What Happened to the Wind?

[crazycarl]

We went out on the river with 5 to 10ph winds predicted.  The creek had a nice breeze coming down and we thought the wide open river would have more.  We got about 2 miles out the the completely disappeared.  The water was like glass and after waiting 30 minutes we fired up the iron wind and headed in.  Once under the bridge, again the creek had nice wind.

note:  on the way in, joanie was piloting the boat when she struck a dolphin.  she felt pretty bad, but it's not like she did it on porpoise.

[Cpy23ecl]

For years I had a slip that was approx 1/2 mile up the river from lake mi.  It was very common for me to see completely different wind conditions at the dock and in the channel than on the lake.  It always made me wonder how the wind could be that different in such a short distance apart.

Fred

[Jim in TC]

We have had similar experiences with a fickle wind. Furthermore, the forecasts for wind (which we follow closely for bike riding as well as sailing) seem to be even more difficult to get right than the rest of the weather.

[brackish]

Although it seems somewhat unlikely in your low country, where I sail on Bay Springs Lake the wind is affected by channeling.  The lake is a dammed section of the Tenn Tom and the reasonably high banks cause the wind to enter and "channel" in the directiion of the water flow. So If I see a wind forecast from NW to NE, I know the wind on the lake will be down lake, and if SW to SE it will be uplake.  Each finger in the lake has its on wind "channel" so when sailing on the main lake and passing a finger, there can be an immediate wind change, both direction and intensity but only until passing the finger.  Took a while to get used this having done most of my sailing on the open Gulf where forecasts have some validity for planning.  I miss those long reaches on the gulf where you can set and forget.

[Al]

Hi Carl,
  Same thing happened to me on Tues. PM, further up the Neuse.  When I crossed the river by car, it looked flat (my Bro., Capt. Ken, would have said, "it's flatter than a plate of piss").  When I got to the marina, Duck Creek, there was enough breeze from the north to make ripples in the fairway.  I thought it might be going  to be OK "out there".  Not so.
  I went out, it was flat again.  I didn't even put the sail up.  Just sat in the cockpit for an hr or more, making some eye splices as I drifted down river.  Ended up abt a mile downstream. 
  Today would have been OK I think, Sat. looks better, I'll go then.
Al

[crazycarl]

It is wild when we need to wait a week for the winds to become civilized, then days later there isn't enough wind to sail.

Another beautiful day today.  I put on my wetsuit and snorkeled around our cove.  The water is clear enough to see the bottom 4' down.  While down there I snapped some pictures of the hull and inspected the shaft and prop.  The hull looks good.
What little growth easily wiped off with my hand, but a spring haulout for a good scraping and repaint will be in order.  I removed the old port of call and boat name (Off the Wind) from the transom.  Tomorrow I'll move her to the next door neighbors dock where we will have power and he'll help with putting on the new name and home port lettering.  Sur La Mer.  French for "on the sea", also the name of a Moody Blues album.  By far my favorite group. 

I guess I need to brush up on the renaming ceremony to do things correctly.

[alsantini]

So this new boat was named Off The Wind?  Wow.  BTW Off The Wind is the name of my Eclipse, so she has been in good company.  Enjoy.    Al

[crazycarl]

Al,  I must have been tired or old age has crept in.  The boat was Second Wind.

[rogerschwake]

  Here I thought your boats name was Misbehaving. Could I be getting old too.

[kickingbug1]

no it was "miss adventure"

[kickingbug1]

chris' boat was second wind

[crazycarl]

Okay, I actually got to sleep before 2am last night so now I'm awake and at a full 37% capacity today.

Here goes...

Our little 15' boat is long summer daze, named after a Moody Blues song but spelled differently.  I've spent way too many hot afternoons in her waiting for the wind to pick back up.  Thus the "daze".

Our Compac 19 is Miss Adventure because too many times while out on her, what was an adventure became a mishap.

Our 30' boat was Second Wind, but I see too many boats named that, so I renamed her Sur La Mer.  The name is french and means "On the Sea".  It is also the name of a Moody Blues album.

While out walking docks and sailing, I've seen so many power boats named "Aquaholic" and sail boats named "Luna Sea" it makes me wonder if their owners ever had an original thought.  There are 3 sail boats named "Kiononia" on our creek.  Sorry Bob23.

I've even read in the Wednesday night race results a boat named "Miss Adventure", but ours has carried that name for 11 1/2 years so...

Well, with the help of our neighbor, the new name and port of call was installed today so now I'm perfectly legal.

[alsantini]

Glad you cleared that up.  So, I guess I still have the only Off The Wind on this board?  I had a Precision 18 that I named Clewless 2.  I loved the name until I had engine problems with NO wind.  As I picked up the HT and said "This is the sailboat Clewless 2 and I need a tow", I realized that anyone listening thought Clueless and said, "That figures, another clueless sailor needs help."   I sold the boat and named the next one (Precision 21) Off The Wind, which I figured sounded way better on VHF when calling for a tow.  LOL  Sail On,  Al

[crazycarl]

1 of my emails is haventaclew.

[Bob23]

Wow, 3 boats with the same name as mine? What are the odds!