Chesapeake Bay Winds

[tmw]

The forecast (per Windy) for the next few days is that the winds are stronger in evening/overnight/morning, and relax around noon / early afternoon.  Is that a normal pattern for this time of year on the Chesapeake Bay? 
[My landlubber experience inland is more of winds settling down in the evenings.]



Thanks,
TMW

[tmw]

Or, here is a link that may show what I'm talking about, not sure if it updates:
Wind forecast for United States - Knapps Narrows
https://windy.app.link/XcGp296RPD

[HeaveToo]

If you see a mid-day relaxing of the winds it often means a change of direction.  As a rule of thumb in the Chesapeake the winds blow from the North West or the South East.  North West after a front, a lot of the time, and before the Front they are out of the South East.  Of course the wind tends to vary and you see all other directions of winds but count on some sort of North wind when the front has passed. 

[Jon898]

Also remember the effect of the sea breeze/land breeze.  As the day heats the land, the winds will tend towards it and since the Chesapeake is surrounded by land, that will make prediction of strength and direction different depending on where you are.  So mid-bay will be different from, say Knapps Narrows as the latter is squeezed between the Eastern Shore and Kent Island.  The old mantra of Sun Down - Wind Down probably does not take into account the effect of complex land masses.

I used to sail on the Chester River out of Long Cove and the winds were always "interesting" (and often completely the reverse of what "Mechanical Mike" was broadcasting on NOAA radio).

Jon

[tmw]

Yeah, that sun down, wind down thing doesn't seem to work here.  The forecast seemed relatively accurate, as winds practically died around 2 PM, although the trolling motor helped us get back, with probably less stress than a heavy wind.

Thanks for the thoughts on this.
Tmw

[Mas]

Well TMW, ya know the deal on the wind, it is consistently inconsistent. It is what makes our cruising grounds so special! No trade winds here.

In all seriousness, the winds this year have been, imho, particularly interesting. A couple weeks ago the forecast each day was light and variable with sea states smooth as glass in the early AM and by 2 to 4 had built to a respectable level but have learned to not get excited as by sunset they had died. This is a typical summer pattern when the land/sea breeze already mentioned kicks in. The challenge is the days like you recently experienced which almost seemed reversed from this. Guess it just makes us better sailors right!?