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[DKokanee]

Reaching out to the community to get some advice since I'm a rookie boater. Took the boat out to south bowen with a couple friends almost 2 weeks ago and the water was super choppy. Wind was definitely not helping the cause.

The questions I have are:

• What is best resource to check the marine weather before I go out there again?
• Also, can you suggest a threshold (ex. > x km/hr winds) where you'd probably recommend staying home?
  

I tried to do some research but all I came up with is https://weather.gc.ca/marine/forecast_e.html?mapID=02&siteID=14305 and I'm not even certain how to understand the buoy readings.

Hoping some seasoned boaters can help me out here so I don't put myself in another dicey situation.

[RalphH]

Marine wind definitions are here: https://csbc.ca/en/check-weather or https://tc.canada.ca/en/marine-transportation/marine-safety/weather-warnings

if your boat is 6m or less or your experience in rough water is minimal be aware of & avoid  small craft warnings or anything greater.

You also need to be aware that chop and wave height are also effected by tidal currents not just wind velocity. Narrow channels can also be worse as both wind and current can be concentrated in those.

if you have your Pleasure craft operator card you may want to review the sections of the course on forecasts, wind, rough water etc.

Be safe out there!

[clarki]

Not a seasoned boater and have no advice to give, however over the fall/winter I would suggest looking into courses offered by your local Power Squadron. https://www.cps-ecp.ca/

I took one a few years ago, not because I’m a boater, but more because I’m a map geek and was interested to learn how to read charts and do navigation. Learned tons, it was very good. They offer a variety of courses.

[GordJ]

https://www.windy.com/49.261/-123.114?49.057,-123.114,9

[redside1]

I second GordJ and the Windy app you can download onto your phone. seems to work pretty good for me.

[DKokanee]

Thanks for the info guys. I really appreciate it