Thinking about W Sea Otter

Queen Charlotte Sound - eastern half

• Hurricane force wind warning in effect

• Forecast
• Weather Conditions
• Ice Conditions
• Warnings
• Synopsis

Winds

Issued 04:00 PM PST 14 December 2018
Tonight and Saturday. Hurricane force wind warning in effect. Wind northwest 30 to 40 knots diminishing to westerly 10 to 20 early this evening then increasing to southeast 40 to 50 after midnight. Wind increasing to southeast 55 to 65 Saturday morning then diminishing to southerly 45 to 55 Saturday evening.


Waves


Issued 04:00 PM PST 14 December 2018
Today Tonight and Saturday. Seas 4 to 6 metres subsiding to 3 to 5 early this evening then building to 7 to 10 Saturday morning.






I'm thinking that this is above my 1.5 meter threshold for rounding Cape Caution!

+1. I'm with you, Jay. Wouldn't want to be there!

Now that is butt ugly weather.

That would beat any Disneyland ride. Happy Holidays!

Those wave heights are unreal!! Sounds like the Perfect Storm.

One day I'll convert an old transparency photograph to digital. It shows the remnants of a barge near Cape Caution, where one corner is above the high tide line and the rest of what remains disappears into the wind blasted, ground hugging forest above

Jay N said:

Queen Charlotte Sound - eastern half

• Hurricane force wind warning in effect

• Forecast
• Weather Conditions
• Ice Conditions
• Warnings
• Synopsis

Winds

Issued 04:00 PM PST 14 December 2018
Tonight and Saturday. Hurricane force wind warning in effect. Wind northwest 30 to 40 knots diminishing to westerly 10 to 20 early this evening then increasing to southeast 40 to 50 after midnight. Wind increasing to southeast 55 to 65 Saturday morning then diminishing to southerly 45 to 55 Saturday evening.


Waves


Issued 04:00 PM PST 14 December 2018
Today Tonight and Saturday. Seas 4 to 6 metres subsiding to 3 to 5 early this evening then building to 7 to 10 Saturday morning.






I'm thinking that this is above my 1.5 meter threshold for rounding Cape Caution!

Click to expand...

Jay,

Sounds exciting... a few questions...
What or where is W Sea Otter?
Where is Queen Charlotte Sound?

Sounds like somewhere in the NW?

Seevee said:

Jay,

Sounds exciting... a few questions...
What or where is W Sea Otter?
Where is Queen Charlotte Sound?

Sounds like somewhere in the NW?

Click to expand...

Queen Charlotte Sound is the unprotected by islands bit of BC's coast, above the northern tip of Vancouver Island. Cape Caution is the most prominent headland in the area.

West Sea Otter is a weather buoy.

Google is your friend

There are many harrowing tales of Queen Charlotte Sound and Cape Caution in the winter months....in the summer months too for that matter. Here's one as told to me by the harbormaster of the Shearwater marina near Bella Bella BC. Many of you know him.

When the HM hired on at the Shearwater resort, his first job was crewman on the resort's power scow, the Central Coaster. The scow was, and still is, the resort's only source of supply and makes weekly trips to Port Hardy near the north end of Vancouver Island. One way, the trip is about 100 miles and includes rounding Cape Caution. A good portion of the route is in QC Sound. In one particularly bad southerly blow, the scow lost power and struggled to gain a lee shore on the north side of Cape Caution. The crew was able to tie off to a tree on the beach and the scow eventually grounded as the tide fell. Minimal damage resulted from the grounding, but their problems weren't over. Black bears came across the tidelands and attempted to get on board by climbing the hullsides. The bears never got on board, so that bullet was dodged. I think of this story every time we round Cape Caution and am always thankful to get that leg behind us.

Seevee, the West Sea Otter weather buoy can provide important information for boaters intending to transit around Cape Caution to/from BC North Coast/SE Alaska and ports to the south. This is one of the few open ocean legs, and even in the summer time, you don't want to go out there unless it is relatively calm.


It is a fairly reliable indicator of ocean swell conditions that continue into the Pine Is/Egg I Central Coast of BC, including Cape Caution. While there are other factors (wind/current/route selection), it's a good bit of knowledge to include with weather forecasts and lighthouse reports.


When it was non-reporting for part of last summer, there really wasn't anything else to take it's place, other then considering some of the more distant weather buoys.

I've stayed in port and awaited better weather several times, probably the most was 5 days in Port Hardy some years ago.