Direction of the wind

The readers who are sailors should skip this entry.

I realized that I make many references to wind direction and these may not make much sense to the non-sailors, so here is a brief explanation.

First, I usually refer to the true wind. This is the wind as it is actually blowing as perceived from a non-moving position and is different from the apparent wind which is as perceived from the boat in motion. So imagine a car driving down the road directly into a 10mph wind at 50mph (I know - impossibly slow). The driver rolls down the window and perceives the wind blowing at 60mph, while someone standing on the side of the road (perhaps out of gas) perceives the wind blowing at 10mph. The same thing happens on the boat where the sailors perspective is called the "apparent" wind and the wind as perceived by someone on land is the "true" wind. I almost always refer to the true wind.

Then there are wind direction references which are relative to the boat. These are usually a number from 0-180, where 0 is the bow and 180 is the stern. There are also references relative to the "beam" of the boat. The "beam" is the widest spot of the boat, a point perpendicular to the long axis of the boat, or at 90 degrees. So if the wind is forward of the beam, it's in the range of 0-89, on the beam is 90, and aft the beam is 91-180. Generally speaking, forward of the beam is more difficult and less comfortable, aft the beam is faster and more enjoyable. So if the wind is at 45 (hard on the wind or beating), that's not as nice as if it is as at 120 (broad reaching). On the beam or "beam reaching" is the fastest point of sail.

Then there is the wind direction relative to compass, also known as the wind rose or compass rose. These are classical definitions dating back hundreds or thousands of years. You probably remember from high school geometry (who could forget?) that a circle is divided into 360 degrees. For sailors, the compass is first divided into the cardinal points of north, east, south and west, each 90 degrees. Then these are divided by the ordinal points at 45 degrees, and finally the half winds are inserted between the ordinal points at 22.5 degrees.

And finally, the wind is named for the direction it blows from, while the travel of the boat refers to the direction it is going to. So a boat on a course of 090 with an east wind has the wind on the bow (not good).

What we've experienced in the last 24hrs is a shift in the wind from ENE, east north east or 67.5 degrees, to WNW, west north west or 292.5 degrees. In our case, both were poor directions for the wind as we are attempting to travel east (or 090).

You should now be thoroughly confused. Just read this again 4-5 times and I'm sure it will all make perfect sense. Below is the complete table of directions with the degrees, abbreviation, and full name traveling around the rose in a clockwise direction.

0 - N - North
22.5 - NNE - North Northeast
45 - NE Northeast
67.5 - ENE - East Northeast
90 - E - East
112.5 - ESE - East Southeast
135 - SE - Southeast
157.5 - SSE - South Southeast
180 - S - South
202.5 - SSW - South Southwest
225 - SW - Southwest
247.5 - WSW - West Southwest
270 - W - West
292.5 - WNW - West northwest
315 - NW - Northwest
337.5 - NNW - North northwest