Mike and Beth's Adventures

Weather Marine Weather for Strait of Georgia Basin Lightstation Weather Reports-British Columbia Decode Information for Lightstation Reports Halibut Bank Weatherstation (Buoy) Check Lighthouse and Station Reports from Chrome Island, Merry Island,  Entrance Island, Halibut Banks & Sentry Shoals Chrome Island Lighthouse  is located near Deep Bay, British Columbia. It has been in operation since 1891 and assists maritime traffic in the region around Denman Island and Hornby Island. Merry Island Lighthouse  is situated on Merry Island, which is part of the Sunshine Coast in British Columbia.  Entrance Island Lighthouse  is located on Entrance Island, which lies off the North-East corner of Gabriola Island.  US Weather Service Buoys Buoys - Pacific Coast Sentry Shoals ,  station 46131 Halibut Banks , station 46146 Southern Georgia Straits , station 46303 Friday Harbor , station FRWW1 Check status of Whisky Golf military area - Continuous Marine Br...

  When crossing from Vancouver Island to Vancouver, the city, on the mainland, the decision on which route to take is an important one.  This is for several reasons.   First the geography of the area.  The west coast of Vancouver Island is pleased with a densely packed collection of islands.  Second is the seas water which must move around these islands as the tide cycles between low and high.  This change is large at around 14 feet, but can be even higher under certain conditions.  As large volumes of water must move through narrow passages, it must move quickly.  The movement can often be violent accompanied by aggressive swirling that mimics whirlpools and is easily capable of capturing and spinning a boat if passage is attempted when currents are at their max.  A much safer tactic is to transit these areas at slack water. This is the time when the current pauses as it prepares to move in the opposite direction due to the tide change....

Cruise Planning Tools We are currently doing the Loop and in the Chesapeake Bay Area.  With this page I will try to summarize the tools we use when planning our Great Loops travels.  I will update this with new tools and sources of information as they become available. Background Route planning and navigation is not mysterious if you have a process and have carefully selected the tools and resources required to make good decisions and execute carefully.  For my vessel, I have built my route planning and navigation process around the following tools. Navigation Hardware/Software Garmin 8612xsv Multi-Function Display (Chartplotter) Navionics application on both an Android and iPad tablet as well as my smartphone Aqua Map application on my iPad. Weather Sirius XM Weather subscription which requires a Garmin GXM54 satellite receiver connected to the MFD.  This allows me to receive real time weather information when cell phone coverage is not available. Navionics and...