By Mike Ferring
Official Webster’s definition. Wind [noun] /wind/: curious, mysterious, arbitrary, fickle, and invisible force that moves sailboats and makes me swear. You could look it up.
Now we’ve run into someone who thinks she can take some of the mystery out of the wind and she’s agreed to share sailing tips at our April membership meeting.
Join us on Zoom Tuesday, April 13. Our meeting starts at 7pm
Guests are always welcome.
All I want to know is which way to go when the Lake Pleasant wind backs south on Sunday morning. Or which side to avoid on Tempe Town Lake (both sides would be my guess).
Our guide will be Chelsea Carlson, a degreed meteorologist and experienced sailor who’s now teaching online weather courses for sailors. Here’s her website, Sea-Tactics.com. She’s also the meteorologist for the US Sailing Team, so maybe she can help us inland lake sailors.
Her mission: briefly and in simple, usable terms, explain the wind on our two lakes. To help, we’ve briefed her on local conditions, sent her pictures of the obstacles on our shores, and she’s pored over Google satellite shots.
Puffs, lulls, oscillating, persistent, gradient, thermal… tack! Just tack.