The winds here do play a significant role in the direction of steering (rarely let the sheets out unless in significantly gusting winds). As we progress down the narrow fjords the winds can change as you pass various valleys and geographic features. You can have a south wind blowing at 15-20knts then as you approach a side valley the winds can shift from dead south to dead west or east in a matter of seconds and not change velocity, increase significantly or drop right off. This works in my favour most times as the winds shift westward or easterly I just steer further south and get on a beam reach and make more headway but this usually doesn't last long (10-15 min) and soon we're back tacking up the channel.DaveC426913 wrote:It is possible that your local weather plays a part. If you routinely have medium, steady winds, you might not encounter the same weather.BOAT wrote:Ixneigh wrote: I think I must be a lousy sailor - I don't do a lot of the stuff I read about here.
I do not sit in the cockpit with the main-sheet in my hand - every-time I hear that I scratch my head, but I don't say anything because I don't want to look stupid. I have never done that in all my years except in a dingy or race. I pick a bearing and then set the sails for that bearing and then walk away! .
For example, I sail off the shore of a big city, which breathes in and out as the day progresses, making for shifty winds and sometimes strong gusts, and there's a long lake in the direction of our prevailing weather, allowing both winds and waves to build substantially.
I’ve been on a run / broad reach heading north and watched another boat coming at me dead ahead a couple miles out with his sails wing on wing (approaching me just to be clear). The valley to his stern (westerly) was pushing out a 10knt wind giving him a south x southeast downwind heading; while the southerly winds were pushing us with a northerly heading. In those lighter winds they tend to get confused and sails luff for a few minutes before they change. I watched him loose power and sails luffing in the middle of the canal and try to figure out where the wind was going to come from next. A few weeks back two other boats came out to join us in front of Haines AK. At any given point one boat had wind (10knts) and the other two were dead in the water. This went around and around for a couple of hours, no one could catch a break.
We’ve come to treat the winds like a river. With our predominant southerly summer winds flowing down the fjords and narrow channels if you get to close to sidewalls or bays you get confused wind that acts like an eddies on a river, same goes for these side ‘streams’ flowing in from valleys. I do envy those who get to sail the trade winds. Once day
On a sheet release, it is usually blowing at higher speeds (20-25knts) and you can get serious downdrafts come off the peaks (6000ft+ on a 1-2mn wide fjord) and gust upwards of 35knts from a different direction you're sails are set to without much warning; this is more just to stop things from being thrown around down below.