Weather for the weekend

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robertt

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I'm absolutely desperate to go sailing this weekend but the weather looks dicey.
Have been planning a trip with friends for ages and everyone is available this weekend but why is it that the weather always spoils our plans?
I was just planning a short jaunt from Troon up to Rothesay for an overnighter then round the Kyles of Bute back to Troon next day
XC Weather says F 5 gusting 7 or 8 on Sat and much rain
Sunday looks very slightly less bad
My friends have never sailed before and I don't want to take them out in poor conditions and put them off coming back
I have had my boat for 3 years and have sailed in mostly benign conditions so I am not particularly experienced or confident if conditions are poor
Would others go for it in this weather?
I'm desperately hoping the forecast will improve but am afraid my dogged determination to go will result in a poor decision
 
No. But I'm a coward.

Anything above f6 forecast and I don't go. That doesn't mean I've never experienced worse, just I don't go looking for it.

I wouldn't take novices out above f4/5 max.
 
robertt said:
XC Weather says F 5 gusting 7 or 8 on Sat and much rain
Sunday looks very slightly less bad
My friends have never sailed before and I don't want to take them out in poor conditions and put them off coming back
I have had my boat for 3 years and have sailed in mostly benign conditions so I am not particularly experienced or confident if conditions are poor
Would others go for it in this weather?
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Given your crew profile I would have to say no to your question.
 
Just checked Windguru which has it gusting 35kts on Saturday and 34kts Sunday. And that could well be accelerated by the impact of local topography. I fear you'd never see your non-sailing friends again!
 
robertt said:
Thanks Phil, is that f6 in the gusts?
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If there is a f6 in the forecast I think twice. If I have a strong or experienced crew with me and we are off racing (happens very occasionally) then I would happily go. Single handed in F6 with the chance of it rising, then no thank you.
 
I don't think it is the chance of putting someone inexperienced off sailing that would deter me so much as their safety, and my responsibility for them.
 
robertt said:
I'm absolutely desperate to go sailing this weekend but the weather looks dicey.
Have been planning a trip with friends for ages and everyone is available this weekend but why is it that the weather always spoils our plans?
I was just planning a short jaunt from Troon up to Rothesay for an overnighter then round the Kyles of Bute back to Troon next day
XC Weather says F 5 gusting 7 or 8 on Sat and much rain
Sunday looks very slightly less bad
My friends have never sailed before and I don't want to take them out in poor conditions and put them off coming back
I have had my boat for 3 years and have sailed in mostly benign conditions so I am not particularly experienced or confident if conditions are poor
Would others go for it in this weather?
I'm desperately hoping the forecast will improve but am afraid my dogged determination to go will result in a poor decision
Click to expand...

Bugger! I was thinking you were somewhere down south and worried about a F4 with puffs. Then I'm in the area and asking the same sort of question.

Sadly XC has been consistently much better than the Met Office in this area since we left Holyhead and a while before that.

Refused to take my enthusiastic crew out of Holyhead and was vindicated by being bashed about on the pontoon.

Stick with your decision, eventually the crew will respect you and go anywhere with you.

Also you do not need to go out and risk something breaking and then expecting others to come in their big orange boat to get you out of the 'do-do'

Me i'm in Girvan and wondering about a quick dash to Troon. For weeks the wind has been out of the south and not worth measuring. And now? Do I want to bang into a F7 ? Maybe not.

On the other hand it could all be quite bearable,
 
Would I take a boat out single handed in those conditions? - Yes.
Would I take a boat out with experienced crew in those conditions. - Absolutely
Would I take same boat out with first time crew? - Not a chance.
The additional work load alone dealing with the crew would push it beyond what I would consider safe before you add in putting them off for life. Dealing with crew who don't know how to / have no feel for moving around a boat will require you to watch them constantly. Add in significant possibility of sea sickness and the crew become a major liability.
 
robertt said:
I was just planning a short jaunt from Troon up to Rothesay for an overnighter then round the Kyles of Bute back to Troon next day
XC Weather says F 5 gusting 7 or 8 on Sat and much rain
Sunday looks very slightly less bad

Would others go for it in this weather?
Click to expand...

As someone based in Port Bannatyne ... no, I would not. All southerlies, I see, so you'd have a wild but probably enjoyable sleigh ride up to the north of Bute, but the journey back would be horrible. Why not invite your friends to stay on the boat and do an expedition by road to the Scottish Maritime Museum in Irvine. Non-sailors often enjoy the experience of staying on board almost as much as sailing.
 
Thanks to all who helped me to make the right decision. I have pulled the plug. Hopefully we will get another chance in better conditions! Discretion .. mumble ..mumble .. valour and all that
 
robertt said:
Thanks to all who helped me to make the right decision. I have pulled the plug. Hopefully we will get another chance in better conditions! Discretion .. mumble ..mumble .. valour and all that
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Good call. Well done that man. Horrid isn't it, but that's all part of being the skipper.
 
robertt said:
Thanks to all who helped me to make the right decision. I have pulled the plug. Hopefully we will get another chance in better conditions! Discretion .. mumble ..mumble .. valour and all that
Click to expand...

There is an old saying in the gliding world, easily adaptable to sailing: "It's much better to be down here wishing you were up there than to be up there wishing you were down here."
 
For what it's worth we are in exactly the same position, non-sailing friends flown up from the south for the weekend and we are in James Watt Dock, on the Clyde, with a forecast for 35kt gusts. So we've pulled the plug too. Damn. Still, Mrs May has bigger issues to worry about!
 
Robih said:
For what it's worth we are in exactly the same position, non-sailing friends flown up from the south for the weekend and we are in James Watt Dock, on the Clyde, with a forecast for 35kt gusts. So we've pulled the plug too. Damn. Still, Mrs May has bigger issues to worry about!
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In my role as self-appointed Clyde tourist office, I suggest you have a wee jaunt north to see the Maid of the Loch at Balloch, perhaps combined with the Testing Tank at Dumbarton.
 
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