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Storm stifles salmon opener
Tom Stienstra, San Francisco Chronicle
April 13, 2003
The old sea gives, and the old sea takes. On Saturday, it was all take, no give.
A Pacific storm brought 30-mph winds and 15-foot waves to the Bay Area coast Saturday, blowing out the 2003 opener to the Golden Gate salmon season.
After hours of hoping, skippers finally surrendered at 7 a.m. when a call to the Pilot Ship, 12 miles west of the Golden Gate, reported a southerly wind with gusts to 40 mph. Weather buoys off the Bay Area coast reported seas 11 feet every 13 seconds, with winds 20 knots and up.
"Looks like a couple of days of lock-up," said Capt. Jacqueline Douglas of the Wacky Jacky out of Fisherman's Wharf in San Francisco. "We'll try not to be disappointed. We still have high hopes of a great season."
State and federal scientists have forecast a banner season. They predict that 1.1 million salmon will be caught in the coming year, up from 825,000 last year, what was considered a good season.
On Friday night, winds ranged 5 to 15 knots with moderate seas, providing hope that boats would be able to get out the Golden Gate, despite the approaching storm. But weather charts showed tightly packed isobars extending from the center of the advancing low-pressure system and core winds at 120 mph at 25,000 feet.
By dawn, with thousands of anglers on boats at Bay Area ports all dressed up and ready to play, there was no hope. The system was moving in, turning the sea on the outside into something resembling an automatic dishwasher. Skippers didn't even bother untying the ropes holding their boats in place at docks.
Tom Stienstra, San Francisco Chronicle
April 13, 2003
The old sea gives, and the old sea takes. On Saturday, it was all take, no give.
A Pacific storm brought 30-mph winds and 15-foot waves to the Bay Area coast Saturday, blowing out the 2003 opener to the Golden Gate salmon season.
After hours of hoping, skippers finally surrendered at 7 a.m. when a call to the Pilot Ship, 12 miles west of the Golden Gate, reported a southerly wind with gusts to 40 mph. Weather buoys off the Bay Area coast reported seas 11 feet every 13 seconds, with winds 20 knots and up.
"Looks like a couple of days of lock-up," said Capt. Jacqueline Douglas of the Wacky Jacky out of Fisherman's Wharf in San Francisco. "We'll try not to be disappointed. We still have high hopes of a great season."
State and federal scientists have forecast a banner season. They predict that 1.1 million salmon will be caught in the coming year, up from 825,000 last year, what was considered a good season.
On Friday night, winds ranged 5 to 15 knots with moderate seas, providing hope that boats would be able to get out the Golden Gate, despite the approaching storm. But weather charts showed tightly packed isobars extending from the center of the advancing low-pressure system and core winds at 120 mph at 25,000 feet.
By dawn, with thousands of anglers on boats at Bay Area ports all dressed up and ready to play, there was no hope. The system was moving in, turning the sea on the outside into something resembling an automatic dishwasher. Skippers didn't even bother untying the ropes holding their boats in place at docks.
