Precision Sailboat Rendezvous
June 2010

The idea of having "protected water" made sense, particularly if the Bay was experiencing wind speeds of 15+ knots. Being in a river or a smaller bay might be helpful, particularly to those who may not be as experienced. We gave very serious consideration to making the primary venue one of the fine marinas on the Chester River, which are not far from Rock Hall proper, and reachable by a trolly service.

But before giving up on having the Rendezvous right in Rock Hall, we decided to be a bit more scientific about our decision. We decided to analyze weather patterns for the months of June and July (the Rendezvous' dates being right in the middle) and see what we could expect from the Bay weather-wise. Of course historical weather does not absolutely garauntee what we'll experience on any particular day (or hour), but this type of analysis is often used by event planners to select venues and dates for events.

To analyze wind speeds we used the WindGuru site (see the links section of this site) which measures the Beaufort Wind Scale experienced during the days of the targeted months. The Beaufort Wind Scale was developed by Sir Francis Beaufort of the Royal Navy in 1805.

Beaufort Wind Scale

The closest frequently observed data points to Rock Hall come from Annapolis, MD across the Bay from Rock Hall and a few miles South. What we found was that in the months of June and July, we could expect very reasonable sailing weather (maybe a little too tame for some) with an average wind speed of about 11 knots. In fact, when looking at the chart below for 2008, quite a few days in June and July were Beaufort '2' days, with winds from 4-6 knots. 19 days were rated '3' (winds from 7-10 knots), and only 3 days were rated '4' (11-16 knots). Additional research done on the NOAA site confirmed the average historical wind speed to be approximately 11 knots in June and July. This time periods also has a relatively low incidence of thunderstorms when compared to later July and August, and the temperatures are generally better as well. Additionally, sea nettles (pesky little stinging jellyfish) tend to be less evident than in the latter part of the summer

Annopolis, MD Beaufort Scale Wind Data

Additional Weather Data

So based on this data, we determined that the probability of having high winds during the time frame the Rendezvous will take place was pretty low, and worth the risk of locating the event right in Rock Hall Harbor. To get the current weather in Rock Hall, use this link (it's also in the 'Links' section of this site). Current Weather, Rock Hall, MD Weather