The following is the actual NOAA weather forecast for the storm. I
clipped this the night of the strom to email to some friends.

- - - - - - - - -

COASTAL WATERS FORECAST
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PORTLAND OREGON
903 PM PST THU DEC 14 2006

COASTAL WATERS FROM CAPE SHOALWATER WASHINGTON TO FLORENCE OREGON
AND WESTWARD 60 NM

STORM WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 4 AM PST FRIDAY

TONIGHT
S WIND 45 TO 55 KT WITH GUSTS TO 70 KT... VEERING TO
SW 45 TO 50 KT WITH GUSTS TO 60 KT AFTER MIDNIGHT. COMBINED
SEAS 38 FT DOMINANT PERIOD 12 SECONDS. SHOWERS AND SCATTERED
TSTMS.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
..OFFSHORE WATERS FORECAST 830 PM PST THU DEC 14 2006

WASHINGTON AND OREGON WATERS FROM 60 NM TO 250 NM OFFSHORE.
CAPE FLATTERY TO CAPE LOOKOUT

HURRICANE FORCE WIND WARNING

OVERNIGHT
W TO NW WINDS 45 TO 55 KT...EXCEPT TO 65 KT OVER
THE W PORTION EARLY. SEAS 14 TO 21 FT BUILDING TO 24 TO 35
FT...HIGHEST SE. SCATTERED SHOWERS...BECOMING ISOLATED LATE.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Of the 35 or so comments thus far, no one has questioned why this boat
was in the strom to begin with. Even if the boat did not have SSB or a
SAT phone to check in with someone, it would have had to have a VHF
radio and they clearly would have heard the constant NOAA Weather
forecasts stating that HURRICANE FORCE WINDS were expected, with 38
foot seas.

This is not a case of them being caught in a strom 3000 miles out to
sea. They were hugging the coast and could have ducked into any number
of ports. All I can think of is that they thought they could tough it
out, which I would think is a bad assumption given that you have no
exerience with how that boat handles, or, they waited too long to head
for cover and by then the coast guard had closed the entrances to the
harbors because the waves were already breaking on the bars. Thus
leaving them stuck out in the open.

Last fall I traveled down that same stretch, and it only took about a
10 foot swell to close all of the bar entrances, to non-comercial
vessels under 50 feet in length.

-Mark
"Calpurnia"
www.goreads.com