Well, last week I talked about the westerly regime rounding out the last of spring here on the west coast. I didn't get out in the gales, in the end. Things sure changed this week, with record breaking temps and a warm easterly regime. I'd hoped to get out after work, but my wife had a small medical emergency. Too bad, as I knew things would get wilder than the predicted small craft warning values issued for the afternoon. A huge dust cloud formed over Victoria around 4:00 pm as a squall shot across the Gulf Islands, with a revised marine forecast of 30 to 40 knots with higher gusts. I had to squint my eyes commuting home by bicycle because of the debris. Usually the forecast turns out less severe than predicted, but sometimes it goes the other way. I saw clouds forming after lunch, and noticed rain up Island on the weather cams, so knew the conditions would surely peak past a small craft warning. I'm not sure why the forecasters were so far off, though it wasn't region wide. The last time I observed this, was a few years back as I was crossing Juan de Fuca strait, when sudden offshore strong winds lashed out from the east as I tried pulling into Victoria. It was a real struggle, though the winds were nice and warm. Must be like paddling in Baja. I hope no small boaters got into trouble today. So, it would have been nice to have been on the water today, given my affinity for hot air. Doug Lloyd (headed for a group paddle Sunday - so much for my solo reintroduction post poor health) Victoria BC *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************Received on Fri Jun 18 2004 - 22:56:01 PDT
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