Sailing
Bermuda rigged sailing boats are vulnerable to lee waves. In the worst case lee waves appear behind high islands. For example, in the Adriatic Sea (Dalmatia) or the Aegean Sea (Greece) relatively small islands can be very high and have a good steady wind such as the Meltemi/Etesian in the Aegean during the dry summer season. The direction of the wind on the lee side of the island may be downwards, and this is feared because it causes instability in controlling the boat and in the worst case pushes the sail under water, which can lead to disastrous capsizing. This is not possible with ordinary winds, because the push of an ordinary wind in a sail disappears when the sail becomes horizontal. Many use the expression downburst for this extreme sailing weather condition, but it is certainly more related to lee waves.
Read more about this topic: Lee Wave
Famous quotes containing the word sailing:
“Theologians should not be ashamed to admit that they cannot enter a contest with such antagonists [the sceptics], and that they do not want to expose the Gospel truths to such an attack. The ship of Jesus Christ is not made for sailing on this stormy sea, but for taking shelter from this tempest in the haven of faith.”
—Pierre Bayle (1647–1706)
“Come, cuddle your head on my shoulder, dear,
Your head like the golden-rod,
And we will go sailing away from here
To the beautiful land of Nod.”
—Ella Wheeler Wilcox (1855–1919)
“There’s precious little to say between day and dark,
Perhaps a few words on the implacable will
Of time sailing like a magic barque
Or something as fine for the amenities....”
—Allen Tate (1899–1979)