I never knew how to tell until I found out about the Beaufort Force Scale, which spells out how safe it is to kayak in different conditions. Think of it as something like the F-factor for tornado in that you have a certain number that’s actually mapped to specific wind speeds.
Take a look at these measurements and imagine how you’d feel in any of them:
- Beaufort 0: With less than 1¼ MPH winds, the water surface is going to look smooth and glassy. It’ll be calm and ideal for anyone to kayak no matter how inexperienced they might be.
- Beaufort 1: Winds at this level go up to 3½ MPH, which is still just fine even for those who are just learning. The water surface might have some ripples, but it won’t show any cresting at all.
- Beaufort 2: Speeds can approach 7 MPH at Beaufort Scale 2, but the water should still appear relatively glassy with no breaking of reflections. That being said, you’ll start to feel the breeze on your face.
- Beaufort 3: Considering that this represents winds up to 11 MPH, this is about as strong of conditions that beginners should ever try to go out in. If you notice waves getting up to three or four feet, then you may wish to call things off until you’ve got more practice under your belt.
- Beaufort 4: At this factor, winds can approach 18 MPH and start to produce some fairly high waves. This is for experienced kayakers only.
- Beaufort 5: The scale tops out at slightly less than 25 MPH, though some people consider factor 6 to be an additional warning level. Regardless, waves are so high at this point that even the most experienced kayakers will have an issue.
How Windy is Too Windy for Kayak Fishing?
It’ll all depends on what kind of line you’re using and what sort of fish you’re looking for. Some deep water fish won’t actually come to the surface unless there’s sufficient levels of wind to make the water a little choppy and therefore force them upwards.
That being said, you probably still don’t want to exceed maybe 12-15 MPH winds when fishing even if you’re quite experienced. You might find that it becomes too difficult to cast at that point anyway.
Those who are fishing with a trawling line or some other alternative method might find things a little easier, but you’re probably using something a little more substantial than a hard shell kayak if you plan to go fishing like this. The same goes for anyone with a net.
While you’d be able to fish with a net at fairly fast speeds, it’d be challenging to do so from a kayak.
What is a Safe Wind Speed for Kayaking?
Anything over maybe 10½-11 MPH is too much for novice kayakers. This tends to be the limit that I’ve always had suggested to me, and it seems to be one that people have a tendency to teach students if they’re running a little boating clinic on the beach.
That being said, only you know how much you can handle. When I was just starting out, I don’t think that I could have even kept up with wind speeds that were going that fast to be honest.
Don’t let anyone tell you that you should be embarrassed if you don’t want to go out in certain conditions. Only you can be the judge of what’s right and pushing yourself is going to just cause problems.
How Do You Kayak in Windy Conditions?
Having a good stance on your bench is very important. You’ll need to figure out how to adjust your rowing when the winds start to kick up, but there isn’t a hard and fast rule that can tell you quite how to do this.
You need to really get a feel for what way the waves and choppy crests of the water are going, so that you don’t just keep rowing against them and moving in a circle. This is a lesson I learned the hard way, since I just kept paddling without actually getting anywhere for a while.
One thing you don’t want to do is let the waves carry you in the wrong direction. When new boaters find out this is starting to happen to them, they’ll very often panic and in doing so they actually make the situation much worse.
Make sure to relax and stay focused. Getting all distraught isn’t going to help.
That’s much easier to say than it is to do, but you’ll be able to kayak in higher winds more successfully if you don’t let your emotions start to get the best of you.
Can Kayaks Tip Over Easily?
While not every flip can be prevented, you should find that with a little practice you can fight against most common tipping incidents. That being said, kayaks do have a tendency to tip over if they end up getting into conditions where the water is too rough or there is too much wind.
Perhaps the most important thing to keep in mind is the fact that you need to make sure your kayak is properly balanced before you ever go out with it. By taking the time to balance out your boat, you’ll reduce the risk of tipping.
Don’t go out in conditions that are rougher than you’re prepared for. You’ll want to practice some basic oar techniques and body postures that can help you rock a kayak back into the right position.
This can help you to dramatically cut back on the amount of time this happens. Some people like to roll kayaks and practice doing this, but you’re going to want to stay away from this kind of behavior usually.
Boaters will sometimes claim that it’s fun to do, but it’s a pain and potentially dangerous no matter what reason it happens!