big talker | Salt Bum

The past weeks have been busy ones. Aside from the usual things that make up a normal day, I’ve found myself working hard advocating for a skatepark to be built in the town where I live. My son skates & loves it. The lessons it teaches him, I love.

You would think that by 2015, elected officials would be more receptive to providing a fair shake to all sports. Despite being globally popular and skateboarding being the second fastest growing sport in the US, the idea of a skatepark still scares a lot of politicians.

At any rate, I’ve still found a few minutes here and there to fish and by and large its been great. The bass and redfish along the Space Coast of Florida have been obliged to tussle, and for that, I’m thankful.

Though the writing here on Salt Bum had slowed, I was still putting thoughts on paper. Check out my latest ramblings in the Spring editions of The Drake Magazine and Southern Culture On The Fly.

There are lots of reports surfacing on Social Media that include pictures of sports hoisting up a fish for the camera that make claims of success in extremely high winds. A lot of the time, its just not rooted in fact. Thats not to say the guide or angler making the post is overtly being deceptive in their claims of success in less than desirable conditions, more often than not, its simply an inability to accurately estimate wind speeds on the water.

The next time you are on the water, you might find the following chart to be of use as an aid to better estimate the conditions you’re experiencing. Make note of your estimate and the time and check it against the hourly wind data at the closest airport weather station on the National Weather Service’s website. You’ll be surprised at first, but over time you’ll become very accurate.

Guide To Estimating Wind Speed Over Land & Water

Terms used by US Weather Service	Velocity (mph)	Estimating Velocities on land	Estimating Velocities on Sea
Calm	less than 1	Smoke rises vertically	Sea like a mirror	Check your glassy water technique before water flying under these conditions
Light air	1 – 3	Smoke drifts; wind vanes unmoved	Ripples with the appearance of scales are formed but without foam crests
Light breeze	4 – 7	Wind felt on face; leaves rustle; ordinary wind vane moves by wind	Small wavelets, still short but more pronounced; crests have a glassy appearance and do not break Large wavelets; crests
Gentle Breeze	8 – 12	Leaves and small twigs in constant motion; wind extends light flag	Large wavelets; crests begin to break. Foam of glassy appearance, perhaps scattered whitecaps	Ideal water flying characteristics in protected water
Moderate Breeze	13 – 18	Dust and loose paper raised; small branches are moved	Small waves, becoming longer; fairly frequent whitecaps
Fresh Breeze	19 – 24	Small trees in leaf begin to sway; crested wavelets form in inland water	Moderate waves; taking a more pronounced long form; many whitecaps are formed, chance of some spray	This is considered rough water for seaplanes and small amphibians, especially in open water
Strong Breeze	25 – 31	Large branches in motion; whistling heard in telegraph wires; umbrellas used with difficulty	Large waves begin to form; white foam crests are more extensive everywhere, probably some spray
Moderate Gale	32 – 38	Whole trees in motion; inconvenience felt in walking against the wind	Sea heaps up and white foam from breaking waves begins to be blown in streaks along the direction of the wind	This type of water condition is for emergency only in small aircraft in inland waters and for the expert pilot

Salt Bum

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