Maybe those in the Canadian Maritimes could shed a little more on the Nor'wester part here. The trades in the northern Hemisphere come from the southwest & blow towards the nor'east hence nor'easter & the rain cap that's low in the back called a Nor'easter, shelters the back of the neck while standing at the wheel with your back exposed to the nor'east winds if your running with the wind (no sense running into it). the Nor'easters are the storms that we in the northeast of the US have to watch, they can equal & sometime exceed hurricanes. 1 in 10 nor'easters are what's now called a bullet because they're nothward track is very hard to forcast & they're increased speed coming up the coast is like the bullet they're named for. My guess is that when the winter wind comes from the nor'west it's no so much a mighty storm as it is a very bitter blast of raw damp cold wind coming down under a warmer high & in an area of warmer water setting up either very foggy & choppy or slopy & soggy sea conditions out over the banks. A green hand would be far better off at Paddy's house rather being out on the Banks no matter what the winter sea conditions in the North Alantic were. Barry, from a warm spot in the northeast, must've been in the 50's yesterday.