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Secrets of the St. Lawrence

The wind in your sails - Solar energy

Côte-Nord

The sun is shining brightly. The air is calm. The smell of coffee lingers in the air. It looks like a beautiful morning.

Gradually, a cool breeze picks up over the water. It's time to hoist the sails if you want to enjoy a few hours of good sailing wind. The sea breeze is in your favour.

Sea breeze

The sea breeze is the result of the sun shining on the shore. As the land heats up, the air becomes lighter and rises. The cooler air from the sea moves in to take its place.

Initially, the breeze is perpendicular to the shore. Then, as it picks up speed, it gradually shifts to the right and ends up blowing against the shore at an angle.

It disappears shortly before sunset.

On the Basse-Côte-Nord, it may be felt as far as 15 nautical miles offshore and may reach 25 knots.

The morning wind direction is perpendicular to the sea shore. In the afternoon wind flow is shifted to the right and blows at the shoreline on an angle.

Anabatic wind

When the sea breeze hits the opening of a steep valley, it is strengthened by the anabatic wind. This is a wind that flows up the valley, as it is created by the warm air rising up the hillsides.

The anabatic wind is stronger when the mouth of the valley faces south.

Anabatic wind - wind that originates over water intensifies when it reaches wind in a valley.

Page 9

Introduction

1. Fore to aft
2. What Cartier missed out on
3. Conversion
4. The Secrets of the St Lawrence
5. The wind in your sails - Hard a-port!
6. The wind in your sails - Fast or slow?
7. The wind in your sails - The wind's paths
8. The wind in your sails - Against the wall
9. The wind in your sails - Solar energy
10. The wind in your sails - Under the stars
11. The wind and the waves - The windway
12. The wind and the waves - Wave wars
13. The wind and the waves - Graveyards
14. The wind and the waves - Conflicting seas
15. Symbols
16. The St Lawrence, from 1 to... - Legend
17. The St Lawrence, from 1 to... - Calling all sailors
18. The St Lawrence, from 1 to... Hot spots
19. Local listings - Québec - Pointe-des-Monts
20. Local listings - Pointe-des-Monts - Cap Whittle
21. Local listings - Cap Whittle - Blanc-Sablon
22. Local listings - Gaspésie - Baie des Chaleurs
23. Local listings - Îles de la Madeleine
24. Sailors take warning - White-outs
25. Sailors take warning - The sky above us
26. Sailors take warning - Keeping a weather eye
27. Sailors take warning - Fair weather and foul
28. Sailors take warning - The unexpected
29. The four seasons - Wind aplenty
30. The four seasons - Vessel icing
31. The four seasons - Ice cycle
32. Extra - Beaufort
33. Extra - Handy references
34. Extra - Old Salts and Sea-dogs
35. Extra - The crew
36. Extra - A to Z
37. Extra - Stations
38. Extra - Areas
39. Credits

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Date modified:: 2013-07-09