Sea Breezes

[NDG]

Anyone know much about sea breezes? When can you predict with any accuracy when there might be one?

I understand the mechanics of how they work and that they generally occur with hot settled weather, usually in hi pressures. However, whenever I have gone out in a Force zero with the confident prediction "that there will be a nice sea breeze after lunch", it has often stayed windless all day!! Equally, they sometimes seem to happen when you might not expect it.

Any experts out there know if there is a good way to predict them, other than by hoping there might be one whenever its hot, sunny and windless? More to the point will there be one in the Solent this Sunday...?

Nick

 

[Evadne]

Not sure about predicting them in advance, as cloud cover is a big factor (heating up the land), but a light offshore breeze helps set them up, as does an onshore breeze to a lesser extent. On that basis Saturday looks a likely candidate here on the South coast. And I have noticed that while there's always one off Chichester harbour it can be quite calm inside the Solent proper, I think the Isle of Wight gets in the way of things.

 

[jamesjermain]

The sea breeze effect in the SOlent can be quite striking. The geography of the area tends so suck the wind in from both ends towards the centre. This can lead to the weird spectacle of two racing fleets approaching each other, both under spinnaker.

Often the fleets can get within yards of each other, and even overlap, before both lose the wind altogether. The calm is usually followed by a strong SSW sea breeze throughout the Solent which last until the early evening

 

[Cornishman]

Dunno about foreign lands, but in Cornwall a sea breeze often challenges the gradient wind i.e. a sea breeze can be cancelled out by a true northerly along the south coast and the sea breeze will reinforce the northerly along the north coast. Gets a bit confusing around Land's End, tho'.

 

[tome]

I've observed this several times during Cowes week over the years. Very odd to see 2 fleets of spinnakers converging

There's often a useful sea breeze close in between St Catherines and Bembridge hot afternoons

 

[Puffin_Billy]

A good indicator of a the onset of a sea breeze is to look over the land where cloud will be "bubbling up" over the heating land.

 

[Evadne]

It happens further east as well. On one memorable occaision we set off with a duff engine for Weymouth, forecast was N-NE F4-5, occ. 6. We drifted around as far as Kimmeridge bay in a flat calm as the sea breeze knocked the gradient wind flat, then the tide turned and we drifted back. The engine worked long enough to get us to anchor in Swanage bay, which is sheltered from all directions but the N and E. Then the sea breeze died and the real wind came back, NE F4-5. One of the most uncomfortable nights I've spent at anchor, or ever hope to.

 

[DJE]

[ QUOTE ]
I've observed this several times during Cowes week over the years. Very odd to see 2 fleets of spinnakers converging

[/ QUOTE ] When you see that look up above the point where they meet. You'll see all the gliders from Lee on Solent circling in the lift!