The Girl, The Buffer, and The Gelcoat

The scale was devised in 1805 by Francis Beaufort (later Rear Admiral Sir Francis Beaufort), an Irish Royal Navy officer, while serving in HMS Woolwich. The scale that carries Beaufort's name had a long and complex evolution from the previous work of others (including Daniel Defoe the century before). In the 1830s it was adopted officially and first used during the voyage of HMS Beagle under Captain Robert FitzRoy, (who later set up the first Meteorological Office in Britain).In the early 19th century, naval officers made regular weather observations, but there was no standard scale and they could be very subjective - one man's "stiff breeze" might be another's "soft breeze". Beaufort succeeded in standardizing the scale.

Force	Wind	WMO	Effects
	(Knots)	Classification	On the Water
0	Less than 1	Calm	Sea surface smooth and mirror-like
1	1-3	Light Air	Scaly ripples, no foam crests
2	4-6	Light Breeze	Small wavelets, crests glassy, no breaking
3	7-10	Gentle Breeze	Large wavelets, crests begin to break, scattered whitecaps

 For the entire scale, click...... HERE