French Riviera the weather between various locations. Strong winds such as the Mistral, a cold dry wind from the northwest or from the east, are another characteristic, particularly in the winter. Nice and the Alpes-Maritimes département are sheltered by the Alps. The winds are usually gentle, from the sea to the land, though sometimes the mistral blows strongly from the northwest, or, turned by the mountains, from the east. In 1956 a mistral from the northwest reached at Nice Airport. Sometimes, in summer, the sirocco brings high temperatures and reddish desert sand from the Sahara. (See Winds of Provence.) Rain can be
Zephyr (dinghy) Zephyr (dinghy) The Zephyr is a New Zealand one-design sailing dinghy. Zephyrs are a national class, administered by the Zephyr Owners' Association. Hull form and sail plans are restricted, to ensure all boats have the same potential speed. The Zephyr was designed by Auckland New Zealand yacht designer Des Townson in 1956. Des built all the first hulls himself (numbers 1 to 233) in Pinus Radiata veneer, off the same mould, even though many were completed by their owners to the strict one design rules of the class. All sails for this series of boats were made by Auckland sailmakers