Strait of Georgia wave height/crossings

[jcon12]

Hi all,

I've been fishing locally and crossing the SOG for the past two decades. I spend most of my time on the Vancouver side however find myself running back and forth to the Nanaimo area more often.

I try and run my 17 Arima when the weather allows otherwise go out in our Grady Gulfstream.

I am wondering what your "stay home" conditions are.

Generally I only cross in the Arima if wave height is under .6m and the wind has been under 15knots with nothing worse forecasted.

In our larger boat I might run across in the .7-.8 range in under 20 knots (assuming its a NW or SE wind).

How do you guys gauge the weather and crossing conditions?

thanks!

 

[ab1752]

26' hourston and I run east / west up the straits. Typically I'm more concerned about duration of the waves but if it's gusting past 15 knots consistently then that's about a 1m sea and I pass. Boat will do it but I'm on one main and its nasty.

 

[N2013]

First world problems.

 

[sir-vivor]

I just use common sense , if Mother Nature says "Dont Do It" , I listen ! After 35 ish years fishing on the Strait ..... I have learnt one thing, if you go back there is always tomorrow , if you risk it ...... maybe not ! (and for some reason as I get older the Gunnels seem harder when I fall against them and the pain lasts longer hahah)

 

[RiverBoy]

for me i always check the weather and tide prior to going out. if they are running in the same direction it usually lays down but if they are running against each other especially in the 15 knot region i just catch up on yard work cause it’s gonna be ugly

 

[Rain City]

for me i always check the weather and tide prior to going out. if they are running in the same direction it usually lays down but if they are running against each other especially in the 15 knot region i just catch up on yard work cause it’s gonna be ugly

Yup, I'll take big waves and huge wind as long as they're both coming from behind.

 

[cracked_ribs]

I used to use pretty similar numbers to your "bigger boat" numbers in my double eagle.

I have gone in 27 knots with upper 30s gusts, day three of that storm. Nothing happened but once was enough.

In the I/o eagle I prefer a head sea...the thing will take anything on the nose, but with 800 pounds of pig iron in the tail, big waves off the stern just feels wrong, like they're going to dump into the cockpit with you.

But I have crossed many times between 15 and 20. I only called it off once, a crossing that would have been at dusk in 25 knots SW, leaving Sand Heads on an outgoing tide. Would have been nasty; it was a bit better the next morning so I went the next day.

 

[agentaqua]

some good advice on this thread. I'm a big believer in: "Plan for the worst - hope for the best".

That means that one should have back-up plans thought-up in advance of inadvertently being stuck out in sea conditions that are too large to be either comfortable or safe for smaller craft (sometimes the weather changes quickly). To me that means on watching the weather and weather forecasts, planning on alternative landing sites if need be, having a ditch bag and a sleeping bag and a decent anchor, letting people know where you are (i.e. a sail plan), having good communications (e.g. an InReach), and always realizing one has options.

By that I mean besides all of the above - you can alter direction, speed, and trim. You can alter the direction to run with the swell/waves - or cut diagonally across waves, or run along the tops w/o crashing and zigzag back. You can alter the boat speed to correspond to the wave/swell speed so you aren't crashing hard into the next wave. And you can adjust the trim of your boat (trim tabs and/or engine tilt) so that your bow stays high and out from burying itself into the next wave.

Leaving at 1st light and planning on getting back before mid-morning can also be helpful to avoid the afternoon winds.

Always think of and facilitate options when/where possible - in other words - and remember you have options and keep a cool head when things go sideways. That's why it is helpful to think of this stuff in advance.

 

[sly_karma]

Elderly neighbour of ours at Thormanby has been running over from Nanaimo for weekends at the cabin for decades in boats in the 20 ft class. He and his wife put on full floater suits and just go. Occasionally delays or cancels a trip due to weather, but only rarely. His one piece of advice that sticks in my mind is to start the kicker before leaving the dock, warm it up and make sure all is running properly. If you expect it to be really snotty, leave it down and idling for what will be a slow crossing anyway. If something goes wrong with the main in big seas, heading aft and fiddling with kicker is risky and possibly even lethal.

 

[sir-vivor]

Elderly neighbour of ours at Thormanby has been running over from Nanaimo for weekends at the cabin for decades in boats in the 20 ft class. He and his wife put on full floater suits and just go. Occasionally delays or cancels a trip due to weather, but only rarely. His one piece of advice that sticks in my mind is to start the kicker before leaving the dock, warm it up and make sure all is running properly. If you expect it to be really snotty, leave it down and idling for what will be a slow crossing anyway. If something goes wrong with the main in big seas, heading aft and fiddling with kicker is risky and possibly even lethal.

I would think if you gotta worry about keeping the kicker down and running , you might just want to put the boat back on the trailer and go home and go to Chandler and buy more gear for tomorrows try

 

[sly_karma]

Not my practice, but his. I would think there must have been a few times over the years when he decided to make the run home in questionable conditions because of work looming the next morning.