The best way to read the breeze is first find the dark parts of the water. Once you can start reliably seeing the darker water on the race course, you need to be able to find the center of the puffs. You also need to know what kind of puffs they are.
Cat paw puffs usually come down over big hills, hit the water and scatter in different directions, which means that boats on either side get a lift, but the boat that it hits dead on is headed.
Geez - talk about too much information! It must be a guy thing. By the time you decifer what kind of puff you've got - cat's paw puffs, dog tail puff, goat's butt puff - you've lost half the fleet! DUDE - CHILL OUT! You definitely have too much time on your hands.
Here's my take on puffs - and it's much simpler. it's very easy to read a puff - especially on flat water. That guy was right about one thing - look for the dark water. Typically puffs are very systematic - depending on the wind direction and the geography of the closest land. For example: I sail much of the time on the Charles River, Boston, and in a west wind the puffs will rush down the river and bend perpendicular to the shoreline at certain stages. First look for the puff (dark water) then try to judge the angle by looking at the direction of the chop and which way the puff is travelling. Keep in mind that wind tends to bend perpendicular as it travels along land. Puffs do change shape from a blob (cat's paw?) to a crescent (Goat's butt!:mad)as they travel along the water. Stick with the cat's paw cause the goat's butt stinks! With all that said I think the most important thing is to look for areas of most pressure, especially on small courses such as we sail here in Boston.
Go get that puff girl!
Geez - talk about too much information! It must be a guy thing. By the time you decifer what kind of puff you've got - cat's paw puffs, dog tail puff, goat's butt puff - you've lost half the fleet! DUDE - CHILL OUT! You definitely have too much time on your hands.
You gotta sail on some lead mines to learn some stuff.
Puffs spreadout. Initially as the puff hits, the sides of the puffs are BOTH lifted tacks.
Hope that helps a few, Merrily, and happy frostbite sailing over there!
LooserLu