Developing a Sense of Weather

By Ian Savidge 

Before leaving the dock a good skipper will ask his/her crew for a summary of the weather 

posted on the bulletin board at the club. On a surprising number of times, you may be met by 

silence or slightly embarrassed stares from the crew, when they find themselves admitting 

that they don’t know - often they think that that is being looked after by the skipper or 

instructor. Happily, on other occasions the crew will be able to give an accurate recital of 

the weather information posted. 

However, when asked to interpret the weather information and describe how it might affect your outing, the 

skipper may be back to the blank stares, because the crew has not got into the habit of translating the information 

into a practical weather sense. For instance, they may be able to tell you that the wind is 15 knots from the West 

and gusting to 18, but they may not know where West actually is, in relation to the club. Without that 

knowledge, they cannot deduce that since a Westerly wind blows from the land to the water, the water outside 

the bay will probably be smooth, because it is sheltered by the land. And they may not have figured out that 

sailing away from shore will be very easy, but coming back could be a hard slog to windward. Which in turn 

raises the question of sails - sailing out on a full main and genoa should be easy, but coming back may be 

tougher, particularly if the wind is rising – are you and they ready for reefing, or for doing a head-sail change? If 

not, you may want to play safe and go out on a reefed main and smaller jib. Are you and they comfortable with 

heaving-to? 

Conversely a strong easterly wind is likely to bring much larger and choppier waves, since it will have traveled 

many miles over open water, so you can anticipate a rougher ride, and you therefore might want to check 

whether any of your crew should be taking Gravol before you set out. Also, with an easterly wind you will want 

to avoid raising or dousing your sails close to land, since you could be in a dangerous lee-shore position. 

A sense for weather is hard to develop without first developing a sense of direction. If you are not sure where 

North is, in relation to the club, just face towards the left side of the clubhouse from the end of the boardwalk, 

and you will be facing almost due North. And before a boat leaves the dock, every person should make it their 

responsibility to have read the weather bulletin board, and to have taken the time to translate that information 

into a practical awareness of where the weather is coming from, and in how it will affect you, in terms of sailing 

conditions, choice of sails and choice of destination. And as skipper you should be happy, because who knows 

when it might be your weather-savvy crew who bring you back safely to shore. 

 Last reviewed on February 19, 2008.dc 

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