Difference of wind speed standing on the beach vs sailing

Now that my AI is pretty much put away for the Winter, I start thinking of questions I had during my Summer sailing.

Whatever the wind speed is when you are standing on the beach, is the speed greater when you are sailing against it? I do have a nice tool which measures the wind, and have often been tempted to take it with me, but it was a bit $$ and I am concerned it might get ruined by the salt water.

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Fly'n C Lion

Shorelines with a steep beach, bluff, bushes or trees can divert the wind up and over you, so yes... it can seem windier on the water where the wind is un-obstructed.

When sailing, you also experience "apparent wind" which is a combination of the true wind speed and direction combined with your boat speed and direction moving through it.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apparent_wind

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Matt Miller
Former - Director of Parts and Accessory Sales
Warranty and Technical Support
Hobie Cat USA
(Retired 11/7/2022)

The front seat, right next to a full sail is a windtunnel so I believe you will feel the greatest apparent wind there. (Between the spray and wind, it also should be the coolest spot on the AI/TI).

If you hike back and forth from the tramps, you will feel the difference this cockpit position makes. It may sound and feel as if you are suddenly going faster, so if the "illusion" of speed is what you want, stay there.

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The Wind Is Your Friend...

Thank you Matt. It's always good to learn a new sailing term! Apparant Wind
Your explaination combined with the Wik. definintion made it very clear to me.

Nohuhu, I'm thinking I do feel that 'windtunnel' effect, when I feel my sail grabbing the optimum amount of wind it can at one time. I can feel it in the tiny little hairs on my face I don't have any tramps yet, to hike out on, but, one of my projects for this winter is to build a bench for my AI. Course now I'm thinking, maybe a bench for each side. I've got some good 2" bamboo I'll try building them with. Thanks for the great ideas you've been sending through the forum Nohuhu!

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Fly'n C Lion