WHICH WAY WE GOIN’, TO WINDWARD OR LEEWARD?
By Andy Smith

[originally published in KANAWA, under “Paddling Briefs”, Winter 2004/2005]

-1C this morning. That’s 30 American. A stiff breeze from the nor’west. Snow’s in the air. Tents, tarps, sleeping bags, paddling clothes and tripping gear still packed away. Canoes stowed in the barn. Our little sailboat, the Corrie Dow, is still covered and safely cradled against winter. I was raised a sailor, and only later in life became a canoeist…but not much later.

They say that generally you’re more likely to remember those things you learned earlier in life, like how to catch a baseball or paddle a canoe. In my case I also remember how to sail. I remember how to use sails to “tack” to “windward,” and by so doing making it easier to get home “downwind.” I know that waves should be “quartered” and that a “broach” is dangerous. Quartering is taking waves on a boat’s “quarter” (there are four of them), or at a 45 degree angle, and broaching is when you turn sideways or “broadside” to the wind—and usually the waves—especially dangerous when “running” downwind or to “leeward.”

I also remember the distinction between “tracking” and “lining” a canoe, but this distinction is less likely to be a matter of life or death than wondering whether to go to windward or leeward when the wind picks-up.

You never forget these little things learned from a parent or grandparent. You might not be able to execute still, but you never forget what to do. Ah, the paradox.

Anyway, as I was saying…The distinction between sailor and canoeist is not usually all that important, but when considering the number of times I have heard knowledgeable canoeists use the (primarily) sailing terms “leeward” and “windward” incorrectly, I’ve begun to reconsider. Allow me a stab at clarification.

Thanks to the CRCA (Canadian Recreational Canoeing Association) bookstore, I’m again relaxing in mid-winter Nova Scotia with a paddling book in my hands, dreaming of the coming season, absorbed in a well written description of another fabulous trip down the Thelon River in Nunavut and the Northwest Territories when I read this: “…our only hope was to paddle directly into the teeth of the wind to reach the lee shore at the foot of the bay.”

Now I know what the author intended to say, but the fact is that to “paddle directly into the teeth of the wind” actually requires a paddle to the windward shore. Let me explain the distinction and, hopefully, put the difference between windward and leeward to rest.

First, windward and leeward are always used relative to something…a body of water (a lake for instance), or a piece of land (maybe an island), or traditionally, a sailing ship…but for our purposes we’ll use a canoe.

So, you can have the windward side of a lake, an island, or a canoe. With this in mind, “windward” means the direction the wind is coming towards you. The “windward side” of the canoe is the side of the canoe that the wind hits first. This direction—to windward—is also referred to as “upwind” and is the direction you want to go if you want to get out of the wind and waves.

“Leeward” means the direction the wind is going away from you. The “leeward side” of the canoe is the side of the canoe that the wind touches last. This direction—to leeward—is also referred to as “downwind,” and in a strong wind and heavy “seas” (waves), is not the way you want to go if you can avoid it. You do not want to be on a “lee shore.” As a child learning to sail, my grandfather implored me, in no uncertain terms, to “beware a lee shore.” As you can see, I still remember the admonition. You should too.

Let’s look at an example. If you’re crossing a lake in a canoe and, say, paddling to the northeast (NE), and the wind is from the northwest (NW), the windward side of your canoe is the left side (“port” in sailing lingo). The leeward side is to the right (starboard). To escape wind and waves you want to get upwind (to windward) into the shelter of the land, not downwind (to leeward). You want to head to the windward side (shore) of the lake, not the leeward side or shore.

In sailing, as in canoeing, the most dangerous shore in any wind is a lee shore. No question. Don’t go to leeward, which, in our example, is to the southeast (SE). Waves are bigger because they have had the full “fetch” of the lake to build up, and waves will, with no conscience, try to push you onto rocks on the downwind shore, pounding the bottom out of your canoe before driving you aground. There are fewer options on a lee shore. If you don’t have the sailing skill or paddling power, or the waves are too big, a lee shore is difficult to escape. It’s too big a risk to life and boat. I’ve heard horror stories of this paddling predicament occurring on Lake Winnipeg but it can happen on a postage stamp anywhere.

To escape a lee shore you have to paddle very hard to windward, or toward the windward shore (NW in our example). If you’re on a windward shore you have options. You can stay where you are—in the lee of the land—or you can continue to paddle NE in protected waters, or, if you wish to take a chance, you can head downwind to “get some wind in your sails,” but not too much. The safest shore in a blow is the windward shore because it is in the lee…of the land. The landmass deflects the wind over your head and there are few waves because there is not much fetch.

To reiterate: The windward side of the land touches the leeward side of the lake, and the leeward side of the land touches the windward side of the lake. In our hypothetical paddle to the NE, you want to cheat to windward, or toward the NW, to avoid wind and waves. By doing so you’ll be on the windward shore in the lee of the land.

Now, back to my paddle down the Thelon.

[For these and other nautical terms, see the East Coast Marine Weather Manual (Halifax: Environment Canada, 1989) pp 83-86, or any book on navigation or sailing.]