Links
for river currents and wind
speed forecasts
Why We Sail
An adaptation and narration by Kathy
Mathes in stories2music.
What Does It Take to Beat the
Current?
Summary of Winds
Decoding the Winds
Navigation charts
Estimating Linear Speeds of the
Currents
GPS tracks
August
18, 2018
speed map
time map
August
11, 2018
speed map
July
28, 2018
speed map
August
27, 2017
speed map
August
23, 2017
speed map
September
11, 2016
speed map
September
6, 2016
speed map
August
26, 2016
speed map
August
9, 2016
speed map
September
5, 2015
speed map
August
11, 2015
speed map
September
1, 2014
speed map
August
10, 2014
speed map
August
7, 2014
speed map
September
29, 2013
speed map
September
3, 2013
street map
satellite map
speed map
August
17, 2013
street map
satellite map
speed map
July
23, 2013
street map
satellite map
speed map
September
9, 2012
street map
satellite map
speed map
September
3, 2012
street map
satellite map
speed map
August
26, 2012
street map
satellite map
speed map
August
17, 2012
street map
satellite map
speed map
August
11, 2012
street map
satellite map
speed map
August
1, 2012
street map
satellite map
speed map
July
21, 2012
street map
satellite map
speed map
June
30, 2012
street map
satellite map
speed map
June
26, 2012
street map
satellite map
speed map
September
4, 2011
street map
satellite map
speed map
August
27, 2011
street map
satellite map
speed map
August
21, 2011
street map
satellite map
speed map
August
16, 2011
street map
satellite map
speed map
August
13, 2011
street map
satellite map
speed map
August
11, 2011
street map
satellite map
speed map
August
7, 2011
street map
satellite map
speed map
August
6, 2011
street map
satellite map
speed map
July
30, 2011
street map
satellite map
speed map
July
18, 2011
street map
satellite map
speed map
July
14, 2011
street map
satellite map
speed map
June
22, 2011
street map
satellite map
speed map
June
13, 2011
street map
satellite map
speed map
2010
September
11 , 2010
street map
satellite map
speed map
September
5 , 2010
street map
satellite map
speed map
August
16, 2010
street map
satellite
map
speed map
August
6, 2010
street map
satellite map
speed map legend
July
24, 2010
street map
satellite
map
speed map
July
17, 2010
street map
satellite map
June
27 , 2010
street map
satellite map
June
17, 2010
street
map
satellite
map
2009 and earlier
September 2007
July
8, 2009
satellite map
street
map
speed map
August
9, 2009
satellite
map
street
map
speed map
August
29, 2009
satellite
map
street map
speed map
September
6, 2009
satellite map
street map
speed map
September
13, 2009
satellite
map
street
map
speed map
Mystery of the misplaced tracks
solved.
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Sailing at the Point
A Diary of Life in Downtown
Pittsburgh
John D. Norton
http://www.pitt.edu/~jdnorton/sail/
jdnorton@pitt.edu
See the videos.
Photo. Thanks to Les O'Riley
The summer of 2009, Eve and I realized a little dream that first
arose when we became downtown residents of Pittsburgh. We are
surrounded by some of the most spectacular waterways in the world.
Wouldn't it be fun to hop on a bike, pedal over to a small
sailboat at the river's edge and launch into the water? What an
extraordinary mix of downtown living and riversports?!
Starting that summer, that is what we have been doing. It proved
to be harder than we thought to realize that little dream. But it
was worth the effort. My little blog here reports what happened
and what is happening.
I encourage everyone to think about sailing on the rivers. It is
a very different experience from all other forms of boating. (See
Why We Sail.)
Before you throw yourself in a sailboat onto the rivers, I do
want to alert you that this is not something to be done lightly.
The rivers can be risky places. You do need to know what to do if
there's no wind, or too much wind, or if the wind becomes erratic,
or when a barge looms, or if the current is too strong. (For that
last one, the answer is simple. Stay out of the water!)
If you are an experienced sailor, or can make contact with one,
there's no reason to shy away from the rivers. Just remember that
what can go wrong will, so be prepared. If you want to hear more,
email me at jdnorton@pitt.edu
After a few sails on the rivers, I'm now beginning to see what
conditions are good for sailing:
-- My original strategy had
been to dock the boat downstream of the Point and always sail
upstream. That way, if the worst happens and the wind dies
completely, I will drift home, even if slowly. And, for the very
worst, I do carry a paddle, firmly tied to the deck. However for
the many days with little current, the effect of the current is so
small as to be negligible.
-- Sailboats work best when
there is the greatest difference between the windspeed and water
speed. Therefore the optimal winds run against the river current,
if there is a current. Then you run before the wind to get
upstream. To come back downstream, you tack into the wind, with
the current aiding you. For the rivers around Pittsburgh, that
means winds from the West and the North are best. Indeed If there
is a noticeable current, I've decided not to sail unless I have
them. If there's no current or only a very slight one, then any
sustained wind is all that is needed.
For more on this, see What
Does It Take to Beat the Current?
-- There are some big, fast
moving things on the rivers that you do need to keep away from.
(Barges!) Make a habit to scan for them constantly; they approach
faster than you first expect; and know where the channels are that
they move in. As long as there is wind, even a slight breeze, a
sailboat is powered and can move. Don't sail on those few days
when the air is calm. And do always carry a paddle if you the wind
dies unexpectedly.
Where are the channels in which the barges navigate? See Navigation
charts.
What clearance do I have under the bridges for my mast?
Everywhere, there is at least 40 feet of clearance. That is ample
for any sailboat likely to be sailed on the rivers. For sketches
and measurements, see Navigation
charts.
-- I keep a close eye on
the river currents through the US Army Corps of Engineers' data,
as presented on the US Geological Survey website. I like to see
flows below 10,000 cubic feet per second on all the rivers. For
wind speeds I like to see winds forecast over 8mph. 5 mph is a
minimum since with that forecast, on the water, there will be
awkward periods of calm.
Here are useful links for river
currents and wind forecasts.
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2019
Farewell
August 3, 2019
2018
Downtown Sailing Club
August 18, 2018
Making a Splash
August 11, 2018
First Sail
July 28, 2018
Setting Up
July 22, 2018
Testing
the Wind (No Sail)
August 19, 2018
2017
Getting to the Point
August 27, 2017
Downtown Sailing Club
August 23, 2017
Dancing with Giants
August 23, 2017
2016
Downtown Sailing
September 11, 2016
All Three Rivers
September 6, 2016
Slow, Slow, Fast
August 26, 2016
Into the Wind
August 9, 2016
2015
Labor Day
Weekend
September 5, 2015
Vindication
August 26, 2015
Prudence
August 25, 2015
A Gamble Lost
August 11, 2015.
Setting Up
August 11, 2015
2014
Southwesterly Woes
September 1, 2014.
Perfect Weather,
Perfect Sailing
August 10, 2014,
One Minus One
August 7, 2014,
2013
Big Yellow Duck
September 29, 2013
The Videos
September 3, 2013
Making the Videos
September 3, 2013
Labor Day
September 2, 2013
Failing into the Wind
August 17, 2013
The Fountain
July 23, 2013
Waiting
July 23, 2013
Heeding the Signs
June 22, 2013
2012
Speed
September 9, 2012
Perfect Sailing
September 3, 2012
From the East
August 26, 2012
Three Professors
August 17, 2012
Relief
August 11, 2012
Caught
August 1, 2012
No Wind
July 21, 2012
Captain Eve
June 30, 2012
Windy Day
June 26, 2012
2011
The Deluge
September 4, 2011
On the Edge
of the Hurricane
August 27, 2011
Baseball
Game Traffic
August 21, 2011
Gotham City
August 21, 2011
Save the Fastest
for Last
August 16, 2011
A Gentle Sail
August 13, 2011
Then There Were
Two
August 11, 2011
The Big
Boat on the Allegheny
August 7, 2011
What? A Sailboat?!
August 6, 2011
The Big Boat
July 30, 2011
Rivers and
Lakes
July 30, 2011
Flying
July 18, 2011
Winds Every
Which Way
July 14, 2011
Chasing
the Majestic
June 22, 2011
First
Sail
June 13, 2011
Floods
Early June, 2011
2010
Winds
from the South East
September 11, 2010
Labor Day Weekend
September 5, 2010
Clockwise
August 16, 2010
Circumnavigating
Brunot Island
August 6, 2010
Wind. Wind. Wind.
July 24, 2010
Storms and Southerlies
July 17, 2010
Becalmed
June 27, 2010
First
Sail of the Summer
June 17, 2010
2009
Further
up the Monongahela
September 13, 2009
Against
the Current, Against the Wind
September 6, 2009
Illusions
August 29, 2009
Further
Up the Allegheny
August 9, 2009
Three
Rivers
July 8, 2009
Up
the Allegheny
June 27, 2009
No
Sail
June 21, 2009
The
Point is Gained
June 14, 2009
Worst
Day
May 16, 2009
Groundhog Day
May 13, 2009
Starting
Possible
Sites for a Sailboat Facility
------------------
In
the Press.
Ever wonder what a philosopher of
science might have to say about sailing? See my "Paradoxes
of Sailing."
Why do we keep renaming our bridges in a way that makes it hard
to find them?
Letter,
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, July 11, 2013.
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