Hi Keith,

The Portsmouth numbers are there to make adjustments to the ratings based on the wind speed. Period. The portsmouth numbers have been around much longer than modern, relatively accurate and inexpensive wind speed indicators have been so they reference the Beaufort scale just for the reason you give for using it; that being there is no better way to determine wind speed for you right now.

Here are two suggestions based on your description of the situation: First (and best) is to purchase a good pocket wind speed indicator for getting accurate wind speed readings. These are around a hundred bucks and can provide other info depending on the model you purchase.

Complications: As you point out, the wind can and does vary at different places on the course and you will still have to make a judgement about which wind speed was predominant. You will also have to stop racing to get a true wind reading wherever you want one otherwise you will always be getting the apparent wind which is not what the PNs ask for. This, btw, is also the problem that many sailors face without realizing it when they estimate the wind speed - they forget that they were feeling the apparent wind during the race, not the true wind, and that is why so many sailors give a high estimate to the wind speed after the race. You will still have to average different readings from around the course, if you take them, and/or decide which one was most representative of the race in total.

The second option is to understand that you do not have accurate wind readings and will always just be giving a "best guess" to the wind speed to apply the correct adjustments to the PN numbers. Based on your description of the races, this should suffice, especially if you could get a consensus of the racers at the finish. Perhaps there are some nearby weather data collection ststions that you could agree to use for your wind speed readings. Here on Lake Erie thare are several that could be used depending on where we race.

I hope that is helpful. You can always run the numbers both ways in retrospect and see what kind of differences they make - sort of a sensitivity analysis. When we have done that we have seen that it is usually not a big deal and when you show that to the other racers they may be less concerned about this. But it is always admirable to see someone take their scoring duties seriously, especially the volunteer guy without equipment! So keep up the good work and enjoy the racing!