Monday 2/21/2011 Nautical Trivia & Question Answered

Paul · Post by **Paul** » Mon Feb 21, 2011 5:33 am

This week's trivia: Passenger transport by sailing vessel had become popular in the 17 - 1800's. Because of more high society passengers a new class of travel came into being termed "posh". It actually was an acronym. What did it stand for and why was it considered desirable?

Question of the week:

As low as our vessels are to the surface of the water, our line of sight to the horizon is a mere few miles away. As you are sailing a breeze comes up which may signal an approaching change in weather. If the breeze is at your back, which of the following is probably true:

a) There is a front to your left and it is approaching

b) There is a front to your right and it is approaching

c) There is a front to your left and it is receeding

d) There is a front to your right and it is receeding

e) It is impossible to predict based only on the direction of wind where you are located

Based on your answer from the above selections, if you are able to predict anything, what would you expect to experience next?

Have a great week!

lecker68 · Post by **lecker68** » Mon Feb 21, 2011 12:10 pm

If I had to guess I would say E as if you are facing north it would be A and if you are facing south it would be C and you would have already had the bad weather if you are facing west it went south of you and east it went north of you and if you are in the southern hemisphere everything is reversed. I hope this was not too long but I tried to cover all bases.

clair hofmann · Post by **clair hofmann** » Mon Feb 21, 2011 4:11 pm

POSH
Port Outbound Starboard Homebound. Sailing from Europe, that would give you southern exposure on the ship. sunny and warm.
Clair

mcrandall · Post by **mcrandall** » Mon Feb 21, 2011 4:16 pm

Trivia: POSH-Port Out, Starboard Home. May be more ledgend than fact, though.

Alanhod · Post by **Alanhod** » Mon Feb 21, 2011 6:45 pm

I would have to go with E as my answer. I would have the radio on normally and hear any weather updates and react accordingly. I would expect all weather issues to be inbound.

I have been out one time where it was a warm sunny day with winds 10 knots out of the NW. The Coast Guard radioed that there was a saver weather front was coming in. I changed to the weather channel and got the info. I calculated that I had 2 to 3 hours before it would effect us at our location. I headed us back to port leisurely. We got to port just about as the bad weather hit. We would have been fine if we had stayed out but better safe then sorry. It was a good day of sailing.

As for POSH, how about Pretty Outstanding Sailing Here!

Thanks
Alan

Paul · Post by **Paul** » Fri Feb 25, 2011 5:05 am

The problem and fun of hanging out with smart people is that sometimes my long held understandings are challenged. I had been taught that, as some of you responded, POSH stood for Port Outbound, Starboard Home but it had to do with the British colonization of South Africa and that popular destination as the wealthy went on safari. By having these cabin arrangements the well heeled client would have a cabin going each way that faced land. This ability to see a land mass on the horizon helped aleviate sea sickness. After doing additional research because of your responses the truth is that no one seems to know the history of this term with any certainty. The nautical myths continue.

Now, concerning the scerario with the wind to your back. The saying is, "When the wind's to your back, the front is on your left." Wind does not really blow, it sucks - from one low pressure area to another. Low pressure areas rotate in a counter clockwise direction with weather fronts extending out from them. The wind along the front travels towards the low ahead of the front and away from the low on the backside. This means if the direction to your left is westerly, the front is still approaching and if it is towards the east, the front has passed. As with most rules, there are a few exceptions but this can help keep us alert to the potential of changing weather and the approach of a squall line moving in ahead of a front.

Have a great weekend!