Wind speed

[RichardS]

To convert knots to Beaufort add 5 to the windspeed in knots, then divide by 5.

Beautiful - I've learned something new today.

And Sarabande's graph is also interesting - I'm on a roll!

Thank you

Richard

 

[prv]

Beaufort would just not cut it in the aviation world.

Good job they don't use it then, isn't it?

Pete

 

[Babylon]

agreed, Beaufort is an empirical scale. The science of anemometrics was not in existence to help Beaufort when he drew up his scale.

My pic plots Beaufort scale against wind pressure in N/Msq. I think the Admiral would have been pleased to see the resolution of a smooth curve against his ordinal list .

Sweet!

 

[Babylon]

I was just being a smart ass...

Beaufort was invented for old fashioned sailing...

What's new fashioned sailing, then?

 

[johnalison]

What's new fashioned sailing, then?

It's wot we do. If there's too little or too much wind, we motor. You need sophisticated instruments to make this decision.

 

[Blueboatman]

I actually quite like the vagueness of Bf scale cos it deduces usefully from the sale plan we carry at any given time/sea state/heading/current/sog/apparent wind.

Eg I 'know' I sail best to windward with a flattener reef when the apparent wind tops number 4 Bf.
When 6 rolls in the genoa loses me only .2kn and a flatter smoother ride, I can write 4-5 in the log, but coming off the wind, everything up again and I write 4 for the same wind that I have to work with to drive the boat.

I can quite see how aviation would be hopelessly unsafe with such vague crosswind numbers on landing.

 

[nigelmercier]

My pic plots Beaufort scale against wind pressure in N/Msq...

Is there something wrong with x-axis scale?

 

[Lakesailor]

Whilst I realise lake-sailing, without currents, is quite different, I find wind speed far better to judge how boisterous it will be.
Wind direction can produce white horses with a high f3 from the North, but none in a f5 from the South. From the West a sharp chop can build with an F4, but from the East you don't see any clues until it hits you.
Windspeed for me.

 

[Burnham Bob]

mnemonics are helpful......and this helps - the first number is beaufort, the second is mph and the third is knots and shows you where the beaufort forces start - at Force 1 and 2 they are the same

One is one and two is four and three is eight and seven
Moving up you’ll find force four is thirteen and eleven
Time to reef the wind will mean ‘cos
five is nineteen seventeen
but six means sailing’s through
at twenty five and twenty two

as you can see we don't sail in force 6 as we stay in the pub

 

[MoodySabre]

Something useful from PBO

 

[Lakesailor]

Accuweather has the scale at the bottom of the page

 

[nigelmercier]

[image snipped]

Cool, any chance of a high resolution version?

 

[onesea]

Beaufort was invented for old fashioned sailing and IMHO it should be in a museum and nowhere else.

Hmmm do not worry you will probably find its those of us who do not wear L/J as often as we should that like the old Beaufort as we can look at the sea and know what wind is there...

It's wot we do. If there's too little or too much wind, we motor. You need sophisticated instruments to make this decision.

Many a true word....

Thank you for all I get information in various speeds, I can never remember the exact numbers....

Its not unheard of me to write 20-25 knots and then describe as F5...

THe advantage of not having wind instruments on a sailing boat is when the wind pipes up a bit you can just say "No No that's only a F4 there are not that many white horses, its just the boats wash making the spray".

 

[Grumpybear]

I find it very useful. I know it's time to reef when the card slides off the chart table and into the tiny slot under the cover plate for the fridge compressor!

 

[LadyInBed]

Where is that on wind guru I have looked but couldn't find?

Where it says Wind speed (knots) keep clicking on the blue bit till it says Wind speed (Bft)

 

[LittleSister]

I have one of those, and I noticed that it doesn't seem to tally with other versions of the Beaufort Scale. I recall finding that one of the wind speed scales (can't remember which one now) didn't tally with my copy of Reeds, and I can't remember seeing Force 7 being named as a gale (albeit a 'Moderate' one!) anywhere else. Makes a good bookmark, though!

 

[Babylon]

I have one of those, and I noticed that it doesn't seem to tally with other versions of the Beaufort Scale. I recall finding that one of the wind speed scales (can't remember which one now) didn't tally with my copy of Reeds, and I can't remember seeing Force 7 being named as a gale (albeit a 'Moderate' one!) anywhere else. Makes a good bookmark, though!

If one's bookmarks blow away, then its time to put in a reef.

 

[Hadenough]

Where it says Wind speed (knots) keep clicking on the blue bit till it says Wind speed (Bft)

Sorted! Thanks.

 

[webcraft]

I never knew that! Seems to pretty much work too.

Cheers, Brian.

So 25 kts + 5 =30

divide by 5 = F6


10 kts +5 = 15

divide by 5 = F3


Yep, seems to work



- W

 

[Lakesailor]

Lee Ho!