reading the wind

D

David1st

New Member
I have been reading alot this winter about racing sail boats and getting around the course faster than the rest of the fleet!!! one of the ways to do this is being able to read the wind ahead of time. Doing your home work ahead of the race,and being able to forcast ahead of time where and when the wind will back or veer!!! Where there will be a persistant shift is also disscused in this book!!! It talked about not tacking in a header if you have predicted a favorable shift!!! This sounds like a lot of voodo to me!!! How often is this guess work accurate??? Do I have to become a meterologist to race competivly? Can't you see the wind changing during a race and adjust accordingly??
 
Sailing thru a small knock to get to more wind or a bigger lift works for me. I'm guessing you don't sail on a small lake.
 
I do sail on a seven or eight mile lake!!! And yes I do sail on in a header when I can actually see somthing happening out there, but how in the world can it be predicted before hand is my question and how successfullyl can it be predicted? By the way I have never sailed on the ocean yet, but wind seems harder to see coming on the ocean, especially without sun glasses!!! Can wind shifts be predicted before a race succefully and what are the percentages of this guess work being correct!!!??? Can I gamble on the percentages?
 
Sorry about getting anyone nervous with my "!",but I do get exceited about this stuff. I would sincerly like an explanation. { Pun intended} But It just dawned on me why some one might not want to explain on this forum.It might take a really brave man to admit how often he is wrong, and that to competition, therefor I will humbly withdraw my question. I guess there are somthings you just have to learn by experience. Ya, Zenpirate I guess I do get a little impulsive, with my questions"!"
 
When this questions was first posed I was going to reply, but because so much depends on the where or when you are sailing I think it is hard to offer 'general' advice. If one remembers the last America's Cup, it was obvious that wind shifts were expected, and one side of the course was predicted to be favored. Even with all the resources the shifts did not materalize at times. I think, with large bodies of water the wind can be more predictable to shift. I sail on a bay off Lake Ontario and I have seen 180 degree shifts when a sea breeze comes in. In my earlier sailing days I sailed on a small lake, and the major shifts were not as common and you had to worry more about a change in wind direction around points and islands. (Where I sail now, with a west wind, there is no wind along the west shore) So I would say, if you are sailing on a small body of water, sail often and note where the wind is deflected by points, islands and hills (or even man made structures). On unfamiliar waters, get out early and sail around the course and note changes. Certainly, on waters that are influenced by tides you have to account for that. No wind will be constant, remain alert for the lifts and play them. To get information about a specific body of water, as the locals and observe what they are doing. Experience on your local lake will provide the best answers. If you know a front will be coming through, see how the wind is affected. I don't think people are avoiding the subject,it is just to hard to make generalizations.
 
Ok, just go easy on the Red Bull with espresso. I might be nervous as well if you race a fish like you type in forums -jacked up on 2000mg of Starbucks. Heh heh. Just kidding - enthusiasm is good, however if I ever race against you I'll be sure to bring my extra heavy duty mil-spec rubrail. On a less ridiculous note, I'm far, far from a sailing expert but the questions you ask happen to be some of the most appealing fundamental aspects of sailboat racing and sailing in general, the minutiae of which can be endlessly debated over many hours not to mention martinis. I think weather knowledge can be crucial, as can soundly controlled boathandling, fitness level, body type, boat condition, etc. Predicting weather? It's an art and a science. It's one of those things that takes at least 10 lifetimes to almost master, so to speak. Weatherfax type maps and upper atmosphere conditions from NOAA NWS (U.S.) are useful to get a general picture, followed by gradual microanalysis to the race course with a stopwatch and a compass to see if the windshifts occur with any regularish frequency and/or bearing. Of course, you can always just go out and wing it. Whether you are generally a pincher or a footer is also important for your tactics re windshifts. I could go on and on but I won't because I don't have a martini in front of me.
 
Ya my friend Dave Thompson used to tell me to breath!!! Fullkeesls what a refreshing and informative piece of information you sent me. Have got to slow down on the "!" I have been told over and over that I am way too competitive,but have managed not to hit another sunfish yet. Though I got sucked in on the draft of a bigger boat more than once. But back to the subject at hand, it is as I suspected mostly guess work, which is often wrong. We have only three sunfish in our fleet of thirty odd boats. And most of the fleet just knock on headers and if there is a wind shift visably coming, sail on in a header. Scap114 thanks for answering my post and the advise and reminder about the americas cup race. When you are right you win big though.
 
At my low skill level I find that I'm usually to busy sailing the boat to watch those things to much. So my thoughts are to see if you can get someone in a power boat to follow you ,far enough back,with a video camera to record your actions and the surface of the water. That way you can watch with a better perspective of things at a later date. After doing this a few times you might start to see if anything you change helps or not. Just my $.02, and that's probably more than what it's worth.
 
aa.aunins, I don'care where I get sound advise from, what you may lack in skill, you will make up in wisdom. Thanks
 
David1st, You sail in a 'mixed fleet". Are you sailing against the whole fleet, or just the Sunfish in the fleet. One Design racing and Handicap Racing ( Mixed Fleet) can call for different tactics. I sailed a Comet in a mixed (Handicap) fleet where we corrected times with Portsmouth ratings. When I sailed my Sunfish with friends and we raced, I would approach it differently. In a mixed fleet I found the most important thing is to keep yourself in 'clean air'. Sometimes if the fleet heads to a puff and they are all in 'dirty air' you can do better with less air, if you are not being covered or backwinded.
 
yes, I sail in a mixed fleet, with 3 different classes racing. A- class big boats and A-racer, B-dingy, with some of the dingies in racer class also. I am racing just against the sunfish and other non-racer dingys. I get to go 5min. and 21 sec. after the start to allow for the only super porpoise to go first and she is really tuff to beat. Being inexperienced I used to follow my friend who could really read the wind. But being a follower didn't teach me how it was done. And since my friend died, so did my wind experience. I thought last year would be my year to come in first and not second behind my friend, "wrong"! The competition was a better reader of the wind than me and my better boat handeling and boat speed were not enough. Scap114 thanks for the air advise, I need all the help I can get.
 
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