Marin: "Seriously, though, the main thing I've noticed, both in boating and in flying, is that this whole region has gotten way more windy. "
I disagree. I recall regular Easter storms in the early 70s, two years in a row they were responsible for knocking out the docks where I kept my sailboat. Then by the early 90s, I had to go to the dark side because we hardly ever had enough wind to sail.
The forecasters have also changed their approach, due to fear of litigation. Now they almost never forecast less wind than you actually get. 30 years ago they were over 50% of the time and under 50% of the time. Today's forecasts should read "chance of" ahead of the prediction for wind speed, cause there is in fact a chance that the wind will reach predicted levels, but most often it doesn't.
For example, labor day weekend, we got away at 3:00 pm Friday afternoon to cross the gulf. The prediction was a "strong wind warning" that means over 20. We motored into a ".1m combined wind wave and swell" at Halibut bank ( that is under 4 inches), and virtually no wind all the way to Silva bay. Sure, the strong wind materialized after midnight, so the forecasters could say "told you". But to plan your day around it turned out to be a mistake.
I disagree. I recall regular Easter storms in the early 70s, two years in a row they were responsible for knocking out the docks where I kept my sailboat. Then by the early 90s, I had to go to the dark side because we hardly ever had enough wind to sail.
The forecasters have also changed their approach, due to fear of litigation. Now they almost never forecast less wind than you actually get. 30 years ago they were over 50% of the time and under 50% of the time. Today's forecasts should read "chance of" ahead of the prediction for wind speed, cause there is in fact a chance that the wind will reach predicted levels, but most often it doesn't.
For example, labor day weekend, we got away at 3:00 pm Friday afternoon to cross the gulf. The prediction was a "strong wind warning" that means over 20. We motored into a ".1m combined wind wave and swell" at Halibut bank ( that is under 4 inches), and virtually no wind all the way to Silva bay. Sure, the strong wind materialized after midnight, so the forecasters could say "told you". But to plan your day around it turned out to be a mistake.