We woke early this morning and all light station and buoy reports pointed to a nice flat rounding of Cape Caution, and that’s just what we got. Just as we were passing Egg Island, a maneuvering seagull on port caught my eye and when I looked over, I spotted what appeared to be a sunfish! All the way up here! We turned around and went back to get a closer … Read more
We left our anchorage at Kisameet Bay late in the morning on Sunday (after watching the Formula 1 Dutch Grand Prix) and headed south for Fury Cove. We saw so many whales along the way, but weirdly, most of them were just floating at the surface, as they do when they’re sleeping. But it was after noon…and they were spread out over the whole route (not all together, not that … Read more
Another alarm set for 4am, but this time the condition report was “GO!!” No outflow winds, barely any wind, and very minor westerly swell. A little fog…we’ll take it! Off we went as soon as it was light enough to see. We had a very nice cruise up to the Green Island Anchorage and we’re all tucked in just off of Fitzhugh Sound. We normally stop at Fury Cove or … Read more
This morning feels a bit like deja vu. Didn’t we wake up before the sun yesterday to cruise 80-odd miles? Such is life when transiting BC during COVID. If the weather is safe, we go. The trip around Cape Caution is all about the weather. It’s one of only two places we’re exposed to the full effects of the Pacific Ocean, so even on a calm day we feel some … Read more
We’ve been watching the weather at Cape Caution for the last several days, and today looked ideal. Environment Canada predicted variable 5 to 15 knot winds. Windy showed gusts in the single digits until mid-afternoon and seas of just two feet. Tomorrow looked just as good. We’d originally planned to spend another night north of Cape Caution. But when the weather looks perfect, why wait for it to possibly get worse? … Read more
Around Cape Caution! When we fell asleep last night, Environment Canada (Central Coast zone) was calling for “wind light” and seas one meter all day. Windy (ECMWF model) was showing this: Forecasts don’t get much better than that, but forecasts aren’t always right. So when we woke up at 4:30 a.m. we checked West Sea Otter buoy, where the wind was gusting to 4 knots and the seas were a … Read more
One of the most important skills for successful cruising is understanding the weather and how it impacts your plans. This doesn’t mean being a meteorologist, making your own forecasts, or interpreting esoteric weather charts. Rather, it means selecting the right forecast from professional meteorologists (NOAA, Environment Canada, European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts), utilizing real-time weather data from the multitude of weather reporting sites along the coast, and adjusting cruise … Read more
The forecast for Cape Caution wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t good either. Wind northwest 15-25 knots, diminishing to 10 knots in the morning, and increasing to 15 in the afternoon. Seas 1-2 meters. Windy showed a short period of calm wind close to shore, but it didn’t extend very far offshore, didn’t start until about four in the morning, and ended by the early afternoon. Our concern was that even … Read more