Each day the prudent boater listens to the weather before setting out and again before deciding on an anchorage. For longer passages longer forecasts are needed. The ability to get both short and long range forecasts from a variety of sources has been greatly enhanced by through technological innovation. As access to the internet improves for boaters, we have more tools available to us. In this presentation many of these tools will be examined and assessed. The emphasis will be on coastal and offshore sailing based on my dozen trips around Vancouver Island.

1. Marine Weather Resources
Jack Dale
ISPA Yachtmaster Offshore Instructor Evaluator
Sail Canada Advanced Cruising Instructor
ASA Advanced Coastal Cruising / Catamaran Instructor
IYT Yachtmaster Coastal Instructor

2. Sources of Weather
Information
 Traditional
 VHF
 Radio
 Newspaper
 Telephone
 Electronic
 Internet
 Phone Apps

3. Sources of Weather
Information
 Electronic
 Internet
 Ethernet
 WiFi
 Cell Phone
 Tethered
 Air card
 Phone Apps

4. WiFi
 Many marinas
 Internet cafes
 Quality varies

5. Cell Phone
 Tethered
 WiFi hotpsot
 USB cable
 Air Card

6. Cell Service Coverage

7. Cell Phone Coverage

8. Good sites
 Marine Weather : Pacific - South Coast
 http://weather.gc.ca/marine/region_e.html?map
ID=02
 Choose area

9. Forecast Area
 Forecast
 Extended forecast
 Weather conditions
 Ice conditions
 Warning
 Synopsis

10. Weather Conditions
 Hourly updates
 Buoys
 Lightstations

11. Other Sites
 BIGWAVEDAVE.CA
 weather information for windsurfing and
kiteboarding on Vancouver Island, BC.

12. Smartphone Apps
 Buoyweather
 Sail Flow
 Predict Wind
 mobileGrib

13. GRIB Files
 A widely used bit-oriented data
exchange scheme is the
WMO GRIddedBinary (GRIB) format.
GRIB is an efficient vehicle for
transmitting large volumes of gridded
data to automated centers over high-
speed telecommunication lines using
modern protocols.

14. Grib Readers
 Ugrib - free
 ZyGrib - free
 Ocens WeatherNet – subscription
 Open CPN – free (CHS charts $$$)
 Expedition – racing software
 Optimal course
 Target speeds
 Utilizes polars

15. Acquiring Grib Data
 File Transfer Protocol
 Built in to software
 Email
 Saildocs

16. Saildocs
 Saildocs is an automated system and the
format for a grib request must be
followed exactly.
 The format for a basic grib-file request is:
gfs:lat0,lat1,lon0,lon1|dlat,dlon|VTs|Params

17. Email
 To: query@saildocs.com
Subject: anything
send gfs:46N,52N,130W,121W|1,1|6,12..96|PRESS,WIND
NB – email may not be possible when using WiFi.

18. Weather Fax
 From NOAA
 500 Mb Analysis & Forecast
 Surface Analysis & Forecast
 Sea State Analysis & Wave Period Forecast
/ Direction
 Wind / Wave Analysis & Forecast
 Satellite Photos
 Gales, Storms and Hurricanes

19. Acquiring Weather Fax
 Internet
 SSB radio
 Weatherfax receiver
 Sat Phone (email)

20. Weather Fax Internet
 http://weather.noaa.gov/fax/marine.shtml
 Email
 FTP
 Web
 http://www.nws.noaa.gov/om/marine/nepacific
brief.shtml

21. Weatherfax SSB
Pt.Reyes(NMC) 4346(except 19z,23Z), 8682, 12786, 17151.2, 22527(19z,23Z) kHz Radiofax Broadcast
Start Broadcast 0140Z 0655Z 1120Z 1400Z 1840Z 2320Z
Broadcast
Schedule
1124Z 2324Z
SSB to Modem to PC to Printer

22. Weatherfax Receiver
 PC
 Chartplotter

23. NAVTEX
 Used in Sea Area
A2
 150 miles offshore
 Synopsis
 Forecast
 Waves
NAVTEX Receiver
 Printer
 Display
 Keyboard

24. Studying Weather
 Marine weather courses
 Books
 Anything by Owen Lange