HYC Dinghy Talk, 13 November 2018

Coaches Corner

CONTROL THE POWER
The new catch cry
We want to ensure that we are trimming our sails at all times to the best use of the power.
Ensure the tensions are set correctly for all conditions.
This will control the POWER.

This week we are hosting the 125 Association Traveller series races. We welcome them to Hillarys. If any sailors want to go for a sail please let me know.

3 weeks to the RFBYC ICR regatta please ensure those attending are entered.

Please advise how we can help your sailing to develop.

Discover Sailing assisted those who were interested in becoming involved in sailing. Thank-you to those who assisted

Happy Sailing!
Coach K

Learning Nuggets

Summer time weather
The weather patterns have not yet settled into their normal routine, but this is what’s ahead.

The West Coast Trough (a line of low air pressure) is a semi permanent feature of the synoptic pattern (weather map) seen over the West coast during summer, and is the dominant influence over our Summer weather. Depending on its location, areas to the east of it can experience hot days and possibly thunderstorms. To the west of it, milder conditions and sea breezes prevail. So if the “dip” in the lines on the weather map is inland, we get SE winds that shift to SW when the sea breeze builds. But if the “dip” is off the coast, we get hot NE winds, that the sea breeze will struggle to overcome. Moisture in the middle atmosphere may indicate where the trough is, as a line of clouds form. Blocking high pressure systems across southern Australia are responsible for extended dry weather in SW Australia, and heat waves in summer, as the NE winds stay for days, and any cold fronts are pushed far to the south.

But where to go for the best wind info right now?

Willyweather, Seabreeze and the others, ultimately get their data and predictions from Bureau of Meteorology. The BoM MetEye service helps you visualise local weather observations and forecasts including water temperature, swell direction, wave height as well as wind speed and direction. You can access the wind data directly real time (10 min update) from Bureau Home>Australia>Western Australia >Observations>Latest Coastal Weather Observations for Western Australia. When using wind data it is important to remember most coastal stations are located on land, so wind speeds may be unrepresentative of the actual wind conditions further out to sea. For an idea on what wind may be on the way, our local stations are:

Garden Is. On the southern end of the island. 6m above sea level
Rottnest Is. In the middle of the island, on a hill. 43m asl.
Swanbourne. 700m from the coast, in sand dunes. 40m asl.
Ocean Reef. On a hilltop. 10m asl.
Hillarys Boat Harbour. At the start of “A” jetty on the southern side of the harbour. (Not far from buildings) 3m asl.

Depending on wind direction, you will also notice very localised effects on the race course including shadowing near the rock wall (less wind), gustiness due to the sand dunes (varying speed, and possible downdrafts) and funnelling at the southern end of the sand dunes or off the end of the rock wall(increased speed).

Happy Sailing!

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