b. Site Conditions. The principal wave window lies in a 45° sector cen- 

 tered about the northwesterly direction, and has a fetch cluttered by small 

 islands out to about 3.5 nautical miles, then opens into Sitka Sound. The site 

 is effectively shielded from other directions. The winter low-pressure sys- 

 tems off the Alaskan coast generate high winds. Local lore reports that 

 speeds of 60 knots are common. However, the annual summary of winds at Japon- 

 ski Airport (see Table) indicates that 40-knot winds are rare (Amerman, 

 1980)^ • The many islands in the path of the winds must create highly non- 

 uniform wind fields. 



Table. Winds at Japonski Airport, Sitka, Alaska (Amerman, 1980)^ 









Wind! 



speed (kn 



.) 









Direction 



0-3 



4-10 



11-21 



22-27 



28-40 



40+ 



Pet. 



Avg. 



N. 



1.6 



0.5 



0.1 



0.0 



0.0 



0.0 



2.1 



3.0 



NNE. 



0.2 



0.1 



0.0 



0.0 



0.0 



0.0 



0.2 



4.1 



NE. 



1.7 



1.7 



0.4 



0.0 



0.0 



0.0 



3.8 



5.3 



ENE. 



0.3 



0.6 



0.3 



0.0 



0.0 



0.0 



1.3 



6.6 



E. 



3.4 



6.3 



1.6 



0.1 



0.0 



0.0 



11.3 



6.5 



ESE. 



1.0 



4.7 



4.0 



0.3 



0.1 



0.0 



10.1 



10.7 



SE. 



3.7 



10.0 



4.1 



0.2 



0.1 



0.0 



18.1 



7.9 



SSE. 



0.3 



0.9 



0.3 



0.1 





0.0 



10.1 



8.1 



S. 



3.3 



4.7 



1.4 



0.1 





0.0 



9.5 



6.4 



SSW. 



0.5 



1.6 



0.3 





0.0 



0.0 



2.5 



6.6 



SW 



2.2 



4.6 



0.6 







0.0 



7.3 



5.6 



WSW. 



0.2 



0.7 



0.1 



0.0 



0.0 



0.0 



1.0 



5.4 



W. 



2.1 



2.1 



0.1 



0.0 



0.0 



0.0 



4.3 



4.2 



WNW. 



0.6 



1.6 



0.4 



0.0 



0.0 



0.0 



2.6 



6.8 



NW. 



3.1 



5.5 



1.2 







0.0 



9.9 



6.0 



NNW. 



0.3 



0.4 



0.1 



0.0 



0.0 



0.0 



0.8 



6.0 



Calm 



13.4 

















Total 



24.5" 



46.2 



14.8 



0.8 



572 



0.0 



86.6 



6.0 



The harbor serves a fishing fleet and pleasure craft with moorage fees at 

 $6 per foot per year, with a 2-year waiting list. The mix of boats is shift- 

 ing toward larger sizes. 



Tide data are as follows: 



High: 12.0 feet MLLW 



Diurnal range: 9.4 feet 



Mean range: 7.7 feet 



Low: 5.0 feet MLLW 



AMERMAN, R. , "Sitka Small Boat Harbor Site Study," State of Alaska, Depart- 

 ment of Transportation and Public Facilities, Division of Harbor Design and 

 Construction, Apr. 1980. 



^AMERMAN, R. , op. cit. 



20 



