‘Devil’ Santa Ana Winds Can Endanger Sailors

Richard Henry Dana says the Indians around San Juan Capistrano called those dry, usually hot, winds that blow out of the northeast “devil” winds. I prefer that to Santa Anas. Devil wind is more descriptive of the irritation, not to mention the uncertainty, that these winds stimulate in sailors.

Several times on my boat at Catalina Island I’ve felt the dry heat and seen Old Saddleback on the mainland standing boldly against a clear blue sky. My barometer read as high as it ever gets. That’s when I begin planning my escape route from what could become a dangerous lee shore.

Fortunately, although a Santa Ana weather condition existed in these instances, the northeasterly winds were not strong enough to push their way across the San Pedro Channel and cause heavy surge or swells in the north-facing coves of Catalina, making the anchorages unsafe.

The season for the devil winds is from November through January. Yet similar weather conditions may occur at other times of the year when dry northeast winds of lesser intensity blow with abnormally warm temperatures along the coast.

Anybody who has seen the pictures in Avalon of the towering waves crashing ashore, damaging buildings and seawalls and carrying boats ashore, will know why sailors fear the devil winds.

I must confess that my fear was far greater than my knowledge until Emil S. Kurtz, retired forecaster for the National Weather Service, evened the balance a little. Kurtz has written a valuable pamphlet, “Southern California Weather for Small Boaters,” published by the Western Region of the National Weather Service. (It is available from weather service offices in Los Angeles and San Diego.)

Kurtz makes clear that although Santa Anas really originate over Nevada and Utah, they got their local label because the Santa Ana River valley serves as one of the major routes for these northeasterlies from the mountains to coast.

The difference in pressure between the Great Basin high and the area of lower pressure along the Southern California coast will determine the strength of the Santa Ana, and may be as much as 20 to 30 millibars in extreme conditions, according to Kurtz.

Air moving into Southern California from the north or northeast must ascend to cross the mountains before descending to reach the coastal plain. As the air descends from the mountains, it warms about 5.5 degrees Fahrenheit per 1,000 feet by compression.

If, says Kurtz, the air is initially very cold, it will tend to flow through passes rather than ascend over ridges, but pressure forces are usually great enough for it to make a broad sweep over ridges and passes and continue toward the coast.

If, after its descent to the coast, the air happens to be colder than the air overlying the coastal plain, it will push the coastal marine air out to sea. However, if the air reaches the coastal plain at a higher temperature than the marine air, then it will tend to ride over the marine layer and its effects will be localized to the canyon areas.

These temperature contrasts illustrate the difference between the “cold type” Santa Ana which is more general and destructive and the “warm type” which is quite localized and usually less intense.

I didn’t know it before, but it seems that the cold type devil wind is the culprit that has caused most of the problems at Catalina.

Sailing Notes

Kelpie, the big schooner out of Newport Beach, won the perpetual trophy for the fastest elapsed time during last month’s 12th annual Ancient Mariner’s Race off Long Beach. Argus, the Sea Scout topsail schooner, was the last boat to finish . . . . The annual Argosy Race to Oceanside from Dana Point on Sept. 28-29 combines the skills of racing with the fun of cruising, said Lynn Cherry of the Dana Point Yacht Club. It is also “fun for the cook,” she adds, “because the crews join each other for dinner at the restaurants in Oceanside Harbor or at the Oceanside Yacht Club.”. . . . The Alamitos Bay Yacht Club will hold its annual stag cruise to Emerald Bay, Catalina Island, Oct 4-6, with Chuck Cover as chairman of the event. There will be a sailboat race home . . . . Newport Beach’s largest shipyard, Lido Shipyard, established in 1949, will close and sell out its stock late this month and early next. The closure is blamed on soaring costs and a resulting of profits . . . . At the same time, Basin Marine Shipyard has doubled its yard capacity with the recently completed reconstruction of the Balboa Yacht Basin. A new lift has been added . . . . Large sailboats, motor yachts and sportfishers will be displayed in the water at Lido Marina Village during the Lido Power and Sailboat Show, Sept. 18-22.