Ross Bay Webcam – Kiteboarders and the Olympic Mountains

The Ross Bay Webcam looks out over Ross Bay on the Dallas Road waterfront in Victoria, British Columbia, and moves through a series of views around the bay. One looks straight across the Strait of Juan de Fuca to the Olympic Mountains of Washington State. Others close in on low rocky points and a grassy headland along the seawall, or turn back to the beach, where driftwood logs line the shore below apartment blocks, houses and tall trees. On a still morning the water can lie almost glassy, with strands of kelp floating in the shallows. Wind changes the scene completely. The operator’s own description is short and to the point: watch foilers, kiteboarders and windsurfers when it’s windy.

About Ross Bay

Ross Bay is a curve of shoreline in the Fairfield area of Victoria, about 2.5 kilometers (1.5 miles) southeast of the British Columbia Parliament Buildings in a straight line. Clover Point, a low headland less than 1 kilometer (0.6 miles) to the west, marks its western side, and Dallas Road follows the shore between the seawall and Ross Bay Cemetery. The caption along the bottom of the stream credits bigwavedave.ca, a Vancouver Island wind and marine weather site running since 2002, with a forum used by local kiteboarders and windsurfers.

The bay takes its name from Isabella Mainville Ross, an Anishinaabe and French Metis woman recognized as the first registered independent woman landowner in British Columbia. She owned land above the shore and was buried in 1885 in the cemetery that now shares the bay’s name. Ross Bay Cemetery took its first burial in December 1872. It covers 11.1 hectares (27.5 acres) and holds about 27,000 interments, among them the painter Emily Carr and Sir James Douglas, the first governor of British Columbia.

The shoreline has not always held. Violent storms in 1909 washed away much of the beach and part of the cemetery bank, and the Ross Bay seawall was built in 1911 to stop the erosion. Graves near the water were moved, and Dallas Road, which used to swing north around the cemetery, was extended along the shore between the new wall and the graves. Today swell can roll in from open water while the inside of the bay stays flatter, a combination local riders rate highly for foiling.

Weather and Climate in Ross Bay

Victoria has a warm-summer Mediterranean climate, and the mountains on the horizon of the Ross Bay Webcam are part of the reason. The rain shadow of the Olympics makes the city the driest place on the British Columbia coast. At the Victoria Gonzales weather station, July and August afternoons peak around 21 C (70 F) and nights settle near 12 C (54 F). July is the driest month, with about 13 mm (0.5 inches) of rain, and the station records 2,193 hours of sunshine a year, which leaves Victoria effectively tied with Cranbrook as the sunniest city in the province. In the warm months the westerly typically fills in around 4 p.m. at nearby Clover Point and blows until sunset, so summer evenings are the likeliest time to find sails and kites on the water.

Winters are mild and wet rather than cold. January highs sit near 8 C (46 F), December is the wettest month at roughly 129 mm (5.1 inches), and more than 60 percent of the year’s 675 mm (26.6 inches) of precipitation falls between November and February. Snow is light, around 26 cm (10 inches) in a typical year. In low cloud or haze the far shore can fade out of the strait view entirely, leaving just water and sky.

Things to Do Near Ross Bay

Ross Bay Cemetery sits right behind the seawall, across Dallas Road, and its paths make a quiet loop past the graves of Emily Carr, James Douglas and a dozen British Columbia premiers. Just north of the cemetery, Ross Bay Villa at 1490 Fairfield Road is a Gothic Revival house from 1865, now a historic house museum run by the Ross Bay Villa Society and open for tours and special events.

The waterfront path along Dallas Road leads west to Clover Point, where kiteboarders use two launch spots on the field and a reef off the point only matters to riders close to shore. Keep going and the path continues past Beacon Hill Park toward downtown. Heading east instead, the shore runs on into Oak Bay, home to the Victoria Golf Club’s seaside course and Oak Bay Marina. In winter, local kiters also ride Willows Beach in Oak Bay and Island View Beach on the Saanich Peninsula.

Similar Webcams You Might Like

For more of Victoria’s waterfront and the British Columbia coast, try these cams next.

• Victoria Golf Club Webcam
• Oak Bay Marina Webcam
• Cox Bay Webcam

Frequently Asked Questions

Where is Ross Bay located?

Ross Bay is on the south shore of Victoria, the capital of British Columbia, at the southern end of Vancouver Island in Canada. It lies along Dallas Road in the Fairfield area, about 2.5 kilometers (1.5 miles) southeast of the Parliament Buildings, and faces the Strait of Juan de Fuca with Washington State on the far side.

What can you see on the Ross Bay Webcam?

The camera moves through several views. One looks across open water to the Olympic Mountains, while others close in on rocky points, a grassy headland and the seawall path with its walkers, or on the beach backed by apartment blocks and houses. Kelp can float in the foreground on calm days, and on windy days foilers, kiteboarders and windsurfers can appear on the water. Haze, rain or low cloud can hide the mountains.

What is the weather like in Ross Bay?

Mild all year. Summer afternoons reach about 21 C (70 F) with very little rain, while January highs sit near 8 C (46 F). Most of the 675 mm (26.6 inches) of annual precipitation falls from November to February, and snow is light.

Can you see kiteboarders on the Ross Bay Webcam?

Yes, when the wind blows. The operator describes the stream as a way to watch foilers, kiteboarders and windsurfers on windy days, and the bay is a popular foiling spot. In summer the westerly typically picks up around 4 p.m. and lasts until sunset. On a calm day the water can stay empty.

What mountains can you see from Ross Bay?

The ridge on the horizon is the Olympic Mountains on Washington’s Olympic Peninsula, across the Strait of Juan de Fuca. They shelter Victoria from much of the Pacific rain, which is why the city is the driest place on the British Columbia coast.

Who is buried in Ross Bay Cemetery?

About 27,000 people, including the painter Emily Carr, Sir James Douglas, the first governor of British Columbia, and a dozen of the province’s premiers. The cemetery took its first burial in 1872 and covers 11.1 hectares (27.5 acres) beside the bay.

Why was the Ross Bay seawall built?

Storms in 1909 washed away much of the shoreline and part of the cemetery’s bank, so the seawall went up in 1911 to stop the erosion.

Source: Ross Bay Live Webcam