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Blog: A day in the life of the North Pacific High

 
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windfind



Joined: 18 Mar 1997
Posts: 1899

PostPosted: Tue Jun 12, 2018 9:55 am    Post subject: Blog: A day in the life of the North Pacific High Reply with quote

Hi Gang,

Today the North Pacific High is the master of the eastern Pacific from The Gorge to Southern California to Baja to Hawaii. All of these venues will have winds today that are mostly the result of the distribution of the North Pacific High's isobars.

This blog tells the story and what it means for all of those venues:

http://blog.weatherflow.com/west-coast-wind-blog-a-day-in-the-life-of-the-north-pacific-high-and/

Mike Godsey
iwindsurf.com/ikitesurf.com
Weatheflow.com



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kevinkan



Joined: 07 Jun 2001
Posts: 1661
Location: San Francisco

PostPosted: Tue Jun 12, 2018 2:17 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Hi Mike,

I have a quick question for you regarding Tuba. I've only sailed there when it's been blasting (3.7 type wind). Does the wind need to be nuking for it to make it through over land or can milder winds make it as well? Been looking at Chimney Rock, Tomales, Bodega, and ocean buoys as a rough guide.

South swell in the water now. Thought maybe it could happen today and tomorrow.

Thanks in advance!

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Kevin Kan
Sunset Sailboards, San Francisco CA
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dllee



Joined: 03 Jul 2009
Posts: 5328
Location: East Bay

PostPosted: Tue Jun 12, 2018 2:53 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Hey Kev..
I'd think Palo or low tide Limantour to be better bets than Tuba. Even Stinson before 2pm is a consideration.
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windfind



Joined: 18 Mar 1997
Posts: 1899

PostPosted: Tue Jun 12, 2018 3:07 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Hi Kevin,

Tubamancha is a very long, but beautiful, drive. So like you I have mostly gone windsurfing there on days with really strong winds and S. swell due to worries about getting skunked.

The few times I went on lighter days I usually found it light at Limantour despite stronger winds at Tuba. So I would use a blade fin to sail upwind to Tuba then switch to a wave fin once at Tuba. And on those days getting back to Limantour when the wind faded involved a very long slog.

The last time Elizabeth and I went to Tuba on such a day there was a very large shadow in the water below us. The shadow tailed us most of the one mile slog back to Limantour. After that experience, I never went back to Tuba on light wind days and Elizabeth never sailed there again.

When we have regular upper teens to low 20's wind on the coast Tuba has lighter wind since there is low topography directly upwind of Drakes Estero that weakens the NW wind. So Tuba is strong mostly on the days when the forecast talks about NW coast wind plus strong NW wind just aloft. When that happens turbulence from the hills jazzes up the surface NW wind making for stronger wind at Tuba than at Limantour.

Mike
iwindsurf.com/ikitesurf.com
Weatheflow.com



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kevinkan



Joined: 07 Jun 2001
Posts: 1661
Location: San Francisco

PostPosted: Tue Jun 12, 2018 5:57 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Thanks Mike,

So, tomorrow seems like more of a borderline kind of day?

I've sailed Tuba maybe 7 or 8 times.... had a few really fun days there.

For those who haven't sailed there, the appeal is side-off wind and longish waves where 7-8 turn combos are possible.

Some guys make the walk to the break which I suppose opens up the number of days you can sail... and also might up the probability that you're not massively OP'd when you get up there.

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Sunset Sailboards, San Francisco CA
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windfind



Joined: 18 Mar 1997
Posts: 1899

PostPosted: Tue Jun 12, 2018 7:31 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Tubamancha was pioneered by Bottom Bob aka as Bob Galvan. He sailed there all the time for years and developed a great map of the 5 different breaks at Tuba ie. Steam Engines where the rusted hulk of a ship's engine was in the surf zone.

Like you can see in the photo above the waves are very long in perfect lines. And the wind is just a bit more offshore than the perfect set up side off set up for DOL wave sailing like you have at San Carlos, Baja Norte. Windwise Tubamancha is not as reliable as say Waddell.

The waves at Tuba are usually quite small since the prevailing NW swell has to refract over 120 degrees around the tip of Pt. Reyes to get to Tuba. The much rarer S. swell is what you are looking for.

The various breaks are on the sandbars created by the ebb and flood from Drakes Estero and these can change fast. The place is also home for many harbor seals. I used to have a ranger friend, Mary Bean, who worked in the National Seashore. One of her more memorable days was giving tour from the headlands showing visitors the seals playing in the surf. Suddenly half of a seal exploded from a wave as a shark hit it. Most sharky places I never worry much about the sharks. an 8-foot board and 14-foot mast and sail don't look much like shark food. And if you do see a shark you just jibe and head to shore. At Tuba you are a mile from the launch site.

The last time I checked kites were banned at Limnatour during snowy plover nesting activity between March 1 to September 30
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