Beaufort Scale for kayakers

The Beaufort Scale is is the international measure of wind at sea, where distances and speeds are usually measured by the nautical mile. One nautical mile per hour is called a knot. One knot is 1.85 kilometres per hour or 1.15 land miles per hour. The force of the wind increases as the square of its elocity, so each new step up on the Beaufort Scale is a whole new e!perience at sea. The pressure of the wind on you and your kayak increases proportionate to the square of wind speed so a wind of 1" knots is no bi# deal, but a wind of $" knots will test the quality of your paddle and spraydeck and could e en kill a kayaker whose ambitions #o beyond his e!perience. %owe er $" knot winds &Beaufort 'orce (, a near #ale) are unusual e en in winter. The best answer if your partner wants to #o kayakin# in a 'orce 8 is probably *Great, I'll try to take some pictures. Leave me the car keys.* Force 0. +alm. ,o wind. Sea like a mirror. ,o ice kayakers are ery happy with this e!citin# new e!perience. Force 1. -i#ht air. .ind speed 1/$ knots. 0ipples on water. Sailin# bboats don1t ha e enou#h wind to mo e. ,o ice kayakers are still happy.

Force 2. -i#ht bree2e. .ind speed 3/4 knots. Small #lassy wa elets. 5achts sail alon# ery #ently. Some ine!perienced kayakers may start to #et a little an!ious.

Force 3. 6entle bree2e. .ind speed (/1" knots. -ar#e wa elets, white crests be#in to form. Sailin# yachts make slow but steady pro#ress, water #ur#lin# alon# the side. 7f you are #oin# to windward, the wind will slow you down a little but intermediate kayakers are still happy.

Force 4. 8oderate bree2e. .ind speed 11/14 knots. 9t sea there are wa es 1 metre hi#h, some with the breakin# crests called whitecaps or white horses. :!perienced din#hy sailors ha e a #reat time. 5achtsmen start to #et a bu22 out of bein# at sea. Short sea trips are possible for intermediate kayakers but they may feel an!ious unless they1re near the beach or with a stron# #roup. .hen crossin# e!posed waters with the wind comin# from the side, a kayak without a ske# or rudder is likely to weathercock. ;robably there is #ood surf, but if the wind is blowin# onshore it will be #ettin# mushy. 9 stron# #roup

en<oyin# 'orce 3 conditions on a sunny day Force 5. 'resh bree2e. .ind speed 1(/=1 knots. 9shore, small trees in leaf be#in to sway, and on e!posed sites such as headlands and lon# beaches this is a noticeably windy day. On sheltered waters, e!perienced din#hy sailors are #oin# at top speed, hikin# out to the ma! or usin# the trape2e to keep the boat upri#ht. On the open sea, there are few small powerboats to be seen. Sailin# yachts find it wet #oin# to windward. They start takin# precautions and most of them head home. .a es may be = metres hi#h and there are many white horses. 7ntermediate kayakers stay in sheltered waters. On e!posed waters, e!perienced kayakers will be in a hi#h state of alertness, knowin# that there may be the occasional hea ier breakin# crest and that it would be difficult to carry out a deep/ water rescue. They will find it wet and hard work to #o upwind. Some kayaks will weathercock badly unless fitted with a ske# or rudder, makin# it difficult or impossible to keep it on course for more than $" minutes.

7f you stop and rest for a few minutes you will drift hundreds of yards downwind. Surf may be #ood, but it may be blown out and a waste of time. >nattended paddles roll off up the beach. Force 6. .ind speed ==/=( knots. 7n the countryside, lar#e tree branches are in motion. 7n the city, it is difficult to use an umbrella. 9t the beach, surf is probably blown out and unusable, and empty kayaks may roll away if left unattended on the firm sand down by the water. 9t sea there are lar#e wa es e erywhere, with continuous white horses. The Beaufort Scale was written for square/ri##ed sailin# ships which considered winds of this stren#th to be a *stron# bree2e* but this is a yachtsman1s #ale. The occasional stron#er #ust will be enou#h to flatten a small yacht. 9ny remainin# yachts and small powerboats head for home. Short sea trips are possible for e!pert sea kayakers, who will find that three miles directly into wind and wa es is more than enou#h. 6oin# downwind is a fun slei#h/ride for e!perts. ?eep/ water rescues are now difficult, so if you can1t roll your kayak e ery time maybe you should not be out. Towin# a casualty is also difficult e en for e!perts. 7f you #et into difficulty and call the lifeboat, flyin# spray and rou#h conditions may make it difficult for the lifeboat to see you. Force 7. ,ear #ale. .ind speed =8/$$ knots. On land, whole trees are in motion. .hen you walk upwind, the stren#th of the wind is an incon enience. On the open sea there are lar#e wa es, but surf is blown out. :mpty kayaks can roll up a hard sand beach as fast as you can run. Some ferry ser ices are cancelled. 9ny yachtsmen still at sea are thinkin# seriously about their options. They ha e two reefs in, they1 e secured all loose ob<ects and sealed the entilators. The person at the helm probably e!pects to be replaced e ery thirty minutes. 9 sea kayaker on e!posed waters in 'orce ( or abo e is likely to be in real trouble. : en top e!perts are approachin# the limit.

Force 8. 6ale. .ind speed $3/3" knots. 9shore, the wind breaks twi#s off trees and makes life difficult for people on foot. Some dama#e to property is likely. On e!posed campsites some tents are blown down. 9t sea, isibility is obscured by flyin# spray. :!cept in the most sheltered water there are lar#e breakin# wa es. On sheltered water, a kayak #oin# upwind will come to a halt between each paddle stroke and the ne!t. 5achtsmen hea e to rather than try to sail upwind. 7f they1re near a lee shore they #et on the @%' radio to the +oast#uard. ,ewspapers report dramatic lifeboat rescues. 8uch commercial shippin# is at anchor in sheltered waters.

Force 9. Se ere #ale. Some dama#e to buildin#s. Slates blow off roofs. Force 10. Storm. .ind this stron# is seldom e!perienced on land. Some trees are broken or uprooted. There is considerable dama#e to buildin#s. Force 11. @iolent storm. Force 12. %urricane.

The wa es described abo e are those which would de elop on the open sea when the wind has been blowin# consistently for some time. 7n sheltered waters there may be no si#nificant wa es until 'orce 5 or e en 'orce 4.

Leeway
The word leeway usually refers to a boat driftin# sideways, blown by a side wind, so that its actual course is &say) 1" de#rees from its headin#. 9ny boat or e en ship will make leeway when there1s wind from the side. 9 kayak drifts fast because it is ery li#ht and doesn1t ha e much to #rip the water. 9 'orce 3 wind can blow a stationary kayak sideways at 1 to 1.5 knots. The practical solution if you1re na i#atin# in open water is to keep an eye on your destination usin# transits, and ferry #lide strai#ht there. 7f you1re a serious kayak na i#ator and you can1t see your destination, you could recalculate to make allowance for it / if you knew how much leeway you were actually makin#. >nless you ha e 6;S, any estimate of leeway is #oin# to be ery appro!imate. 6ordon Brown in his book Sea Kayak &;esda ;ress, =""4) tells how he and a friend were hit by a powerful squall between 7slay and Aura, and they could only put their heads down and wait. They started almost alon#side but when the first #ust subsided it left them more than 5"" metres apart. ?ifferent kayaks, different drift. The leeway of any particular combination of kayak, kayaker and paddle depends onB C the amount abo e the surface to catch the wind C the amount beneath the surface to resist sideways motion 3

C the total wei#ht of the laden kayak C the hull shape &does a hard chine hull resist leeway better than a round underwater shapeD) C the sea state C how much your own personal autopilot corrects your course for wind and wa es by unconsciously paddlin# harder on the downwind side. That1s likely to be the bi##est factor. .e can make some attempt at calculatin# the amount of force that the wind e!erts on a kayaker. The .eather Station of the >ni ersity of Susse! has an online a table showin# the wind pressure which e!ists on a flat ertical surface in winds of different forces on the Beaufort Scale. +lick here to iew. The kayaker in this dia#ram is o erlaid with a 1" cm #rid. +ount the squares. .e make it 115, so 1.15 square metres. The table indicates that a 'orce 5 wind blowin# from the side would e!ert a constant force of at least 8 k#. That is a lot, and it must mean a fairly rapid sideways drift.

9 kayaker can apply a force of 14 k# or more with his Eher paddle but you don1t normally apply a force of more than 4 k# to paddle forwards. 8aybe now you1 e #ot a force of 8 k# that1s tryin# to push you somewhere you don1t want to #o. Of course, the only reason the kayaker in the dia#ram is a flat ertical surface is that he1s not real. %e1s <ust a two/dimensional profile, but wind resistance is really about three dimensional shapes which are more or less streamlined. 9 lar#e but streamlined ob<ect such as a 4/metre lon# aircraft win# can ha e the same wind resistance as a 4/metre lon# rod which is only the thickness of a fin#er. The shape of the rod creates a lot of turbulence. +ompare these hypnotic 5ouTube ideos of hi#h and low 0eynolds number flow o er a win# and a rod. 9 kayak is a streamlined shape, but when you add a kayaker and a paddle the complete packa#e is not streamlined at all. Try holdin# your paddle up in the air the ne!t time you1re in a 'orce 5 or 4. 5ou can really feel the wind #rab hold of it. 7n a 'orce 5 side wind some kayak F kayaker F paddle packa#es will drift sideways at walkin# pace. 7f your kayak has hi#h olumeG or there is clutter on the deck such as a deck ba#, fishin# equipment and a helmet you are not usin#G or your paddle is lon#er than necessary, you will find the wind is more of a problem than if you are in a low olume kayak and ha e a streamlined profile. 8ost sea kayaks weathercock in hi#h winds. They constantly turn to windward. 9 lot of sea kayaks are fitted with a ske# or rudder to pre ent this. 5ou1 e also #ot wind/#enerated wa es to think about. : en if you1re in a well/desi#ned sea kayak, control starts to become an issue in hi#h winds, so you1re not likely to be doin# any fancy na i#ation, but it1s still worth thinkin# about leeway. 9nother factor in na i#ation is wind/induced current. 9 wind which blows continuously for se eral days o er open water will create a surface current of up to =H the speed of the wind. So a 'orce 5 wind may create a surface current of up to ".3= knots.