Hmmm, I could not find a decent dinghy sailing video which matches the windforce to the sailing conditions experienced at that windforce, so this is a little skip through the sailing conditions found at different wind speeds through the medium of youtube videos. There will be better videos, these are just ones I have found in the last hour…
This table is from https://www.metoffice.gov.uk/guide/weather/marine/beaufort-scale
but what does it mean to the dinghy sailor?
I recommend you turn the sound off, or be braced for some dodgy music…
The Beaufort scale, which is used in Met Office marine forecasts, is an empirical measure for describing wind intensity based on observed sea conditions.
Specifications and equivalent speeds
Beaufort wind scale Mean Wind Speed Limits of wind speed Wind descriptive terms Probable wave height Probable maximum wave height Seastate Sea descriptive terms
Knots ms-1 Knots ms-1 in metres* in metres*
0 0 0 <1 <1 Calm – – 0 Calm (glassy)
We know about this – no wind at all…
1 2 1 1-3 1-2 Light air 0.1 0.1 1 Calm (rippled)
2 5 3 4-6 2-3 Light breeze 0.2 0.3 2 Smooth (wavelets)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e9VDZV9RXek from 16 seconds
3 9 5 7-10 4-5 Gentle breeze 0.6 1.0 3 Slight
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ELzRJPm9xpo from 6:00 for a Mirror dinghy at sea
4 13 7 11-16 6-8 Moderate breeze 1.0 1.5 3-4 Slight – Moderate
Nice wind for sailing
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pmI35Cs_aPM go to 3.46 for some nice F4 sailing
5 19 10 17-21 9-11 Fresh breeze 2.0 2.5 4 Moderate
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hAVjohvItCw skip to 45 seconds for some F5 laser sailing
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MGltT_pKtbo this is not a Force 8, much more like a force 5
6 24 12 22-27 11-14 Strong breeze 3.0 4.0 5 Rough
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NhOGEQ_H9rg go to 1:42 for a gust of a F6 in a well handled dinghy
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iZ-nBDcMlWs go to 0:30 for 470s and 420’s having big fun
7 30 15 28-33 14-17 Near gale 4.0 5.5 5-6 Rough-Very rough
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6C1-bmRnYjM silly Pico sailing
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0wyd82-CV2I for how to gybe in high winds
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dptw4_xJbiY for Optimists in high winds
8 37 19 34-40 17-21 Gale 5.5 7.5 6-7 Very rough – High
No dinghy videos seem to be available at F8 or above. I have sailed in a F8, unwillingly, with just the jib up we were hiked out keeping the dinghy upright.
9 44 23 41-47 21-24 Strong gale* 7.0 10.0 7 High
10 52 27 48-55 25-28 Storm 9.0 12.5 8 Very High
11 60 31 56-63 29-32 Violent storm 11.5 16.0 8 Very High
12 – 64+ 33+ Hurricane 14+ – 9 Phenomenal