Storm Force Winds

The gale arrived last night in full force. While conducting the commercial trapping survey I stay on top of Horn’s Hill in the old weather station (presently the Flying Bridge) on Monhegan Island. This morning sometime between 7:30 and 8:50 AM the anemometer on top of the house recorded our daily maximum wind gust speed at 62 mph, a 10 on the Beaufort Scale. A 10 on the Beaufort Scale is described as ‘Storm’ and is rated one higher than ‘Severe Gale’.

Anemometer reading around 5:30 PM, max. 62 mph was this morning.

Once the weather died down I took my chance to hike out to the backside of the island and watch the waves from the safety of the cliffs. From over 140 feet up I looked down on Gull Rock which stands about ~75 feet tall on the southeast corner of the island and watched as waves crashed against the side and saltwater sprayed up, high over the top before being carried onto the island by the wind. When the wind blows out of the southeast on Monhegan Island there is nothing between the Atlantic Ocean and the island’s backside besides Gulf of Maine water. This allows waves to reach wicked heights under strong winds due to the massive, obstacle-free fetch.

I descended and passed Gull Rock before stopping to watch the wave carnage in Christmas Cove. Water poured over Norton’s Ledge and Washer Woman shooting mist into the air and soaking me… Nature looks angry.

Gnarly wave crash explodes into a mushroom shape against Whitehead.

With weather like this setting the traps tomorrow is sure to be bumpier than anticipated on my summer-esque ferry ride yesterday. Often after a big storm like this even after the wind dies down there are large residual waves bouncing around trapped between islands and the coast. As they bounce, the waves interfere with one another becoming less cohesive and more unpredictable. These interfering waves are distorted by tidal currents and the new day’s wind patterns and once the whole equation is combined the sea evolves into what some of the lobstermen refer to as ‘like a flushing toilet bowl (🚽)’. Toilet bowl or not, I’m excited to get the traps set tomorrow and start fishing. They’ll be out for a four night set to start off the survey but I may adjust this if its not consistent with how the guys are fishing thier traps right now. It is after all a commercial trapping survey.

Traps wait on the dock for tomorrow’s set.