Sail-World.com : PredictWind: Mixed bag of breeze for Day 2 of Skandia Sail for Gold
PredictWind: Mixed bag of breeze for Day 2 of Skandia Sail for Gold
'Courses 2010 Skandia Sail for Gold Regatta'
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PredictWind.com is forecasting a mixed bag of breezes for the second day of the Skandia Sail for Gold Regatta, being sailed at the 2012 Olympic venue.
Just under 1,000 sailors representing 57 nations are competing in 10 classes in the Skandia Sail for Gold Regatta when it gets underway off Weymouth UK, today.
According to PredictWind the competitors will experience a mix of breezes today with the winds being light for the morning and then changing direction as the strong sea breeze comes in for the afternoon.
If conditions yesterday were described as being difficult for the sailors then today's prognosis would seem to be much worse.
As can be seen from the wind strengths and directions in the top four rows of the above chart there is a real discrepancy between the two feeds used by Predictwind to make its prognosis. This indicates that there is a degree of uncertainty of what exactly is going to happen and when.
Both indicate a period of shifting breeze between 0900 and 1200hrs, with it then settling down into a West or SW direction for the afternoon.
There is marked discrepancy in the windstrengths which PredictWind resolves in the charts below and makes an allowance for the topography of the race area to make the predictions which are shown in the three charts below taken at 1000hrs , 1200hrs and 1400hrs.
Throughout the day the wave direction will be constant but initially in the morning at a different direction to the wind before the breeze builds.
The green dot in the images below indicates the wind location at which PredictWind has been set, this point can be compared with the course diagram location at the top of the story. The predictions are radiused from this point over an 8km area.
In the chart above we can see winds of just five knots average prevailing at 1000hrs with the first sniff of an increase of five knots coming in from offshore. The wind would seem to be steady in direction, but given the light strength this is probably not a realistic expectation and racing is unlikely in this period.
In the chart above shot at 1200hrs we can see the breezes increasing in strength going from 5kts to 20kts plus offshore, accompanied by some quite marked changes in direction at this time along with the increase in strength.
In the chart above shot at 1400hrs, Predict Wind expects the breeze to have settled in direction and with a consistent strength of around 20-25 kts average. Given the variance in the feeds in the top charts, one would have to question the certainty of this prognosis.
The other point worth noting from the top chart is the wave height which is shown at 4ft at a period of 4secs between wave peaks, which is relatively short, making for difficult sailing conditions.
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It's ideal for anything you want to know wind an weather conditions up to a week or so in advance.
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Read the testimonies from the top sailors around the world who rely on PredictWind to win races, and see the different uses for PredictWind on www.predictwind.com
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