Update, Wednesday October 16
All of the pieces are in motion. We are 48 hours from race time, and the athletes and event team are fully mobilized. The most critical part of the Red Bull Heavy Water course is also traveling today. The large waves that have been showing up on models and weather maps for the past two weeks are now real. They were hatched by the Super Typhoon Hagibis, who travelled “The Great Circle Path”, spinning up the western pacific and now taking a full trans-ocean tour, eastward toward California.
Making a call for any weather dependent event is always difficult. Though our data and forecasting is on the cutting edge, there is always the risk that Mother Nature won’t cooperate, or Poseidon might take a nap. This is still a possibility, as something as mundane as local fog could ruin a great race. However, this time around things are looking good!
The swells are building steadily and marching our way, and the race-day wind predictions have even improved. We’ll hold our collective breath until the awards ceremony, but it appears this storm is living up to expectations, and this was a good call.
Time will tell.
