‘Queen of the North’ Sinking in March 22, 2006 Meteorologist David Jones Environment Canada

According to the Globe & Mail…

“The Queen of the North was sailing south to Port Hardy from Prince Rupert, a 450­kilometre trip along B.C.'s . The 125­metre­long vessel left Prince Rupert about 8 p.m. PST on Tuesday. B.C. Ferries said the incident took place around 12:43 a.m., and rescuers were reportedly at the scene by shortly after 1 a.m. The Coast Guard said it took about an hour for the ferry to sink, allowing time for passengers — some of whom were asleep at the time of the accident — and crew to make their way to safety. ”

The Incident At roughly midnight, the Queen of the North sent out a distress call. The ship was listing. There were about 102 persons on board. The position was 1/2 mile north of Juan Point in Wright Sound just south of . (See map below) The Meteorology Just prior to the sinking ­ around 12.43 am PST­ a cold front moved through the area. A gale warning was in effect for , the closest and most representative marine area.

There is no weather observing station near where the sinking occurred. In addition, southeast winds of 25 knots (45 km/h) with gusts to 35 knots (65 km/h) were reported briefly ­ for one or two hours ­ by the nearest weather observing stations when the front passed through. On scene, the wind speed was reported as 40 knots. Seas and Waves Although the ‘sea state’ or the waves over the exposed open waters of Hecate Strait were in the range of 2.5 to 3.5 metres, waves were likely much lower over the inland waters in Wright Sound. The short duration of gale force winds and the complex topography of the narrow coastal inlets and passages dramatically inhibit wave development.

Actual Wind Reports on the North Coast Wind reports as the front passes Bonilla Island, west of the incident site in Hecate Strait. This site gives a good representation of the peak winds with this storm. Strong winds typically last ‘longer’ at exposed coastal locations like Bonilla Island, compared to the inland, somewhat protected area around Wright Sound.

Time Direction Speed (km/h) 10pm Southeast 13 11pm Southeast 15 gust to 31 12am Southeast 52 gust to 74 1am Southeast 37 gust to 65 6am Southeast 13

Wind reports as the front passes Cathedral Point, far south of the incident site but representative of the wind shift and rapid increase in speed with this system typical of an ‘inland’ coastal weather station and suggestive of the ‘squally’ nature of this cold front.

Time Direction Speed (km/h) 11pm East 13 12am West 54 gust to 78 1am South 6

The following is unverified, uncalibrated and unofficial data from personal weather instruments maintained by the light keeper at Boat Bluff. A spike of peak in the winds is evident just before midnight (00) with a peak wind near 35 knots. The Forecasts A preliminary analysis of the forecasts issued by the Pacific Storm Prediction Centre suggests the forecasts were very good. The following marine forecast was issued by Environment Canada at 4pm Tuesday:

FPCN20 CWVR 212347 MARINE FORECASTS ISSUED BY THE PACIFIC WEATHER CENTRE OF ENVIRONMENT CANADA AT 4 PM PST TUESDAY 21 MARCH 2006 FOR THE PERIOD ENDING 4 PM WEDNESDAY WITH AN OUTLOOK FOR THE FOLLOWING 24 HOURS.THE NEXT SCHEDULED FORECAST WILL BE ISSUED AT 9:30 PM PST.

SYNOPSIS A 987 MILLIBAR LOW WELL OFFSHORE WILL DRIFT SLOWLY SOUTHWARD. A SECONDARY LOW FORMING SOUTHWEST OF ISLAND WILL DEEPEN TO 989 MILLIBARS AS IT MOVES NORTHWARD PASSING JUST WEST OF THE CHARLOTTES LATER THIS EVENING. THE ASSOCIATED FRONT WILL SWEEP OVER THE NORTH COAST TONIGHT. ANOTHER FRONT WILL APPROACH FROM THE SOUTHWEST THURSDAY MORNING. OVER NORTHERN WATERS STRONG TO GALE FORCE EAST TO SOUTHEAST WINDS WILL VEER TO GALE FORCE SOUTHERLY AS THE LOW AND FRONT PASSES THIS EVENING AND OVERNIGHT. WINDS EASE TO MODERATE TO STRONG SOUTHEAST WEDNESDAY MORNING.

HECATE STRAIT. GALE WARNING CONTINUED. WINDS SOUTHEAST 25 TO GALES 35 KNOTS RISING TO SOUTHERLY 30 TO GALES 40 IN THE SOUTH OVERNIGHT AND IN THE NORTH EARLY WEDNESDAY MORNING. WINDS EASING TO SOUTHEAST 15 TO 25 LATE WEDNESDAY MORNING. PERIODS OF RAIN OR DRIZZLE. SEAS IN THE NORTH ONE TO 2 METRES BUILDING TO 2 TO 3 OVERNIGHT. SEAS IN THE SOUTH NEAR 2 METRES BUILDING TO 3 TO 4 TONIGHT.

DOUGLAS CHANNEL. WINDS LIGHT RISING TO NORTHERLY OUTFLOW 25 TO 30 KNOTS OVERNIGHT. WINDS EASING TO NORTHERLY 15 WEDNESDAY MORNING AND SHIFTING TO SOUTHERLY INFLOW 20 WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON. CLOUDY. A FEW SHOWERS THIS EVENING.

The 9:30pm update follows:

FPCN20 CWVR 220530 MARINE FORECASTS ISSUED BY THE PACIFIC WEATHER CENTRE OF ENVIRONMENT CANADA AT 9:30 PM PST TUESDAY 21 MARCH 2006 FOR THE PERIOD ENDING 9:30 PM WEDNESDAY WITH AN OUTLOOK FOR THE FOLLOWING 24 HOURS. THE NEXT SCHEDULED FORECAST WILL BE ISSUED AT 4 AM PST.

HECATE STRAIT. GALE WARNING CONTINUED. WINDS SOUTHEAST 30 TO GALES 40 KNOTS EASING TO 20 TO 30 EARLY WEDNESDAY MORNING. PERIODS OF RAIN OR DRIZZLE. SEAS 2 TO 3 METRES BUILDING TO 3 TO 4 METRES IN THE SOUTH TONIGHT.

DOUGLAS CHANNEL. WINDS LIGHT RISING TO NORTHERLY OUTFLOW 25 TO 30 KNOTS OVERNIGHT. WINDS EASING TO NORTHERLY 15 WEDNESDAY MORNING AND SHIFTING TO SOUTHERLY INFLOW 20 WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON. CLOUDY. A FEW SHOWERS THIS EVENING. Preliminary Summary A very preliminary analysis of the meteorology suggests that winds changed dramatically with the passage of the cold front. The wind shifted and rose from moderate northeasterly to gale force southeasterly just as the Queen of the North was crossing Wright Sound, an area identified in meteorologist Owen Lange’s book “Living on the Coast Along the Coast” as “wild’ in southeast winds:

“Wright Sound can be wild with southeast winds and is particularly bad because it has 5 channels leading into it. There is a good chance that one of those channels will be experiencing strong winds, no matter the weather. When Northerly winds flow out of Douglas Channel into Wright Sound, and southeasterlies come up from the south (when a front passes) the seas steepen and become chaotic.”

The burst of strong winds or the ‘Squall’ lasted less than 2 hours. It’s possible that at the time of the incident the Queen of the North encountered very strong winds and chaotic seas in an area that can be treacherous.

For Further Information please contact:

David Jones Meteorologist Environment Canada [email protected]