Prevailing winds on Georgian Bay?

[flyingwelshman]

Does anyone know where I could find information on the prevailing winds on Georgian Bay?
I know that they can be variable.
It seems that they are pretty consistently NW - NNW - at least in the Midland area.
I am thinking of heading from Hope Island to Tobermory. I would like to know what to expect from the winds in mid-Bay.
Any help would be appreciated.
Thanks

[Valiente]

Sailing Directions: Georgian Bay

The GB Sailing Directions.

Now, I haven't sailed on Georgian Bay, but I've been on either end and both sides on the shore, and I would say that the wind is prevailingly westerly-north westerly as with the rest of Ontario in the summer, but with the warning that storms can march over the Bruce Peninsula/Manitoulin Island very quickly, and that the gap between likely funnels winds strongly, and that the eastern lee shore is generally rocky, and that the charts are currently near, at, or below chart datum, and that the southern end has the Blue Mountain hills that create their own weather locally and that the north end can get a little squirrelly if you round an island thinking "ooh, what a calm day". A lot of this will have to do with leaving in the cool of June or the heat of August. I know in Lake Ontario the signs of "pop-up" thunderstorms, the kind that just materialize without necessarily being predicted by the forecast. I used to cottage in the Beaver Valley just south of Thornbury, and the summer weather there was quite unpredictable, outside of the fact that the heat and humidity by 10 in the morning would tell you even with a blue sky whether the odds were in favour of a four o'clock storm with 40 knots of wind, vast bolts of lightning, a touch of hail and over in 20 minutes.

But it's generally westerlies.

[scottbr]

Definately N to NW. But it will swing around from the East, usually with a storm in tow.


A great site for Georgian Bay from a sailor in Midland. Cruising Georgian Bay and the North Channel

What part of Georgian Bay are you located.

[flyingwelshman]

Originally Posted by scottbr

Definately N to NW. But it will swing around from the East, usually with a storm in tow.


A great site for Georgian Bay from a sailor in Midland. Cruising Georgian Bay and the North Channel

What part of Georgian Bay are you located.

I am in Midland, out of Doral Marine Resort.

Where do you sail?

[flyingwelshman]

Originally Posted by Valiente

Sailing Directions: Georgian Bay

The GB Sailing Directions.

Now, I haven't sailed on Georgian Bay, but I've been on either end and both sides on the shore, and I would say that the wind is prevailingly westerly-north westerly as with the rest of Ontario in the summer, but with the warning that storms can march over the Bruce Peninsula/Manitoulin Island very quickly, and that the gap between likely funnels winds strongly, and that the eastern lee shore is generally rocky, and that the charts are currently near, at, or below chart datum, and that the southern end has the Blue Mountain hills that create their own weather locally and that the north end can get a little squirrelly if you round an island thinking "ooh, what a calm day". A lot of this will have to do with leaving in the cool of June or the heat of August. I know in Lake Ontario the signs of "pop-up" thunderstorms, the kind that just materialize without necessarily being predicted by the forecast. I used to cottage in the Beaver Valley just south of Thornbury, and the summer weather there was quite unpredictable, outside of the fact that the heat and humidity by 10 in the morning would tell you even with a blue sky whether the odds were in favour of a four o'clock storm with 40 knots of wind, vast bolts of lightning, a touch of hail and over in 20 minutes.

But it's generally westerlies.

I'll pick up Sailing Directions.

I thought it was the same as the Ports Guide, but now I understand that it is more technical.

[xort]

Onshore breezes can really make a difference. That prevailing west wind can be gone and in place an east wind along the cliffs of the Bruce. But that usually is only within a mile or two of shore. On calm days, that onshore can be easily be 10 to 15. The rocks heat up in the sun and the rising heat draws in the colder lake air.

[scottbr]

Bay Moorings, Penetangushene.

We're planning on heading to Kilarney late July, early August.