The Beaufort wind scale is used for estimating wind speed when there is no standard instrumentation available.
This version is published with acknowledgements to Michael Green and Hutchinson annd Co., Ltd., publishers of "The Art of Coarse Sailing" and Weather, Royal Meteorological Society.
number |
[mph] |
|||
| .lt. 1 | Calm | Boats move sideways with tide. | Cigarette smoke gets in eyes. | |
| 1 - 3 | Light air | Coarse yachtsmen hoist sail, then wind instantly drops. | Wet finger feels cold. | |
| 4 - 7 | Light breeze | Coarse sailors keep on quanting or rowing. | Public houses close one window. | |
| 8 - 12 | Gentle breeze | Coarse boats careen. Difficult to make tea underway. | Public houses close two windows. | |
| 13 - 18 | Moderate breeze | Coarse boats lose mainsheet through block and have to go aground to recover it. | Beer froth blows off. | |
| 19 - 24 | Fresh breeze | Coarse sailors get book on sailing from cabin and turn up bit on reefing. | Customers in public house gardens go inside bar. | |
| 25 - 31 | Strong breeze | Coarse sailors try to double reef and go aground. | Elderly customers have difficulty leaving public house. | |
| 32 - 38 | Moderate gale | Coarse sailors rescued by launch. | Public house door cannot be opened against wind. | |
| 39 - 46 | Fresh gale | Aaaaaaah... | Public house sign blows down. | |
| 47 - 54 | Strong gale | Coarse sailors in public house. | Coarse sailors struck by failing sign. |
Note:
Although the Beaufort scale goes up to Force 12, it is felt unlikely that anything over Force 9 would interest Coarse sailors except on a television program.