This study is the first of a two-part paper that summarizes the development of a prototype coastal hazard prediction system providing short-term (+48 h) forecasts of the total water level (TWL) at 50 m resolution for the province of Quebec, Eastern Canada. In this first part, the implementation of the offshore wave model component of the system, which is a regional 1 km-resolution WAVEWATCH III™(WW3) configuration for the Estuary and Gulf of St. Lawrence (EGSL), is presented and discussed. The configuration is forced by high resolution atmosphere, ocean and sea ice forecasts provided by Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) and includes a state-of-the-art parameterization of wave propagation and attenuation in sea ice that has been tuned with observations from the EGSL. Performances are assessed against wave data collected over a two-year period during which the forecasting system was running operationally, and against historical storm data using a model hindcast. Results demonstrate reasonable forecast skills both for normal and extreme wave conditions during ice-free periods with errors ranging from 15 % to 31 % of the mean wave height. However, when sea ice is present, performances are drastically reduced, primarily due to inaccuracies in the predicted ice fields at spatial scales over which wave energy typically dissipates in sea ice.