Quote:
Originally Posted by Tobey
Into which direction does this proposed shoreline face?  |
It faces directly into the North West - west wind.
Almost everytime I RV there I see this nasty wind at one time or another.[/QUOTE]
Hello Tobey,
You're right! The wind that comes out of the north by northwest toward Ellacoya can be very strong and there is a pretty good fetch so that when it's windy from that direction, the waves are also pretty high.
Using the data from the Laconia Airport weather station and from personal observations during the period from May 1st through October 16th, I came up with twelve days between 8:00 am to 8:00 pm, the normal operating hours that the new Sailing Center would be open and that sailors might be out on the water, that I would put into the category of unsafe and imprudent to be out on the water unless the sailor(s) are very competent. Of those twelve days, five were days that we would be flying the No Sailing Today Flag.
So, five days out of 199 days, or 2.5% of the 2010 sailing season, we would not have allowed the Sailing Center's boats to be out on the water. For nine additional days during this same period, or 4.5% of the sailing season, we would have required proof of competency before the Sailing Center's boats could have left the docks.
During the period that the Sailing School normally operates from late June through late August, there were three days that it was too windy out of the northwest (315 degrees) around to the northeast (45 degrees) to go out on the water if the school had been functioning at Ellacoya. Fortunately, the waters around Ellacoya are pretty well sheltered when the winds blow heavily from the east (90 degrees) around through the south all the way to the west-northwest (290 degrees).
Because we have been operating for nearly thirty years out of Inner Smith Cove at Fay's Boatyard, we have developed fairly ingenious ways of getting from those waters out to where there is wind by towing our sailboats in a chain using a power boat. There may be times at Ellacoya when we may have to tow the boats up into the lee of Welch Island or around the point and down to the waters off Ames Farm Inn to get to waters where the wind allows us to teach the students effectively.
I assure you that we have weighed these types of issues carefully before making a decision to move to Ellacoya. Where we sail now borders on being dangerous for the youngsters because of boat traffic. The waters off Ellacoya are not within a passage zone and are not, therefore, heavily traveled. The areas around Varney Point, Lockes Island and Belknap Point are an accident waiting to happen.
Over the years, because of inclement weather, sometimes too much wind and occasionally, no wind, we have learned how to use these down times by operating in a classroom format with a chalkboard, photos, a model boat, a full sized Opti right in the room, DVD's and ropes for tying knots. Bad weather days don't go to waste in the LWSA's Youth Sailing School.
Because it's so shallow at Ellacoya, we will be able to teach the little ones in our fleet of Optimist Prams with an instructor standing in the water right next to the boats without having to follow them around in a chase boat -- a novel approach that I have seen work very effectively in the British Virgin Islands. The kids actually sail in a tight circle right around the instructors getting constant tips on sail trim and various maneuvers.
Ellacoya has its drawbacks we will learn to live with and it has advantages we will exploit to the betterment of our programs. It is our conclusion that the advantages far outweigh the drawbacks and it is our goal to be in full operation by July of 2012.
Regards,
Tom Mullen