Instant Wind Forcasting

Instant Wind Forecasting is a book that prompts questions - and provides some answers - as to what the wind may do in different circumstances. It does not pretend to cover all situations - if such a book could be written it would be vastly bigger than this - but I hope that it will help many people who need a deeper insight into the way the wind behaves than is provided by weather forecasts.

CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION
HOW TO USE THIS BOOK
WINDS AND PRESSURE
Basic facts about sailing winds
How to judge wind speed
What winds do
Local or coastal winds
Beaufort's Scale of wind speed
How to make a reliable wind assessment
Are you clear of obstructions to the wind?
Mean wind
How strong is the wind at sea?
How strong are the gusts?
How high are the waves at sea?
WIND SHIFTS OF POOR WEATHER
Cyclonic winds
How to recognise the approach of cyclonic weather
Forecast or actual weather
Will there be a permanent wind shift?
Will there be a big blow?
LOCAL WINDS
About local winds
Wind zones of the coast
The winds day
About the sea breeze
Sea breeze effects to seaward
Windshift events of the typical sea breeze day
Wind from the land
Wind along the coast
Will there be a sea breeze?
When to expect a sea breeze windshift
- Morning wind blowing from the land
Time by which sea breeze should have occurred
Recognising the coming breeze
Landward zones
Seaward zones
Will there be a nocturnal wind?
Where will there be local wind shifts?
The Mediterranean
Regional winds of the Mediterranean
Micro wind shifts: the quality of the wind
Wind quality
Scale of variability
Recognising and using the normal tactical airstream
What anemograms tell us
Recognising and using the abnormal tactical airstream
DAYS WITH RECOGNISABLE WIND PATTERNS
Zones to seaward of main coastline
Fair weather - cumulus clouds
Big cumulus, cumulonimbus and showers
Warm days - perhaps thundery
Zones to seaward and landward of main coastline
Increasing high cloud and backing winds
Zones to landward of main coastline
Fair weather - cumulus clouds
Big cumulus, cumulonimbus and showers
Warm days - perhaps thundery
FRONTAL WAVE PATTERNS
Mini depressions
Waves on fronts TOO
INLAND SAILING
Lakes, reservoirs and other bodies of
inland water
Mountain lakes, tarns etc
Winds of the Great Lakes
Will there be a lake breeze?
What is the lake breeze season?
What is the likely direction over the lake?
HAVE YOU CONSIDERED... ?
Hints on pre-race planning
Race planning for restricted waters