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Sailing Conditions in Malletts Bay.
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Many folks are wondering what the weather is going to be like in
Vermont in August. Depending on the weather systems, we could see
air temperatures from anywhere between 60 and 95 degrees. Most
likely though, the air temperature will be a comfortable 75-80
degrees. Last year the air temperature in VT never broke 90!
The water temperature on Lake Champlain in August will be about 80
degrees. So most of the sailing will be in shorts and a t-shirt, or
a spray top if it is windy.
There will be two sailing areas in Malletts Bay. The primary sailing
area will be the "Outer Bay". The secondary racing area will be the
"Inner Bay".
The Outer Bay is a nearly circular bay 4 1/2 miles wide, that is
almost completely separated from Lake Champlain by an auto causeway
to the north, and a railroad fill to the west. With an average water
depth of 70 feet, this configuration provides an excellent body of
water for racing with "wind appropriate" wave heights and minimal
powerboat traffic.
The Inner Bay is also a circular bay, but is only a little over 1.3
miles across. There is a large peninsula "Coates Island" that
extends into the bay and can effect the wind on that part of the
bay. The "Inner Bay" course area will feature very flat water, and
shifty sailing conditions
The wind speed for August on Lake Champlain averages about 10 knots.
Winds generally blow from the south-southwest 46% of the time. The
next most frequent wind direction is North-Northwest at 22% of the
time. Westerly winds are a distant third, with Easterly winds almost
never occurring. Winds are calm less than 15% of the time. As usual
anything can happen when you host a regatta. We have sailed two
straight days in an easterly wind.
Typically, winds will be out of the south ranging anywhere between 7
and 20 knots. On warmer days, winds may shift to the west bringing
late afternoon thunderstorms across the lake from New York.
In the Outer Bay, the "typical" day will have us sailing in a
southerly breeze, that starts out at around 4-5 knots and will build
to about 8 knots by late morning. Expect the breeze to build to
about 12 knots and die back down late in the day. The breeze will be
fairly steady with small 5-15 degree shifts, but be prepared for the
occasional larger, more permanent shift.
In the inner bay, the southerly will be very puffy and shifty, but
the sailing will be fun and fair. You'll need to pay close attention
to the shifts.
Shifty, puffy Northwest winds accompany cold fronts which typically
last for three days. Day one will be strong winds most of the day,
but getting lighter late in the day. Day two will start out
moderately, but will be very light by mid afternoon, and there will
be no sailing or possibly a light afternoon southerly wind on day
three.
West winds are usually very unstable and occur very infrequently,
but when they do anything can happen. Hopefully, we will not see
winds out of the east.
There is no thermal or sea breeze, and the sailing conditions will
be dependant upon the local weather systems. Overall you should
expect a variety of conditions for the regatta
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