This looks really promising. Over the past couple of weeks I have been experimenting around with the various models in Windy.app, finding HRRR being the most useful around here, but also finding the comparision view helpful (seeing how closely the various models agree/disagree). In general, most models lack good high-resolution modeling around various land and submarine masses, as you know.
So, while they might show good trend information, that information could be WAY off for a given trip, due to local effects. I found HRRR did better than most models. Second to the HRRR model is the HRDPS model, which OceanConnect uses for wind. I can't really say that HRRR is better. It is slightly higher resolution, but the two models are so frequently in such disagreement that the difference is not subtle. In the very limited real-world testing I've done, HRRR has been more spot on, in particular at identifying highly localized effects.
I'm betting that Hakai chose HRDPS over HRRR for reasons that exceed my two weeks of occasional spot testing. So, I will defer to that.
Where OC really seems to shine is in modeling currents - like Washburn's but better. Just poking around the chart, looking at what tides are doing and comparing that with my experience of what effect that has on currents, it looks to be spot on. One of my "benchmark" cases for evaluating a current prediction is to look at Cattle Point (south end of San Juan Channel) with a strong northbound current. What I expect an accurate model to do is show the good back-channel along the west side of Griffin Bay - pretty much the only way to go south when you have to go against that northbound current.
OC models that just about perfectly. It misses some other points. For example, if you have a strong current flowing between Waldron Island and Orcas, there are some strong back currents west of Waldron that the model completely ignores. But, it is still much better than most modeling, by far. You still need to apply some local knowledge and general seamanship, but I can see this replacing the Washburn tables as our go-to for currents.
Technical note: This isn't an IOS app, per se. It is just what is called a "responsive PWA" which is just a way of saying that it is a web app that scales well to a variety of devices, including phones (that's the "responsive" part). And, it can be "installed" to sort of appear like a standalone application (that's the "PWA" part). In other words, when you pull up oceanconnect.ca on your desktop computer's browser, you are using the same app as when you use it on your phone - even if it looks different and "feels" like a standalone application. Under the hood, it just uses your phone's browser.
All this to say that, while it looks like you can install this from Apple's App Store or Google Play, I wouldn't recommend it. The reasons are kind of in-the-weeds for this discussion. The short version is that there is some security risk to installing any app from an app store and, in this case, there is no benefit. Suffice it to say that you can get the exact same experience by simply going to oceanconnect.ca in Chrome on your phone, and going to the dots menu and selecting "Add to Desktop" to "install" it. This is safer than installing from one of the app stores.
(I don't want to overstate the relatively low risk of installing from an app store and don't want to hijack the conversation to be about that. Just pointing out that there is no benefit to doing so, in this case.)
hakai.org
oceanconnect.ca
