A gale is forecast from seaward, as shown, and you want a port of refuge. Which harbour is the better choice?
A chart of a coast along the top of the picture, with a gale blowing straight on to it from the open sea at the bottom. Harbour A is a bay whose mouth faces the wind, with a green bar across it labelled bar dries 1.2 m. Harbour B lies behind a hooked headland, with its entrance opening to the right, labelled 6 m deep at all states of tide. A yacht is out at sea.
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B: a sheltered entrance with deep water at any state of tide. A good port of refuge is one you can enter safely in the very conditions that would send you there: at any state of tide and with shelter in the entrance. A shallow bar facing an onshore gale can break heavily and is one of the most dangerous places to be.
