For the most part, we in Western Washington have water in our reservoirs and a snowpack at or above 100%. Temps are below normal which is good to maintain the snowpack but tough on the home gardeners. As of today, we’ve had 2.26” of rain so far in May. The monthly average for this date is .8” and for the year the average is 17.69” while we’ve had 20.67” so far.
Today’s surface analysis chart and sat pic show that we are nowhere near done with rain for this month with yesterday’s low just over the Cascades and three more very weak low-pressure systems lined up off the coast. The next system will arrive tonight and into Saturday morning. The third system will come through on Sunday following a very similar path.
The 500MB charts show that finally, the jet stream is starting to move to the north which will bring the high temps for Saturday and Sunday into at least the low 60s, finally.
Plenty of sailing going on this weekend with the Pacific NW Offshore Race that finally got started out of Ilwaco this morning after the Organizers wisely decided to not start yesterday morning with winds at the mouth of the Columbia River in the 30-40 knot range with higher gusts. Today’s start was much milder with the fleet now under spinnaker in 12-18 knots of SSW wind. Should be a nice ride up the coast with a nice run down the Straits to finish in Port Angeles.
We will have Vashon Island Race tomorrow which should actually be pretty nice, with a post-frontal south/southwesterly wind of 8-18 knots around most of the day. Currents won’t be much of an issue with the top speed at West Point being only .8 knots of flood just after 1300 hours.
On the long course expect a beat in 8-12 knots of southerly and south of the north end of Vashon the breeze will start to clock to the SW. The short course boats will go to a temporary mark just NW of Pt Robinson and will have similar conditions. The key will be to not go too far to the west north of Pt. Robinson so you end up overstanding the mark and end up reaching in on starboard tack.
On the long course after Pt. Robinson expect the breeze to be a solid W/SW. Don’t get too close to Maury Island as while there may be a nice starboard tack lift in close to the beach it will also be lighter in there. At the bottom end of Vashon remember that the current pretty much flows west to east along that shore and if there’s any clearing that will allow heating of the island it will also be light along that shore.
Once in Colvos Passage find the axis of the current and ride that north. Don’t get too close to either shore and watch for the puffs to come from the west. After you sail out of Colvos, aim the boat for the barn as you should be in a nice SW breeze all the way to the finish. Don’t get too close to Blake Island as it will be lighter next to the Island.
The next challenge will be the finish as the line will be off the north end of the Shilshole Breakwater. Once you are north of West Point, you may have to take a gybe to get into the line. Could be interesting if you gybe early and you end up on a port tack approach to the finish with other boats coming in on starboard.
Have a great day.
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)