Tragedy has struck again...Bodega Bay

Four fisherman launched out of Bodega early yesterday morning and vanished. Search was begun last night. Two bodies and boat debris found today off Tomales Point with two still unaccounted for. This is a horrendous beginning to the ocean sport season. No other details available at this time. Article in the Press Democrat.
Prayers for the families. Have a plan, expect the worst and be prepared for it. Life jackets save lives.
Shannon

Link for the lazy

http://www.pressdemocrat.com/home/3820039-181/overdue-fishing-vessel-from-bodega

my condolences to the families of deceased. and my prayers for the missing and their families.

And, that is why I opted for The Bay this weekend. Not worth it if your not alive to eat it. Sad

That is very unfortunate.

Condolences to the friends and family of the ones lost.

Standing on soap box.

Definitely the reason why we should over think and prepare for the worst scenarios.

I am one of those persons when I was in my early twenties that didn't think twice about to much safety equipment. Now that I reflect on it , I was very lucky.

Bringing safety measures and equipment to the fore front often is a GREAT thing for the Noobs as well as some of us Old guys that get set in our ways sometimes. 

I think sometimes we take advise as a lecture. When its really looking out for one another.

Alex

Condolences to the friends and family of the ones lost.

Standing on soap box.

Definitely the reason why we should over think and prepare for the worst scenarios.

I am one of those persons when I was in my early twenties that didn't think twice about to much safety equipment. Now that I reflect on it , I was very lucky.

Bringing safety measures and equipment to the fore front often is a GREAT thing for the Noobs as well as some of us Old guys that get set in our ways sometimes. 

I think sometimes we take advise as a lecture. When its really looking out for one another.

Alex

Well put Alex

Sad, indeed. My heart goes out to the families.

Bringing safety measures and equipment to the fore front often is a GREAT thing for the Noobs as well as some of us Old guys that get set in our ways sometimes. 

I think sometimes we take advise as a lecture. When its really looking out for one another.

Alex

^ Yep. "It can't happen to me." -famous last words.

From the PD article -

"The seas had swells of about 6 to 10 feet and the wind was at 10 knots, typical conditions off the Sonoma Coast and potentially hazardous to small vessels, Faulkner said."

No.  The Bodega Bay buoy hit 12' @ 17 seconds from 295 Friday afternoon.  That's substantially different from the usual 6-10@11-12 north windswell the Sonoma Coast gets.  The usual windswell will produce overhead waves with little power, and most nearshore reef areas will be slightly choppy or flat.  Friday produced triple overhead (15-18 ft+) waves, and many deepwater reefs were breaking in places that are usually calm.  I was out surfing; tons of water was moving around. 

Swell period is more important than size.  Taking out a small boat in 5@10 is a minor hassle.  Taking out a small boat in 5@20 can be dangerous.  Check buoys before you go out.   

Swell period is more important than size.  Taking out a small boat in 5@10 is a minor hassle.  Taking out a small boat in 5@20 can be dangerous. 

can you expound on this a little?  Relatively new to this and trying to get an understanding of what I'm seeing when I check ocean conditions prior to leaving home.

I'm confused too. 5ft swell at 20 seconds sounds flat as hell to me?

When there is a long period swell, over say 17 seconds, they are from storms far away and over the long distance they travel the swells become organized and have a lot of power.

I think long period south swells can be some of the most dangerous.  A 3 - 4 foot south swell with a 20 second period could produce very large powerful waves.  The long period also makes the waves inconsistent.  It can be totally flat and then a large set appears out of no where with big powerful waves.

A short interval wind swell might make the ocean very bumpy but the wind waves don't have much power behind them.

Any time the interval hits 20 seconds you should be wary.

Josh

  10' 10 seconds is just a rough day even out in deep water. Friday there was a high surf advisory. 10' 20 seconds. Out in deep water it could look calm, except the boats around you dissapear and reapear. The waves are so large you can't  see them. They look like a little hill. Maybe a 100 yards from the front to back, and 10' high. It has so much more water in it than a wave that is 100 feet front to back. They don't start to get big until they get to shallow water. That boat could have been in 50 fow and a wave could have broke on them. This is what happens at Mavericks.
  NOAA often doesn't even say the size of the wave, when they're warning us they say "a long interval" swell is coming in. And that has a double meaning. When they break they could be as big as a house, also there is often 5, 10, 15 minutes between sets. If you are ever paddling and you see foam/bubbles it could mean waves just broke there.  I had a great dawn patrol session in my surf kayak at steamer lane Friday. And I knew somebody would probably die and sure enough they did.

It was rough all over.  A guy up here drown last week too.

http://www.northcoastjournal.com/Blogthing/archives/2015/04/20/drowning-marks-humboldts-fifth-of-2015

I found this on the internet:

Waves are a product of the wind. When winds blow over the surface of the oceans, the energy is transferred to the water by the creation of swell, a group of traveling waves.

In 1939, Realist artist Edward Hopper painted "Ground Swell", in which sailors look a bit concerned about a possible wipe-out. Swells have been studied for centuries.

There are two relevant swells for surfing: ground swell and wind swell. Ground swells are the result of intense winds pressing the ocean water, thousands of miles away from the coast line.

Ground swells are usually the best sources of waves for surfing. When strong and intense storms and wind affect the waters, they produce "wave trains" that will make their way to the shores, where they will lose energy.

These long-distance winds produce the fetch. This is the area in which the winds apply their force and are often studied to understand the strength and direction of the future swell.

The fetch can produce large swell depending on the power of the winds. Fortunately, ground swells will lose energy during their journey to the shores. At the same time, the long-distance travel will improve the quality of the waves.

Ground swells create choppy wave conditions in the creation zone, but when the "wave train" reaches our surf spots, you get the cleanest surf with long wave periods.

What are wind swells? When local winds blow over the surface of the water, near the shores, they create wind swell waves. That is why short period waves will probably damage your local surf conditions, with choppy waters.

It is possible to discover the origin of the swell for the next days, in the Wave Height Forecast. Track long-distance swells heading to your surf spot, before hitting the water. Learn more about the formation of waves.