53) Tradewinds

Tradewinds

We are on a sailboat and at mercy of the winds.  Due to the nature of sailing and the design of sailboats we can’t sail directly into the wind and most of the time we can’t sail directly downwind.  On this boat we can sail into the wind but only off to the side about

40-50°.  Since we don’t have a real spinnaker, which is a downwind sail, we can’t sail directly downwind.  With the sail inventory onboard and rigged we can only sail within 30° of directly downwind.

    

          

Since we are a sailboat we must consider the wind.  Where it comes from; where it goes; how hard it is blowing; when it blows.  I can’t even begin to cover all the aspects of weather and how the wind is created but I can at least give a glimpse with the following graphics.