Dealing with Fog in Juan de Fuca

[YVRguy]

My buddy and I are heading up the Strait of Juan de Fuca next week in hopes of getting to Barkley Sound. I've already been given some helpful advice on this forum regarding weather in the strait, especially wind vs. tide. But I also know that this time of year can be bad for fog and I'm hearing the visibility warnings from Puget Sound CG all the way up here in Vancouver.

Can anyone with local knowledge provide any tips as to when it tends to set in and what time of day is best to travel? IE: Does it start at night and eventually burn off in the afternoon or does it accumulate across the day. I'm more than a little scared of being caught in dense fog between Port Renfrew and Barkley Sound. Thanks

 

[seanshine]

You've got it exactly right. Fog sets in at night and usually burns off by eleven but sometimes later. I've been in the strait many times in the fog and it's not fun especially if you are crossing shipping lanes. Since you are leaving from Vancouver, that shouldn't be a prolem for you. One trick I use early in the morning is to stay in site of the shore line during the fog. It's usually not so dense that you can't see the beach. Less current on the shoreline also. Should be good salmon fishing on the Canadian beach. You could probably troll if you are not going too fast. Have a fun and safe trip. Barkley Sound is awesome.

BTW, Sooke Harbor is a great anchorage to spend the night if you want to bypass Victoria.

 

[YVRguy]

You've got it exactly right. Fog sets in at night and usually burns off by eleven but sometimes later. I've been in the strait many times in the fog and it's not fun especially if you are crossing shipping lanes. Since you are leaving from Vancouver, that shouldn't be a prolem for you. One trick I use early in the morning is to stay in site of the shore line during the fog. It's usually not so dense that you can't see the beach. Less current on the shoreline also. Should be good salmon fishing on the Canadian beach. You could probably troll if you are not going too fast. Have a fun and safe trip. Barkley Sound is awesome.

BTW, Sooke Harbor is a great anchorage to spend the night if you want to bypass Victoria.

Thanks very much for that. Yes Sooke looks nice and we may stop there on the way back. We have never tied up in Victoria before however so we're going to stop there on the way down.

Hugging the shore is a great idea. We had originally thought of crossing to Neah Bay so we would have a chance of sailing but I think for many reasons staying on the Canadian side is the right thing to do.

 

[Tricia]

You can also call Victoria and Seattle traffic

I don't have radar or AIS. When crossing the Strait in fog, I have called in on vhf to Seattle traffic. They were very helpful in letting me know if there was traffic I needed to be aware of.
Victoria traffic covers out to Race Rocks on ch. 11. Seattle traffic covers the Strait of Juan de Fuca, Canadian and US sides, on ch. 05A. Tofino traffic covers west coast of the island and approaches to Juan de Fuca on ch. 74.

 

[Stu Jackson]

I don't know how it works up there, but down here VTS is CH 14, and I listen to it constantly (channel scan with 16, too), since they are discussing ship movements with the ships, tugs & ferries themselves. Listening gives me the situational awareness that I require, without having to call in and say, "I'm a teeny little sailboat, please tell me what's comin' at me!"

 

[YVRguy]

I don't have radar or AIS. When crossing the Strait in fog, I have called in on vhf to Seattle traffic. They were very helpful in letting me know if there was traffic I needed to be aware of.
Victoria traffic covers out to Race Rocks on ch. 11. Seattle traffic covers the Strait of Juan de Fuca, Canadian and US sides, on ch. 05A. Tofino traffic covers west coast of the island and approaches to Juan de Fuca on ch. 74.

Thanks Tricia, that's good info that I hadn't looked up yet. I knew Victoria traffic is 11 but that's it.

You mentioned you don't have AIS.... I don't have it either - for transmission. But I'm sure you know there is an app (free and pay versions) for the i-phone called Shipfinder that shows you all the AIS targets in your immediate vicinity. I use it a lot.

 

[Mark Maulden]

Check ur cell providers coverage map.....

 

[rfrye1]

Check out Boat Beacon App. I can use it on my iPad. It shows and identifies boats on the water with AIS as they are on the water.

 

[gettinthere]

The standard horizon vhf radio is pretty cheap and will display ais on the chartplotter. In addition, the ram mic will display cpa and other good stuff.
But wait, there's more! It has a hailer/fog horn feature. Just installed my hailer last month and really liked the auto fog horn when we did a fog bank in the Gulf of Maine.