I've been reading Patric O'Brien and they keep mentioning it. I know it has to do with which way the wind is blowing in relation to the ship and the coastline, but I'm not sure.
Any sailors out there who know?
Anonymous
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OK people. This is difficult to picture without drawing it out on paper. But Chapman’s Piloting & Seamanship manual, which is the mariners bible, defines “WINDWARD means toward the direction from which the wind is blowing……(same as) the WEATHER SIDE.” “Opposite to windward is the LEE SIDE of a boat is the side away from the wind”.
So, on a boat if we are on a course to the east and the wind is out of the north, the left/port side of our boat is the windward or weather side and the right/starboard side is the lee side of the boat. (You experienced sailors know to pee to the lee.)
On a lake, the upwind side would be the windward side OF THE LAKE (water). And the down wind side of the lake would be the lee side, again of the lake.
If we think about a peninsula jutting into a lake at a right angle to the wind, the side or shore onto which the wind is blowing should be the windward shore and the opposite side of the peninsula would seem to be the lee side. (Although I have never seen shores defined as windward or lee side.)
But, if you are in the lee of the land, you are on the upwind side of a body of water in the lee of the trees (for example) which are protecting you from the full force of the wind.
Larry M
A lee shore is the shore that the wind is blowing on to. It is named such due to the fact that it's on the lee side of the boat. It's an unfavourable position to be in as it is a great way to wreck your boat if you cannot "claw" your way off as mentioned above. This is why In the Patrick O'Brien stories they kept track of Lee Shores.
Don't confuse this with being in the "Lee" of an island, point of land, etc. Again it has nothing to do with how the wind is blowing across the boat but rather that you are on the opposite side of an obstruction from where the wind is coming from. Being in the Lee can be a very smart move in lumpy conditions. When anchoring for the night, I try to figure out what the weather conditions are coming from, how they'll swing over night and position the boat so that there's a land mass between me and the wind.
Anonymous
Just to confuse things......It's relative to where you are
On an island, the side getting the wind is the windward side,
the other (lee side) is the sheltered side.
A boat travelling parallel to a windward shore w/ the shore on its lee side (away from the wind) which makes it a lee shore relative to the boat.
Turning hard alee will make the boat run with the wind & bunk into the island.
Not good if you are too close , under sail & cannot "claw" away.
Travelling parallel to the lee shore of an island (windward side of the boat facing shore) ,turning hard alee will take you away from shore.
Best regards
cat38skip
Mark T has it correct. An anchorage or land becomes dangerous and is referred to as a 'lee shore' when the wind blows onshore as viewed from the boat. It is the shore that is on the lee side of the boat but onto which the wind is blowing. If you are standing on the boat, lee means the side that is more protected and windward means the side onto which the wind blows.
Anonymous
Last year I watched a blue water 50 being blown toward lee shore. It had been purchased two weeks prior by a person
as liveaboard retirement and owner was twenty miles away
when mooring parted during windstorm. The dark blue 'glass hull pushed along with its port rail taking sea aboard until it hit rocky shore. As following seas crashed into lee shore the vessel began to break up within hours. This winter only some twisted wire and 'glass shards mark the location.