+1 woodster. I learned that lesson on a Navy 44 at the mouth of Chesapeake Bay back in 1993!
"Average" winds at sea?
- Thread starter PotomacDaysailer
- Start date
Back in my slip and snugged down by 15:00. The main line of storms rolled through between about 10 to 11 p.m. at the house (later at the lake), several tornado warnings, small "spin-ups" (F0s and F1s) on the leading edge which is a bit unusual according to the TV meteorologists. Lots of trees and power lines down around Tulsa and east, no damage or outage in our neighborhood though.
The sailing was great, went ahead and reefed the main at the dock beforehand. Could have carried the full main but still glad I reefed it. Stayed out about 7 hours.
Pilot Charts were and probably still are the best source of information, at least in 1990 in the USN.
Average is meaningless.
EDIT - I guess I should read ALL the posts...... ;^)
What you need are locale-specific wind rose charts by month. Found on pilot charts, they show the percentage of times for wind direction, and average speed for each. VERY helpfully. The 'rose' looks like this:
This show for this area and month, the wind is mostly from the NE and E, and strong. When it blows from the other directions its light.
Placed on a big map, these roses give great context. Look at the mid-Atlantic trades. Head south till the butter melts and then start westing!
EDIT - I guess I should read ALL the posts...... ;^)
What you need are locale-specific wind rose charts by month. Found on pilot charts, they show the percentage of times for wind direction, and average speed for each. VERY helpfully. The 'rose' looks like this:
This show for this area and month, the wind is mostly from the NE and E, and strong. When it blows from the other directions its light.
Placed on a big map, these roses give great context. Look at the mid-Atlantic trades. Head south till the butter melts and then start westing!
Ocean sailing is not for everyone . If you plan a trip, join a caravane or a group / race (friendly) so you can share infos. I have rarely sailed non eventfull. Remember this advice : if you have second thoughts or doubts about going out, dont . If things are due to break, they Will in rough seas and rough winds. I have seen most accidents occur when it looked like an easy ride, that is when guard is down.A 15 knot wind is generally fun. Unless you have a MOB drunk in icy water. I have heard comments like "there is no god, i want to divorce, never again, that was a close one, i shouldn't have listened to you, i told you so , ... More less polites...
No wind,no waves, no current except this damned container ...
No wind,no waves, no current except this damned container ...
Isn't that why we maintain things? I certainly don't wait for 'rough seas and rough winds' to find that my gear isn't up to the conditions.