Most wind to date: 55k southwester. Double reefed main, reefed staysail,
beam reach, boom dragging in the water. Euphoria. In a Westsail 32. (Wet,
all right, but no snail that time.)


"Roger Long" wrote in message
...
With all the recent discussion about wind and wave estimates, I have to
pass along this experience.

It's blowing hard here in Maine today. I went out to the airport to check
my plane and was glad I did. The cabin cover had come loose and was
beating against the sides. The heavy, insulated engine cover had blown
right over the nose and let the oil door pop open. The plane had walked
forward even though chocked. Pushing it back against the wind took real
effort. When the tie downs slacked as I pushed it back, the plane started
dancing and bouncing hard against the ropes. I put a second tie down rope
on the tail and noticed that just the distraction of the wind in my face
made it hard to untangle the line and tie a knot as efficiently as normal.

It was pretty sobering to watch the control surfaces slating and moving
even though they are all secured with gust locks. The tie down area
sounded like a bunch of elves were banging tin cans flat as the rudders of
the many planes with casual owners slammed back and forth in the wind. As
I walked back, the wind was strong enough that I had to lean forward
slightly and push against it. I realized that I will be sailing again in a
few short months and thought, Wow! This was all happening on firm, solid,
asphalt.

When I got back inside, I got out my cell phone and dialed the weather
number in the control tower. "22 gusting to 32" and this is measured 50 to
60 feet up in the clear air above the wind gradient. I'll bet there are a
lot of sailors, probably some in this newsgroup, who have never seen 30
knots of wind while out on the water.

--

Roger Long