CLOUDS ARE A SAILOR'S FRIEND

Clouds are a sailor's friend.  As long as there are clouds in the sky, you have a good idea about the type of sailing conditions you will experience for the next couple of hours.  They won't necessarily tell you what's going to happen tomorrow or the day after, but if if you listen to what they say, it's not too hard to stay out of harms way when you are sailing offshore.

Clouds start at the sea surface extending up to eighteen-thousand feet, and when you look at them, you can figure out what's happening to the wind at different altitudes.  High cirrus clouds tell you what's going on in the upper levels, and trade wind cumuli tell you what's happening at the lower levels.  When you look at their speed and direction of movement, you discover what the winds are doing at your location.

Clouds aren't static.  Their size and shape continually change throughout the day.  Trade wind cumuli increase in size and height until late in the day.  As the sun sets you can watch them shrink as they literally melt away in front of your eyes.

Thunderstorms announce their presence as vertically developed cumulus clouds that go all the way to eighteen-thousand feet, and they usually do it long before lightning and thunder make their appearance.  When clouds are taller than they are wide, you have a condition called vertical development.  When you are sailing offshore, you always look to see how much vertical development there is in the cumulus clouds, because you know it's highly unlikely to have thunder and lightning with associated squalls unless there is significant vertical development.

It's easy to avoid thunderstorms and squalls, because you can see them forming and alter your course to avoid them.  There's no need to be pummeled by fierce downdrafts of forty to sixty knots; you simply sail away from them or around them.   I usually don't get caught by squalls and thunderstorms unless I am not paying attention to the clouds, or if I am at anchor, and there's nothing I can do to avoid them because I am stationary.

Paying attention to clouds isn't rocket science, and you don't need an advanced degree in meteorology to use clouds to your benefit.  You simply need to pay attention to what is going on around you.

In thirty-three thousand miles of sailing I have been in squalls quite a few times, and I can't remember a single instance in which I was caught off guard with too much sail up because I pay attention to what the clouds are saying.  I am careful to not be over-canvassed, because blowing out sails and loosing a mast in high winds is expensive and dangerous.  I sail in damage control mode most of the time, and that means fear is not a member of our crew.

The sailing photo at the top of the page shows Exit Only confidently motor-sailing into the sunset.  The low level cumulus clouds are breaking up as the sun sets over the horizon.  Those clouds tell me it's going to be a quiet night at sea, and I feel good.

The photo at the bottom is a fully developed example of "red sky at night, sailor's delight."  A red sky in the evening usually means the weather is going to be relatively benign during the night.  It will be a "no worries mate evening," and that's reassuring because there are lots of clouds in the sky.

Even when the sky looks ugly with billowing cumulonimbus clouds on the horizon and black squalls heading your way, you have plenty of time to prepare for the onslaught.  Thunderstorms don't last forever, and squalls pass quickly by.  If you listen to what the clouds are saying, you will handle these meteorological inconveniences in stride.  You will reduce your sail to a safe level until the tempest is over.

The real problem isn't the wind and waves.  It's the storm of thoughts blowing though your mind that gets you into trouble.  If you listen to the voice of fear, your sailing adventure becomes a nightmare.  But if you listen to the clouds, you will recognize the voice of fear for the imposter that it is.  People who sail offshore in a well-found yacht have little to fear from the weather ninety-eight percent of the time, and the clouds usually tell you what to do.

The clouds are your friends, and if you listen to what they say, your life will be good as you sail on the ocean of your dreams.