Gust or Brezze

Hi All,

Just got my first ever boat. I am 44yo and a heavy sailor so after lots of research and asking questions on here I got a phantom. So I want to start of by going in a F3 or preferably lower, so do I work on the breeze or the gusts for working out the force? Any debates or factual answers would be much appreciated.

Grant

Yes, very good googling mate, but that's not the question he asked...

I think when deciding whether to stay on the beach or not you have to consider both the regular breeze and the gusts (and, if at sea, also the sea state).

Typically yes, if people say F3 they mean average F3, not gust strength, but actually how hard and fast the gusts are coming on is a bigger issue than the base wind strength. Its easier to sail in a steady F5 then in F1 gusting 4. And I also reckon that you can handle an extra wind force (at least) on flat water as opposed to serious waves.

So if you're not sure about the conditions, try and get high enough where you can get a decent look at the water and see the dark patterns from gust fronts. If they look big and dark and evil, and especially if they seem to be coming from varying directions then use a lot more discretion than if the wind is reasonably steady.

A F3 in a Phantom is still a pretty powerful breeze

Edited by JimC - 30 Jul 15 at 11:05pm

Wind finder is quite a good tool since it gives wind speed and gusts forecasts.  This gives you an idea as to how stable the wind forecast is.

If you are sailing from a sailing club, check to see if it has an anemometer that should give you a rough idea of the wind strength. A good one will record gust strength too. You can also buy a hand-held one for around £15 (Google it) but again probably not v accurate.

Windguru is another good website www.windguru.cz - you can choose between miles per hour and knots in the options.
Being heavy like us you'll find light wind (below about 7 mph) an absolute pain so try to pick days with about 8-15 mph windspeed and gusts of very little more - it's the difference between wind speed and gust speed that causes problems - more difference, more problems.
On flat water you can watch gusts coming across - try standing on shore on a windy day and watching the water surface for practice and see just where those gusts are going and how they bend with the shape of the lake.
Also for starters go out when there is a safety boat on duty and others to help you. Once you get going a bit, join the racing as having to sail a specific course is much better training than just going where you fancy and also everyone knows where you are headed so you aren't just a randomly moving obstruction to racing.

Edited by patj - 01 Aug 15 at 7:15am