Legerwall

With lee shore , the situation of a watercraft is described in which this is being driven by wind, waves or flow at a Coast. The associated danger is to get stranded on a coast if the boat can no longer counteract the forces of nature by its own engine power or by sailing.

The term Legerwall is derived from a typical name for a wind situation. Lee is the side of an object facing away from the wind, such as a ship - the opposite is windward , the side from which the wind blows. In addition to the situation “on Legerwall”, Legerwall is also the next coast in the direction in which the wind drives an object, if it does not itself reduce its drift as much as possible through suitable measures such as swords .

Sailing ships have to cross to escape the situation. The worse the cross, the more sea space it needs, which is restricted on rocky coasts by reefs and on flat coasts by sandbanks.

Flat coasts hold a treacherous danger on Legerwall. Since waves running up on shallow coasts change in shape and size, the ship can hit the bottom with great force despite the seemingly sufficient water depth. This can destroy the ship's hull while the ship is still far from the saving coast.

On the German North Sea coast , Legerwall represents a particular danger because of the tides , the wide shelf , the prevailing winds from the west, upstream sandbanks and the high volume of traffic. The early sailing merchant ships were due to their high superstructures and their sails with square sails , but also because of the inadequate navigational possibilities, particularly endangered by the laying wall.

Even modern sailing yachts with a fixed keel are at risk due to their large draft at Legerwall on flat coasts.