Mike, I have no doubt that this meter you propose is a wonderful device, and I have nothing against fitting one if it's wanted. But I already have a good sense of wind speed, from feeling it heel the boat, the sound in the rigging, slapping halyards and the tug on the snubber doing its job at anchor. I set the anchor drag alarm on my non-DGPS Garmin 128 to 0.03 nM (180ft.) which is about the best I can get without falsing here in the Eastern Caribbean, where there's no DGPS anyway. I prefer to anchor downwind of the mooring field, so there's no danger of my dragging into someone else. I get up when it goes off, but it doesn't happen often. This is simply getting by, safely, without fancy and expensive technology, the volume of which is becoming so distracting that people tend to forget the basics, such as sound and boat movement. These senses were given to us for free, and will work when the technology or the power fails. John "Seahorse" Mike Maurice writes: > The case for a wind meter has nothing to do with being able to estimate > wind speeds or direction. It does have to do with being able to take a nap, > at anchor or out in the open and being able to set an alarm that will warn > you of wind speeds above a set threshold. > > It is amazing sometimes how little thought is given to these subtle sorts > of issues, when you consider the number of boats that have gotten into > trouble from a failure to keep an adequate watch. The wind alarm is an > excellent example of being able to apply a little technology to a vexing > problem. Namely that it is very tiring to have to keep a constant watch on > wind speeds, especially if you are short handed from lack of crew or from > someone being sick.

My Davis wireless weather station allows alarms to be set for anything it measures, including rate of barometric pressure change and wind speed. Since it's wireless, I can carry the display anywhere to hear the alarms. Anchor drag alarm is also set, but no way would I rely on the boat's noises to wake me when I'm sound asleep! That "crunch" is a bit too late. Keith __ "Never slap a man who's chewing tobacco." - Will Rogers ----- Original Message ----- From: "S/Y Truelove" <truelove@stratosnet.com> I prefer to anchor downwind > of the mooring field, so there's no danger of my dragging into someone > else. > I get up when it goes off, but it doesn't happen often. This is simply > getting by, safely, without fancy and expensive technology, the volume of > which is becoming so distracting that people tend to forget the basics, > such > as sound and boat movement. These senses were given to us for free, and > will > work when the technology or the power fails. > > John > "Seahorse" > > Mike Maurice writes: > >> The case for a wind meter has nothing to do with being able to estimate >> wind speeds or direction. It does have to do with being able to take a > nap, >> at anchor or out in the open and being able to set an alarm that will >> warn >> you of wind speeds above a set threshold.