Let me try to find my video of my trip from Sooke to Renfrew when the marine weather called for calm seas all day.... taking our time whale watching, catching some sun, some fishing along the way... no problem when it's calm.... fast forward 5-6 hrs later and in rolls a very strong NW giving us 12' stacking waves. Nope, not on the forecast whatsoever. My buddy has another video of us in the same situation outside of Tofino when the weather report was excellent for the day...Nope, things went side ways very quickly and we were in very nasty conditions very quickly. Same like that all up the coast. Winter Harbor, same thing..And when those NW'rs come pushing into the top of WhatTheFucka they don't just take a straight path, they can get turning all around which is why lots of the stacking/breaking waves aren't always easy to judge and pick a path through. And we were in a closed in cabin with self bailing deck. Had we been in an open smaller boat (traveling on the idea/reports of good weather) we would have been in very serious trouble. Open boats in stacking waves is a no win situation no matter how you want to sugar coat it. You hear some people saying things like "oh i'd rather be in a small tin can, light weight, open boat in bad weather, big waves, cause I'll just float right up and over them" Ya sure, in a big wide roller no problem. If you think that's true in the kinds of waves you get in mixed winds/currents/tides up our west coast then you're full of you know what. Cause that just isn't the case..
Go up the coast a bit farther and you can get all kinds of winds coming from all different directions and changing quickly. To travel such a far distance in open water is very very risky relying on a weather report. Yes of course you may be fine a lot of the time. But is it worth it being in the middle of it when things don't go as planned and you are in a boat that is not built to take water over the bow and sides? Have you been in storms/bad water conditions where your motor (motors) stall out? Have you seen a boat go completely broad side to a large wave under no power? With one motor it only takes a split second for things to go sideways in bad weather.
I will try to get the videos posted if I can. Like I said, good weather report, long distance to travel, yet things don't go that way.. If you're in a 17' open boat, one engine, 3 guys, gear, fuel etc.. How do the odds look?
In bad weather, say safe refuge is only 2 km's away on your chart and you may think it's close so no worries, but getting there in that bad weather can take a very long time where lot's of opportunity for things to go sideways can happen in a blink of an eye. Now picture that safe refuge being 40 to 60 km's away..
If you are on holidays and only have a small window of time of a few days to have a good time with buddies why make it dependent on the weather report being perfect? Why not plan your trip logistically sound and safe and dependable? Those kinds of good planning make vacations go well.
We have choices when we are out on the water but our kids and wives back home don't have those choices. They are the ones that will be suffering the consequences if we don't come back home.