Marine Strong Wind — Point Arena To Point Reyes...out To 10 Nm, E Pacific

2014-11-01 · near Bodega Bay, Point Arena To Point Reyes...out To 10 Nm, E Pacific

Event narrative

High surf and potentially a rouge wave occurred in Bodega Bay, capsizing a 32 foot long vessel after an early morning crabbing trip on the opening day of recreational crab season. Five people on the boat were thrown into the water, none of them were wearing life jackets. Four of the people died in the water and one was able to swim to shore and was rescued later by a helicopter crew. The incident was not directly caused by local wind conditions, but distant wind in a strong Pacific Storm created the swell conditions that caused this incident.

Wider weather episode

Long period swell produced high surf and dangerous ocean conditions. A boat capsized and several fatalities occurred.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (38.3073, -123.0501)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 543249. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.