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Estimate wind force from whitecaps on the water
Estimate wind force on the water by looking at the whitecaps on the waves.
- Time
- ⏱ 5 min
- Difficulty
- ◆ easy
How to do it
- Watch the water surface.
- Read the force from the whitecaps using the Beaufort table.
- Compare your estimate with wind observations on land or on the boat.
Why it works
The Beaufort scale describes the sea state for each force and is a standardised way to estimate wind.
Variations
- At force 7, streaks of foam blowing along the wind direction are a typical sign.
Sources
This is where we found the tip. The badge above shows how well it is backed up.
- de.wikipedia.org (opens in a new tab)
kleine, länger werdende Wellen, recht regelmäßige Schaumköpfe“ (4 Bft); „mäßige Wellen von großer Länge, überall Schaumköpfe“ (5 Bft); „größere Wellen mit brechenden Köpfen, überall weiße Schaumflecken“ (6 Bft)
