Wind Effects on Movement
Wind effects of movement describes the adjustment of a sailing vessel's movement according to its attitude in relation to the wind. This relationship explains how a ship, as it turns with respect to the wind, gains or loses speed even while the wind force remains unchanged. Speed adjusts because the sails do not receive the wind equally from every angle; some attitudes fill the canvas efficiently, while others strike or pass across the sails with little effect, or pushes against the vesselin a way that actively slows it's progress.
Contents
The ship's attitude is its orientation of a vessel in relation to the wind, divided into reaching, running, close-hauling and heading into the wind. This attitude determines how efficiently the sails use the wind, from the high speed of reaching to the complete loss of forward movement when the ship points into the wind.
"Reaching" describes a wind coming at an angle "abaft," meaning behind the "beam," that being the ship's widest point from side to side. "Running" is sailing with the wind coming from directly behind the ship's stern. "Close hauling" describes sailing against the wind, but at an offset angle, while still making progress. "Heading into the wind is pointing the ship directly or nearly directly against the wind, typically done when "tacking," which is done to change the ship's orientation so that the wind comes from the port, its left side, rather than the starboard, or right side.
Efficiency
The wind effects on ship handling table shows how increased wind force affects the ease with which a ship can be managed. The number of ship or combat hexes per round on that table describes the ship's best speed while reaching, which drives the ship more efficiently than running. Running does not permit every sail upon the ship to fill, as the sails upon the stern mast, at the back of the ship, can block the wind from reaching the sails forward. When the ship is reaching, however, every sail can make its fullest use of the wind.
Yare
In addition to the quality of a ship's crew, ship types are also rated according to "yare" — the vessel's natural readiness and responsiveness under sail. A yare ship answers the helm quickly, takes advantage of changes in wind more easily and adjusts its attitude with less loss of movement. As the wind shifts, or as the ship turns from reaching to running or close-hauling, a yare vessel is better able to keep its sails usefully filled and preserve its speed.
This quality reflects the ship's design rather than the crew's skill alone. A broad, heavy or awkward vessel may be difficult to bring into a useful attitude, even with a competent crew, while a lighter and better-balanced ship may respond readily. Thus, yare affects how well the ship converts wind into movement once its attitude to the wind has changed.
| Wind Force ! rowspan="2"|Description ! colspan="20"|Ship Types (yare) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| very quiet | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -| calm | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -| 1 | light air | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | -| 2 | light breeze | 5 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | -| 3 | gentle breeze | 6 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | -| 4 | moderate breeze | 7 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 6 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 1 | -| 5 | fresh breeze | 6 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 1 | -| 6 | strong breeze | 4 | 3 | 2 | -1 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 1 | -| 7 | near gale | 2 | 1 | 1 | -1 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 1 | -| 8 | gale | 1 | 1 | 0 | -1 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | -| 9 | strong gale | 1 | 1 | 0 | -1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | -1 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | -| 10 | storm | 1 | 1 | 0 | -2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | -1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | -| 11 | violent storm | 1 | 0 | -1 | -2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | -1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | -| 12 | hurricane | 0 | 0 | -1 | -2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | -1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | -1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | } |
