Nantucket Waves

Had a few good trips to the east over the last few weeks. Plenty of Whales, Ocean Sunfish, Basking Sharks and good seabirds. This time of year I get out only when their isn’t a big swell running from distant hurricanes and nor’easters.

Speaking of storms, hurricane Danielle passed within 800 nauticle miles to our east but still managed to kick up a moderate groundswell. Hurricane Earl could pose a problem for Labor Day weekend but it is still too early to nail down a track. It is worrisome enough to pull my clients boats now but,  I wouldn’t cancel any plans for the weekend just yet. The storm is still 1800+ miles away and alot can change in regard to track. I have my own boats to worry about, so I wanted to get everyone elses taken care of because I imagine all the boat ramps are going to be a nightmare this week if the forecast continues to look threatening.

In the meantime, enjoy this spectacular weather while it lasts. I’ll be checking in with storm updates regularly. I also share detailed weather info at http://yackon.com/forum/12 under the name of Shearwater .

Cheers

Quite the anomalous storm for August. Usually this is what we see in the off-seasons. Perhaps a glimpse into the future for this winter? Too early to tell but, if this sort of pattern repeats in a week or two, we might have to reconsider. After a remarkable spring and most of the summer with exceptional conditions, I suppose we were due for a little wake-up call.

Needless to say, after a very busy stretch, our business and most of the boating services have come to a screeching halt until these winds subside. This will happen tonight and Thursday as coastal low pressure systems ease out to the east and are replaced by a Septemberish air mass following a cold front late Thursday. Beautiful weather will wecome visitors this weekend into early next week.

Meanwhile, down in the tropics, we have hurricane Danielle chugging along toward Bermuda. Previous forecasts have had the storm recurve out to sea east of Bermuda. With a huge high pressure system parked over PA(giving us our great weather coming up), this idea seems plausible. What could prove be worrisome, however, is if that same HP elongates eastward toward Newfoundland, it could set up a block causing the storm to slow and stall. If that were to happen, then the forecast could look entirely different in 120 hours.

Regardless where the storm ultimately ends up, the south and east shores of the island are going to start to feel the effects of an increasing swell from Danielle sometime Sunday. Beachgoers and off-shore boaters should exersize increased caution into  next week as  larger swells build rapidly. Surfers, such as myself will, of course, celebrate their arrival.

Cheers

Wind has just shifted north-easterly in Nantucket Sound and points north. expect moderate E chop in the Sound and off-shore for several days.

Beach picks include south and west facing shorelines like Madaket and the west side of Pocomo as easterly wind becomes established..

May have fog patches drifting in and out on the easterly flow through Friday especially on the east end of the island.

Cheers.

For someone who loves storms, this stretch of weather has been tough. On the one hand, it has been fantastic for business and visitors. No complaints there. However, living out here year-round as I do, it is a welcome change to get a good storm passing through once in a while. Especially working on boats as much as I do, the constant sun blistering down can take its toll.

This morning, we have a nice cool shower moving through, then brightening skies after that. The rest of the week should feature ample sunshine but, the position of the ever-present fair weather high pressure system which usually resides to our south, should take up residence over the Gulf of Maine bringing in a pleasant air mass from the east. The only problem that can arise with that configuration is the possibility of fog drifting in on easterly winds.

As that same high pressure gradually slides off to our east and south-east, expect the winds to veer into the SE and S over the weekend, raising the chance of higher humidity and fog.

In the central tropical Atlantic, a disturbance may gain cyclone status but, will likely head harmlessly out to sea. It is still early in the Cape Verde season to see anything of interest make it past 60W longitude. Satellite imagery over the continent of Africa shows an abundance of tropical waves progressing westward, all of which, will bear watching as time goes by.

Cheers

Sorry for the long period between updates. Been a bit busy. Meanwhile, in between the more lengthy posts, I will copy and paste my “Tweets” from my Twitter page(I’m xplorenantucket at www.twitter.com  if you want to follow along)and www.ackweather.com . My latest “tweet”…

S 14kts. choppy. Nantucket Sound and offshore waters will get rough. ground swell from T.S. Colin has arrived.

I was going to do a whalewatch today but, it’s a little rough out there. I’ll be running our little harbor tour/ice cream cruise boat out of slip #1011 in the Nantucket Boat Basin instead so, come on by and go for a cruise or just chat.

This week is “race week” so, there are many beautiful sail and power boats to look at.

Cheers.

Since childhood, I can’t remember ever experiencing such a nice stretch of weather that has essentially extended from late April through May, June and the beginning of July. I will have to dig into the weather archives but, I am quite certain that this is historic. Even my peers, that I grew up with here, agree this spring/summer has been special. The water temps(now in the mid-seventies in Nantucket Sound)are off the charts for this time of year.

The past weekend didn’t disappoint. The charter fishing guys have all been busy, the kayaks have been out in force, the yachts filled the Boat Basin and my business( www.explorenantucket.com ) has been doing much better than last year.

The 4th was a special day for us. It marked our first whale-watch of the season and we were chartered out for the fireworks as well. The trip off-shore was nothing short of spectacular. 38 identified whales(all Humpbacks)and at least double that number of spouts in the distance.  The highlight of the trip was when a mother and calf  Humpback decided to swim around and under the boat for over an hour while we drifted with the engines off. I have witnessed this sort of behavior before when a very curious calf will approach the boat and “play” around it while the mother appears to leave its calf to be “baby-sat”  by the boat while it dives nearby to feed. Every 3-5 minutes, she would emerge from the depths with an explosive exhalation, just feet from the boat, to catch another lung full of air and to, presumably, check up on her baby which continued to thrill my passengers with its antics. A fascinating and exciting display to say the least. Other whales were very close by exhibiting many of their feeding techniques including the always entertaining “bubble-netting”.

 100’s of Greater and Sooty Shearwaters, 1 Cory’s Shearwater and 75 Wilson’s Storm Petrels were the highlight birds. A very interesting sight, one that I have not witnessed off-shore before, was at least 6 separate rafts of Striped Bass finning on the surface all gorging themselves on small Amphipods(shrimp-like creatures). Some rafts were almost half an acre in size! On our return, we had a good look at 2 Mola Mola’s(Ocean Sunfish) and, off the tip of Monomoy Island, about 175 Grey Seals sunning themselves on the beach.

After a couple hours rest, upon our return to the dock, I readied the boat for our evening charter. Again, no disappointment with the weather. After dropping anchor inside the West Jetty of the main channel, we awaited the sunset which was one for the records. Just the right combination of clouds and aerosols lit up the sky with brilliant colors then, as the evening progressed, the sharp colors gradually faded into shades of pastels that were every bit as spectacular. At a little past 9:15, one of the better fireworks displays in recent memory commenced, punctuating one of the finest summer days of all time.

Cheers.

Wishing everyone a happy Independence Day tomorrow.

It is sometimes hard to pin down wind direction in a forecast 3 days in advance so, I need to update my call for the fireworks. In my previous post I thought the wind on Sunday night would be more southerly. It appears now that the wind will be more westerly. It won’t be very strong; probably only around 12kts. Also, west winds will assure us that no fog will be around for the fireworks display.

 For those of you who are planning to watch from your boats, you may want to use 2 anchors to hold your vessel in just the right manner so your guests have an unimpeded view. Sometimes, with the wind crossing the tide at 90 degrees, a boat won’t sit the way you want on just 1 anchor.

Boat traffic will be heavy out there. Please be safe and keep clear of the main channel when you don’t need to be there. The ferry captains and other skippers of boats constrained by their draft will be thankful. Make sure your running lights are working so you are visible. It can be very dangerous if you don’t have the proper lighting.

Cheers.