Sailing
conditions in Malletts Bay.
Many folks are wondering what the weather is going to be like in Vermont
in August. Depending on the weather systems, we could see air temperatures
from anywhere between 60 and 95 degrees. Most likely though, the air
temperature will be a comfortable 75-80 degrees. Last year the air
temperature in VT never broke 90!
The water temperature on Lake Champlain in August will be about 80
degrees. So most of the sailing will be in shorts and a t-shirt, or a
spray top if it is windy.
There will be two sailing areas in Malletts Bay. Depending on conditions,
racing my be in either Area A (Outer Malletts Bay) or Area B (Inner
Malletts Bay). Chart of Racing Area
The Outer Bay is a nearly circular bay 4 1/2 miles wide, that is almost
completely separated from Lake Champlain by an auto causeway to the north,
and a railroad fill to the west. With an average water depth of 70 feet,
this configuration provides an excellent body of water for racing
Lightnings with "wind appropriate" wave heights and minimal powerboat
traffic.
The Inner Bay is also a circular bay, but is only a little over 1.3 miles
across. There is a large peninsula "Coates Island" that extends into the
bay and can effect the wind on that part of the bay. The "Inner Bay"
course area will feature very flat water, and shifty sailing conditions
The Colchester
Lighthouse weather station is operated by the UVM School of Natural
Resources. It is fully automated and collects temperature, wind speed &
direction, humidity, solar radiation and water temperature. Data is
radioed hourly.
The wind speed for August on Lake Champlain
averages about 10 knots. Winds generally blow from the south-southwest 46%
of the time. The next most frequent wind direction is North-Northwest at
22% of the time. Westerly winds are a distant third, with Easterly winds
almost never occurring. Winds are calm less than 15% of the time. As usual
anything can happen when you host a regatta and this spring we sailed two
straight days of our spring regatta in an easterly wind.
Typically, winds will be out of the south ranging anywhere between 7 and
20 knots. On warmer days, winds may shift to the west bringing late
afternoon thunderstorms across the lake from New York.
In the Outer Bay, the "typical" day will have us sailing in a southerly
breeze, that starts out at around 4-5 knots and will build to about 8
knots by late morning. Expect the breeze to build to about 12 knots and
die back down late in the day. The breeze will be fairly steady with small
5-15 degree shifts, but be prepared for the occasional larger, more
permanent shift.
In the inner bay, the southerly will be very puffy and shifty, but the
sailing will be fun and fair. You'll need to pay close attention to the
shifts.
Shifty, puffy Northwest winds accompany cold fronts which typically last
for three days. Day one will be strong winds most of the day, but getting
lighter late in the day. Day two will start out moderately, but will be
very light by mid afternoon, and there will be no sailing or possibly a
light afternoon southerly wind on day three.
West winds are usually very unstable and occur very infrequently, but when
they do anything can happen. Hopefully, we will not see winds out of the
east.
There is no thermal or sea breeze, and the sailing conditions will be
dependant upon the local weather systems. Overall you should expect a
variety of conditions for the regatta.
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