======Sailing====== ===[rules]=== ~~NOTOC~~ \\ Sailing is the primary means of travel on the planet of Terra, and the characters may wish to engage in sailing as a part of their adventures. For the purposes of this game, I have created some simplified mechanics for sailing to facilitate smooth gameplay \\ ====Knots (kts)==== Knots can refer to wind speed or boat speed, and is usually used to indicate //nautical miles per hour//. For simplicity, nautical miles will be treated as if they were miles, despite the fact that they would not be the same on a planets of varying size \\ ====Wind speed==== You can use the following table to generalize wind conditions ^Category^Wind Speed^Wave Height^Sea Conditions^Land Conditions^ |Calm|0-1 kts|0 ft|Flat, glassy|Smoke rises vertically| |Light Breeze|1-6 kts|0-2 ft|Small wavelets|Smoke drifts, leaves rustle, Wind vanes begin to move| |Breeze|6-15 kts|2-6 ft|Small waves with breaking crests|Flags are extended, small branches move| |Strong Breeze|15-30 kts|6-12 ft|Wave crests foam, airborne spray begins|Trees sway, Umbrella use difficult| |High Winds|30-40 kts|12-25 ft|Foam is blown into streaks, considerable airborne spray|Whole trees in motion, walking into the wind is seriously impeded| |Gale|40-50 kts|25-30 ft|Dense foam and airborne spray reduce visibility|Branches break off trees, some small trees blow over| |Storm|50-60 kts|30-50 ft|High waves with overhanging crests|Trees broken or uprooted, widespread damage likely| |Hurricane|60+ kts|50+ ft|Huge waves, driving airborne spray, greatly reduced visibility|Unsecured objects hurled about, severe widespread damage| \\ ====Sailing in difficult conditions==== As the wind speed increases, the forces on the sails quadruples, requiring the reduction of the surface area of the sails exposed to the wind, which is called reefing. Additional strategies include the use of storm sails, dragging storm drogues (nets), dragging anchors, or working the rudder against the sails (heaving to). The exact strategies and amount of sail reduced varies from boat to boat; the table below generalizes the use of these strategies, as well as giving the difficulty check required to successfully sail in those conditions ^Wind Conditions^Sailing DC^Reefing Strategies^ |Calm|Trivial|Full Sail| |Light Breeze|Easy|Full Sail| |Breeze|Easy|Full Sail| |Strong Breeze|Moderate|First and Second Reef| |High Winds|Moderate|Third Reef, Storm sails| |Gale|Hard|Heave to| |Storm|Hard|Sea anchor or Storm Drogue deployed| |Hurricane|Near Impossible|All of the above|