Copy of letter, re: marine forecast for the Ottawa River
Colin Starratt
I read your letter Michael, and there is some truth in what you say.
However, with respect to reception, I can still get the weather channel as
far up as Pontiac Bay (albeit with poor reception), and I seem to remember
having better luck with it on WX2 on my VHF. Maybe I'm having
better luck because of my masthead antenna. Downriver reception is good
past Rockland to the Montebello area where it alternates between Ottawa
and a station out of Montreal on the same frequency (I just got back from
1 1/2 weeks downriver); by the time you get to Hawksbury your reception of
Ottawa is nil. There is an American station broadcasting for the
Vermont/Lake champlain area with a kazillion-watt transmitter on WX3 that
gives you weather for that area in Fahrenheit/mph, and a regular Coast
Guard station for the St. Lawrence River as well, plus 2 or 3 Montreal
stations (one entirely in French ... I listened through two complete cycles
before realizing I wasn't going to get any understandable information there!).
My experiences in the southern (eastern?) section of the Ottawa River seem to
indicate that (barring the over-muscled US station) if you can't receive
the information clearly, than the weather information doesn't really apply
to you ... the poorer the reception the less applicable the information.
With respect to accuracy, the information is neither more nor less
accurate than any other weather station I listened to, and I am just glad
to hear wind strengths and direction these days. I don't recall any lack
of indication of the time period involved in the specific marine weather
broadcast, although time periods were often lacking in the Environment
Canada sections of the cycle. Certainly the information seemed accurate
enough for the weather we had, as accurate as the MAYFORs on the Coast
guard station (which I used to laboriously decode only to discover that
most of the relavent information was in the summary anyway).
I really don't think Scott is being short-changed in this department: he
gets an ad for his store several times an hour 24 hours a day, directed at
an appropriate audience who are actually listening to it rather than just
using the broadcast as background noise (e.g. music). If you lsten to
radio a lot you will hear some wonderful screw-ups even on regular
broadcast music radio. It comes with the territory. I think it was an
excellent idea on his part ... certainly more productive of weather
information than compaining to a short-funded govenmnet bureacracy. ;-)
Colin S.
Michael McGoldrick
Ted Devey (te...@smt.net) writes:
> I must agree with Michael about the inadequacy of the usefullness of the
> Ottawa marine weather forecasts. In checking oue EC websites indicated, I
> note that they do give wind direction and speeds, which are seldom, if
> ever, given on the Ottawa forecast site. Maybe the fact that the St.
> Lawrence River has commercial traffic and the Ottawa R. does not could
> have something to do with it?
>
> The on air broadcasts are of little value either. Is it possible that EC
> is using Ottawa as a pilot project?
>
> The Chandlery os being short-changed on their advertising dollar if
> boaters dont tune in on broadcasts having zilch value to them.
>
> My best boating forecast is on the local forecast on the TV Weather
> Channel!!
>
> Ted Devey
> Ottawa
A little history about this issue.
Throughout the 1995 boating season Environment Canada produced a very
professional marine forecast for the Ottawa River. It included a
synopsis of the relevant weather system, as well as an outlook for the wind
and weather conditions expected for the overnight period and following day.
It provided a description of the geographic area to which the forecast was
applicable, and I believe the forecast was updated 3 or 4 times a day. It
was available without charge via the Internet, telephone, and the
government's broadcast facilities.
Without any announcements or explanations, the marine forecast for the
Ottawa River disappeared at the beginning of the 1996 boating season. At
the time I was trying to maintain links to the appropriate web site for
this forecast, but the web page were always blank. I made *several*
inquiries. A month later (on June 14, 1996) I received the following
e-mail correspondence from an Environment Canada official:
"The marine forecasts for the Ottawa River have been discontinued as
have the "near shore forecasts" for the Great Lakes. Marine info is
available, however, via 1-900( costed) service.
There is a new marine advisory/warning program that has been
implemented for winds of 20 or more knots and for expected
thunderstorm activity-this is a non-commercial 24 hour service. A
decision has not yet been taken as to whether to include Ontario
marine advisories/warnings on our WEB site....they will be
distributed in the same manner as the old marine forecasts( with the
exception of Internet distribution for the time being)."
A few days later I posted the following message on FreeNet's Boating and
Sailing SIG. (Come to think of it - it also happens to be the first
message ever posted to the "ott.rec.sailing" newsgroup.)
Boating Safety Held Hostage
---------------------------
It appears that the Federal Government intends to hold the safety of
boaters hostage in an effort to generate new sources of revenue.
Beginning this boating season Environment Canada will NO LONGER
distribute regular marine forecast for recreational boaters via Weather
Radio, standard telephone service, or the Internet/WWW. This include
marine forecasts for the Ottawa River and the "near shore forecasts"
for the Great Lakes. Boaters will now have to pay for such forecasts by
dialing a 1-900 phone number. (Keep that cellular handy the next time
you're trying to figure out the best anchorage for the night!)
A key component of the marine forecast is the predicted wind direction
and strength. However, if my memory is at all good, wind direction and
strength were often included in the regular, run-of-the-mill weather
forecast. I note that Environment Canada's current public weather
forecasts are conspicuous in their absence of any indication of what
can be expected in the way of wind direction and strength. It's one
thing to provide highly specialized weather forecasts on a cost-recovery
basis, but it's an entirely different matter when basic information is
withheld from standard services for the purpose of extracting additional
monies from the general population.
It should be noted that wind forecasts provide important safety
information for owners *and crews* of Ontario's estimated 1.5 million
small watercraft, including sailors, powerboats, fishermen (persons),
canoeists, etc... Predicted wind direction and strength is very useful
for farming and various industrial activities, and is equally valuable
for campers and many land-based sports and outdoor events. In short,
the wind forecast is of interest to almost as many people who simply
want to know if it's going to be sunny tomorrow.
It seems that Environment Canada will be instituting a marine
advisory/warning program for those situations where boaters may be
threatened by thunderstorms or winds in excess of 20 knots. However,
this program may be of little value if the absence of regular marine
forecasts means few boaters will be monitoring weather statements by
Environment Canada. The cynics among us might wonder if the main motive
for setting up this advisory/warning program is to fend off critics who
will claim Environment Canada's policies are putting boaters in danger.
The only good news in all of this is that boaters on the Great Lakes
and St-Lawrence River will not be left completely in the dark. Marine
forecasts aimed at commercial shipping will still be freely available
for these waters (as opposed to the "near shore forecast" aimed at
recreational boaters - which will only be available for a fee). Since
the government has not yet figured out a way to keep recreational
boaters from listening to these forecasts, it is unlikely to collect
huge sums of money for its near shore forecast. Ottawa area sailors
with Internet access can get a *rough* idea of predicted winds for our
area by checking out the marine forecast for the St-Lawrence River
between Kingston and Cornwall at: http://www.on.doe.ca/text/fpcn20.woz
And finally, one last observation. Such policies call into question the
government's commitment to promoting boating safety. Charging a fee for
basic weather information which is essential for safe boating is
difficult to understand. And don't forget the annual $36 fee the
federal government charges to allow people to keep a VHF radio on
board. As of April 1st of this year the cost of roll charts jumped from
$13 to $20. The buzz word is safety, safety, safety... as long as the
government can make a buck out of it.
(originally posted in June, 1996)
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Epilogue - Since I posted the above, Environment Canada has adopted a
policy of including a 12 hour wind forecast in their regular weather
forcast when winds are expected to be unusually strong. Moreover, the
Chandlery started sponsoring the *broadcast* of the marine forecast for the
Ottawa River. However, as I pointed in my letter, the current marine
forecast from Environment Canada is not on a par with what existed in 1995.
At the moment, the marine forecast for the Ottawa River is *not* available
on the Internet and can only be obtained by phone when dialing a 1-900
number (and fees apply).
--
Michael McGoldrick at: ~ /|\
ab...@freenet.carleton.ca / | \ ~
Ottawa, Ontario, Canada ~ /__|__\
----------------------------------- \________/ -----------
Jules E. Lafrance
Michael McGoldrick (ab...@FreeNet.Carleton.CA) writes:
>
>[snip]
> Epilogue - Since I posted the above, Environment Canada has adopted a
> policy of including a 12 hour wind forecast in their regular weather
> forcast when winds are expected to be unusually strong. Moreover, the
> Chandlery started sponsoring the *broadcast* of the marine forecast for the
> Ottawa River. However, as I pointed in my letter, the current marine
> forecast from Environment Canada is not on a par with what existed in 1995.
> At the moment, the marine forecast for the Ottawa River is *not* available
> on the Internet and can only be obtained by phone when dialing a 1-900
> number (and fees apply).
I have noticed for many years that the wind forecast was only
included when its strength was 30km/hr or over. For the first time
today the forecast includes a wind of 25 km/hr *and* its direction
(something which was usually missing).
Maybe Environment Canada is finally listening. Thanks Michael.
Following is the latest forecast as published on the weather SIG:
********************
OTTAWA-HULL.
TODAY..SUNNY WITH CLOUDY PERIODS. WIND WEST TO 25 KM/H. HIGH NEAR 22.
MAXIMUM UV INDEX 6.5 OR MODERATE.
TONIGHT..A FEW CLOUDS. LOW NEAR 12.
FRIDAY..INCREASING CLOUDINESS IN THE MORNING. SCATTERED SHOWERS LATE
IN THE DAY. WIND SOUTHEAST TO 25 KM/H. HIGH NEAR 25.
PROBABILITY OF PRECIPITATION IN PERCENT ZERO TODAY. ZERO TONIGHT.
40 FRIDAY.
********************
--
* Let's build bridges; walls grow pretty
Jules Lafrance well on their own.
lafr...@freenet.carleton.ca * Construisons des ponts; les murs
http://www.ncf.carleton.ca/~ab388/ croissent très bien par eux-mêmes.