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Weather Reading XXVI rjxpr,ot Nc l HE PACrfrC UOAS1 watch whicìr must ìre brought to the attt;ntion of bk; to within a boat's length, and very acrjurate. the skippcr, Any infìrrmtrtion a watchman noticx;s [See FineEdge.com's GPS Instant Navigatiort that reprcsents a potential th¡eat to the vessel for a full discussion,) slrould be givcn, ortd ackttowledgcd, by the skip- Errata and Updates whelhcr or not he or she is busy or per/navigator When a new edìtion is Published bY even asleep. F ineEdge.corn it contains all the known Baidarka Dever enters a narrow passage, â updates ancl supetsedes the older edition which an anchoragc, oL a marina without one harbor, is no longer valid, Your commerìts, corrections or mole persons on bow watch, with standing ol suggestions are welcomed. Please sencl them :l orders of where and what to watch for. We have lo gJficc@Fin cEd8c.r:r¡ n t Ercala and updatcs olt :l the watchman point continuously at al object current editions are posted when avail¿il¡le on ,j of conr:ern until the helmsman or navigator the publishers' website www.FìneEdge. corn I gives an acknowledgment. (We ask the watch- ì; man not to point in thc direction he thinks the V. j helmsrnan shoulcì turn. as that is the decisiott of Weather Considerations the navigator,) Key to a safe and cornfortal¡le passage along the ì Baidarka s crew has been able to avoid Pacific Coast is knowleldge of tl're weather. 'Ihe .,Ì al¡rost all Pacific Coast chartecl and unchartccl U.S. National C)ceranic ancl Atmospheric j hazarcls florn Cape Horn to the Gulf ol Alaska Aclministration (NOAA) and the National by following this simple rule of maintainirtg a Weather Service (NWS) provide a numbe¡ of .t proper watch. I'here is absolutely NO substitute cornplehensive resourcos available to miuiuets ,ì lbr open ¿lnd alert eyeballs! along with up-to-date weather informalion, ',:tj Weathet reports bloadcast on VHIr WX chan- i'l Waypoints and GPS nels a¡e invalnable fi¡r an update on the current tìro stale of tìre weather and tire forecast. Tìte recolcl- J GPS is an excellent tool f'or t.ravigating ,tl aids ber:ome rare as ecl WX broadcasts ìravr: traclitionaìly been used Pacific Coast, Navigationai tt you leave urban areas ancl cornmercial loutes. bJ' boa1e¡s lor a claily, or more fr'eqr-reut, update. ,:tlì Many inlets and channels catr be confusing. 'lhe NOAA Weather Radio Network provides :,1 GPS will hcl¡r locate tho proper enttances, voicc broaclcasts of the local and coastal marinc i.l errols, provicle speecl over the forecasts on a cotttinuous cycle issucd by the ,* detect cross-track .,.1 ground, and hence determine ticlal cul¡ents. NWS overy 3 to 6 hours, or amencled as required, Latitude and lorrgitude f'or waypoints in and b¡oadcast continuously ou Weather Channel tliis book-given to the nearest ore-hunclredth I or 2. L,ocal NWS Forecast offices locatecl irl San of a minute of latitucìe-are taken from thc Diego, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Eurek¿1, largest scaìe cllarts avail¿rble and ale referencecl Meclford, Portland ancl Seattlc ptoduce the fore- to N.AD83 which, for practicaì purposes, are casts {or the Pacifìc Coast. identical to the GPS default horizontal clatun.r Wllen one travols outsido ol their home of WSGBa. f'l.rcse lati tude/longitrtcles ale to be waters, the localions usetl to desclibe a weathr:r trnatcd ¿ìs approxirnate only and shr¡nld be ver- íìrea âre new and not easily comprehended as ificd by each user. Many of the refcrenr:ed you Ìrear the contitruous broadcast, We have cbarts ale not âccr.¡ì'ato (nor can thcy ì:e read inclucled cìiagrams for thc Pacific Coast to illus- accurately) to one-hunclredth of a minrtte. Wc tratc tbe reporting arca locations antl the loca- havo approximated this last cìigit-whlch is tion ol oflìshorc we ather buoys, about a boat's lcngth-1o plovide as cornplcte a 'llhe addilional services ¿rncì tesort¡rces fì'om pictuÌe as possible. With the rernov¿rl of' NOAA and NWS can preserìt a decpor picturc of Seìective Avaiìallility (S.A), Boicl¿r¡k¿r has found thr> n'cather, In addition to VIIE cxtensivo np-lo- bolh dil'forr:nlial flPS and W,A.SS GPS to trc sta- d¿rlc w¡ratìrer cìat¿r can now lx; obtained on the ìrxPL(JtìlNG 1 lIIì P,4.(iurrO (iO^.S1 r;c.r¿rst, in acldition 1o sevelal brro¡rs arlchorocì about ll00 lnilos ollìsholr¡ to lr,rpor'1 adrraut:iug woalltel. Iìu oy reports inc;lucle wind direction, spoecl, gust, significernt r,r'ave h¡light, swoll and wind-wave hr:igìrt arrd ¡roriods, air terlpclatult:, anrì sea leveì ¡rressLrre. Sonre brrnys leport wave diletlir¡t.1. To ar:r;eiss Ilial-A- Buot,, call 228,088.1948. Enter 1 ¿rnd thc 5 cligit idcnlilier fol a buoy. 'lht: buo¡,5 ¿¡ç1 thcir loi;ations al'e iÌlus- Ilated on tìrr,: tliaglarns. 'fhr: Dial-A- Iluoy sysl¿¡1 c¿ìn also lcad tho lalesl NWS marine lòrecasl {'ol most sfa- A cozlt covr: in tlte Cltan¡tel Islands tir¡n ìocaliolls. lf this opl.ion is avail- ablc, tho systr:m will prompl you to web, woathcrfäx ancl by telephone. WhiÌe online press the # key aftel the buoy obselvaliol'r is resour'0es ale typically bcst lor bliofing bcfore a rcad. tlil: when one carÌ ac;cess weathel' dal¿r from arr online connection olr land, ¡nr¡le antl Ìllore vcs- Semi-Annual Weather Patterns: Spring sels arc being cqui¡rped wilh satelljlr¡ conrìecr- and Summer tio¡s for access to the intelnet ancl cnail, 'Jlhc r,r'eather on tÌre Ìracific Coast lollows a gen- Marinas ¿ìre no\^¡ boginning to offor hrternet con- eraì sen-ri-annuaÌ paltern. Chalges are associat- neclions fìrr theil custonrers. When you clcsirc od with thc buikling up or breaking down of thcr the most conprehensive lel:lolt of lhe wr:ather, Norlh lrar;ifir; I ligh Pressui c Cell al'ound Lhe arì irf ernr..t r;onnection can ¡rlovide you rvilh linrcs ol the s¡rring arlrl l¡rlÌ ur¡rrirruxus. access to all of thc NO.AA scrvices inclr"rding Follor,r'ing the late winter storms, near leal-timc NEXIÌ.ÂD Dopplor Iladar at www,n\^¡s. March 2:t, the Pacific lligh begins to bullrì about ¡oaa, qov/om/lnalilie/hor.nc.litm#dìsseminal ion. a lhous¿rnd lnilcs wesl of Vancol¡ver Island. Wìrere possiìrle, stop by the local NWS Tìris more or less perrnanout high-pressrtlc oflìce, As an cxample, the Eureka weather o{Iìce zone deflects mosl suÌììmer lows i¡rtr¡ lhc Gulf is only tnro blor;ks fi'c¡m the lnarina ancl it is open of Aìaska where they either dissipato or take a 24 hours per day, seven rlays per week. The stalT valicd path that affecls coastal we¿rther. We rec- provided Ihe Buidarktt crerw with a pcrsonaì onmcncl waiting until lhe l'acific lligh is weìl wealher brielìng corn¡:lcte with l.irne lapse video entrenchecl-gcnera lly earllr 1¡ micì-May- of the pasl f'cw day's satellib shots ancl tìreir belirre yor.r iread inlo nolthern waters. lìne{uned forecasls fbr lhe route rn¿e had chosen. During the sul¡mer months, in tiues of sta- Let thcil knr-rw you apprcciate their sorvice ¿rnd ble hìgh pressurc, the Wcsl Coast rtnclorgor s a calì thern djt'uct jl you lravu d suri'rl¡s cotì(:cnr daily pattelr.r of diurnal micro-we¿rther that is only they can adclress or assist with. quite precìictable. Nìghts are rìsually quitc calm l,'or those marino¡'s coDsidering the Expless or ancl quiot along the coast vr¡ith fog or low cJor-rds Illuewatel loutes with ¿ìccess to ceìlular or satel- mor¡ing on shore. Lr the aftct'noon, modelal.e to lite phone, you may w¿ìnl to consult tho Dial-A- strong northvrrest breezes pick up, clissipating Buoy syslern. Along the lrar;ific Coast, NOAA the r;Ìouds and creating wincl chop of sevelal maintail.ls a netwolk of weather reporting ocean lec;t, until evcnì.ng wÌren conditions becomc buoys locatcd ì¡etween 15 and 40 lniles off t.ho caìm again. Duling such periods, rlrosl weather ]]XPLOIìING'I'HTì I)ACIÌTIC (]OI\.S'I' XXX IJXPI,ORING']'TIE PAIìIIiIC COA.S'I gale stations roport ¿ì high perrerrtage of light to lìequently. When yor.r observe signs that a rnodcrate winds with little or rnoclelate precip- or stornì from the southe¿rst is developing, ol if itation-<:onditions that provide good cruising. you hear a tepott of irrr irnpencling gale or Although low-prossule fronts clo ÌlaÌlage to storm, hr;acl dire ctly for a halbor o¡ anchor sitt: east winds ev¿idc lho lracific tligh and hit the wcst coast, tìrat oflcrs protectior from south or they usually occur at intervals of two to six 'ìhke applopriate precautions for safcty, such as weeks. Thcse fi'onts, which are usuall5' maintaining sufficieut swingir-rg roorn and set- announccd by a falling baromctct', a change ìn ting your anchor well. (lt is always a goorl iclea both tho dirtrtion and intonsity of the wind, as to take bearings on fìxecl objects trt cleterrnine well as by cloucls and precipilation, normally whethel oÌ not your ancìrol is dragging ) last just a cìay or two and ¿rre woll lbrecast, lt is In Southern California, when a stronger best to remain il a shelterccl harbor ol cove dur- than average Pacific; Fligh is establisherr.l, ing the approac;h of unstable weathet.
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