trying to understand wind

[thelastreject]

Hi guys,

I hope as you've all been newbies at one point or another that this is a familiar question (or I'm just a wuss).

I have been trying to get out for my first trip in Altona (Millers Road) but the wind always seems too high for my first trip (over 10knots) on Wilylweather and other sites.
But then I'll go for a walk and the water looks super calm.
This morning I thought, bugger it!, and I loaded up the kayak and headed down. Even though Willyweather says the wind is approaching 14k and heading up to 19k, it looked calm and there was barely a whimper of wind from the shore.

I could only see three yaks where there is usually a dozen or more and suitably concerned, I headed home.
My wife to think I bought a giant garage ornament.
Am I just being overly cautious??

[JägerMarty]

I'm a bit the same, was gonna go off Rickets this morning but saw the wind on Willy last night and pulled the pin.
I'm ten minutes away and there's stuff all breeze now
I don't work Mondays so am hoping to head out Monday now

[laneends]

Offshore wind can produce minimal choppiness. Altona is quite sheltered in close. Onshore wind can produce substantially more chop for same wind.

You have two factors to deal with when considering wind. Ability to make headway and track straight. This is product of wind speed. How rough the water is, this takes into account direction, the further it has blown across open water the worse it is. In faster tidal areas (which Altona isn't) The wind in opposite direction to tidal flow more readily produces whitecaps, as the wind blows the top off the waves.

Close in altona is quite sheltered from offshore wind. as it is a bay within a bay it is sheltered by Point Cook from wind blowing along the shore (to a degree).

If you have a scout dont use the presence of other kayaks as a guide, as they can be more capable kayaks.

I would stick to a day under 5 knots as a first time, until you get a sense of balance and paddle practice.

[Seasherpa]

Not at all Dave trust your gut feeling and if in doubt don't go out! There are a few threads on here about wind conditions if you have a search but the short version is that it is not just about knots, it is also about direction (from land to sea-offshore, or from sea to land-onshore) also wind direction compared to tide and lastly the geography of the place you are fishing is it sheltered is the beach steep or a sand flat?

waves (chop) pick up when the wind moves across bodies of water hence onshore being rougher than off shore. Wind and tide moving in opposite directions will have a similar effect.
The disadvantage of an offshore wind is that they are deceptive, a 25knt wind will still look flat but you will be drifting at a very fast pace and will be out in the middle of the bay before you know it. You then have to paddle into the wind to get back to shore. This would have been the case at millers this morning.

[Seasherpa]

Also Dave if you are just trying to get out in the yak and get some experience and are not too worried about the fishing there are plenty of spots nearby for a paddle if the bay is too rough. There is cherry lake, the maribrynong river, werribee river, albert park lake etc.

[laneends]

Also Dave if you are just trying to get out in the yak and get some experience and are not too worried about the fishing there are plenty of spots nearby for a paddle if the bay is too rough. There is cherry lake, the maribrynong river, werribee river, albert park lake etc.

Agree with this, Werribee South is a good one as you can have a paddle in the river then venture out the mouth when you are comfortable. Just keep out of the way of the boats. it is an easy all tide launch off the beach too.

[Steve_R]

When it comes to wind forecasts, forget WW. You get a better idea from wind maps. You also get a better idea if you learn to read isometric charts (lot's of difference between closely located high and low pressure zones means dogs will be blown off chains). I use Exploroz which grabs data from BOM and displays the things I want to know about isobars, wind direction and strength on one page.

http://www.exploroz.com/Places/Weather.aspx?s=vic

Pick out your nearest location from the bottom of the above-linked page to get specific forecasts close to you but take more notice of the graphics than the words. After a while, you'll start to understand what the differences in pressure mean in terms of wind for kayaking. Generally what's happening on the left of the charts moves across to the right. So, if you see short wind lines or lines without 'feathers' just left of your location, you're probably in for some good kayaking time no matter what WillyWeather say.

Always heed BOM wind warnings. No matter what charts of BOM say, always watch for signs of storms on the horizon. BOM are good but weather predication is not foolproof science.

When the wind blows strong, chain the yak to your roof and find a beach to fish. She'll never know

[shane]

Those conditions should have been OK for you to head out, particularly if you stayed in reasonably close. However I know how daunting it can be heading out for your first time, particularly if solo. What you ideally need is someone experienced to go out with for the first time and show you around and keep an eye on you. This is what I had for my first trip in the bay, also at Millers. That day I had Moore take me out (no longer here) after I responded to a trips post. The wind was 10+ kts SSE and very choppy. I took a swim but had someone there to help and I learnt a lot and importantly gained confidence.

How about you post when you can get out next and someone should be happy to head out at the same time as you. The time may not suit me but I'm happy to go out with you if I can.

[Rhino]

As far as I'm concerned you made a great decision Dave. The wind got up and got up quick, gusting to over 30 knts at the Fawkner Beacon. That's probably where you would have ended up if you managed to stay upright.

I remember a similar day on the 28th of December last year. A warm day with the predictable strong northerly forecast for the morning.
A father and son were about to launch and I warned them of what was coming. I'm sure they thought, "Who's this cockhead" and headed out anyway.
I headed back to Millers Rd when the wind changed 90 minutes later to see both father and sone being rescued and towed back by a boaty because they couldn't paddle back against the wind.
They were a little sheepish when they walked back passed me.


Look how nice it looks down there. But it's not. It's far from it. Even in a still photo you can see where the wind is gusting over the top..

[neilmny]

When it comes to wind forecasts, forget WW. You get a better idea from wind maps. You also get a better idea if you learn to read isometric charts (lot's of difference between closely located high and low pressure zones means dogs will be blown off chains). I use Exploroz which grabs data from BOM and displays the things I want to know about isobars, wind direction and strength on one page.

http://www.exploroz.com/Places/Weather.aspx?s=vic

Pick out your nearest location from the bottom of the above-linked page to get specific forecasts close to you but take more notice of the graphics than the words. After a while, you'll start to understand what the differences in pressure mean in terms of wind for kayaking. Generally what's happening on the left of the charts moves across to the right. So, if you see short wind lines or lines without 'feathers' just left of your location, you're probably in for some good kayaking time no matter what WillyWeather say.

Always heed BOM wind warnings. No matter what charts of BOM say, always watch for signs of storms on the horizon. BOM are good but weather predication is not foolproof science.

When the wind blows strong, chain the yak to your roof and find a beach to fish. She'll never know

That's a great site Steve. Thanks for the link.