18necessary at times --wool being the best in cold, and rubber fisherman's
working gloves best in wet conditions. Wool toques and/or balaclavas help to
reduce a major heat 10ss through the head. Scarves for the neck and woollen
socks in seaboots are also recommended.
Such cold weather clothing is needed because even in summer in these
northern waters, in addition to wind chilI, one may be standing or sitting far
long periods without sufficient activity to generage heat; and when in the
shade. or travelling on cloudy days, convective coo1ing can be another cause of
body heat loss •.
The mean surface water temperature in these areas in summer is about 60 F
(13 C). It will be lower in glacier meltwater-fed inlets, and it is colder
with increasing depth. If one is in the water for even fairl} short periods of
time the 10s5 of deep body heat can be crucial to survival. Much study has
been dane on the problem of immersion hypothermia and on survival times, and on
techniques to combat it. Both the Canadian and r.s. authorities put aut
pamphlets describing symptoms and treatment of hypothermia. These pamphlets
are worth obtaining and studying.
Every effort should be made to stay aboard. Safety harness should be used
whenever it is warranted. If a crew member does go into the water even minutes
count in the recovery. It is especially important to realize that a person in
cold water goes into shock quickly, and as hypothermia advances one may become
disoriented and unable to assist oneself.
The summer period (June to September) is the time of the highest occur-
renee of fog in the waters from the northern end of Vancouver Island to Alaska.
On the average there are 4 to 7 days of fog per month in this periodo Visi-
bility is reduced belo~ 2 miles for about 15% of the time, and below 1/2 mi le
far about 5% of the time. Fog ean also oecur at any other time of the year
whenever the air is moist and mueh ~armer than the water, but the average
number of days of fog drops well below that of the summer periodo
Advection fog plagues the major open water crossings of this section, and
sometimes works in along nearby coastal parts of the Inside Passage. Fog is
often cyclical over a period of severa1 days if the wind patterns stay.in the
same quadrante Considering the rocky coasts and dangers of the various
approaches, care and caution should be exercised in travelling at these times.In the southern section of this guide the regime far fog is slightly dif-
ferent, and tends to oecur from September to January. though the Strait of Juan
de Fuca may a1so suffer fog in summer. Usually, between May and August the
inner waters of the southern area are free from fog.Radar can be a valuable aid during passages in fog. RDF bearings are a1so
helpful but as mentioned elsewhere, the beacons may not be ideally placed.
However, one can use a beacon (as well as the sound of the fog horn) to
determine safe angles around a particular beacon or lighthouse.