Seajet
...
I've got this amazing new app on my phone which let's me actually talk to people in real time !
How do you find out the forecast when on board?
- Thread starter Zagato
- Start date
Slowtack
Well-Known Member
For any voyagers to Irish waters - mobile.met.ie for sea area forecasts
jac
Well-Known Member
Never catch on Andy.
lustyd
Well-Known Member
Sounds a bit 90s to me. Nothing beats taking a photo in Instagram, adding Sepia and hoping they get the message. Communication is far more subtle these days, the kids don't even like to let each other know who they are talking to half the time
LadyInBed
Well-Known Member
alan_d
Well-Known Member
Ceefax/Oracle disappeared with analogue TV transmissions.
grumpy_o_g
Well-Known Member
Maybe I've missed it but no-one has mentioned Simon. Web page here http://www.sailingweatherinformationservice.co.uk/ and he will send a forecast by text if you wish as part of the service - not free but very good. You can also ring on 01902 895252 and get a specific forecast (costs £1.50 per min).
lustyd
Well-Known Member
Either that number is wrong or it won't cost £1.50 per minute unless he's charging separately. 01 numbers are not chargeable, 08 and 09 are reserved for that.
franksingleton
Well-Known Member
You will have VHF giving 8 inagore waters broadcasts a day, updated 4 times a day.
If going >30 miles out you should have NAVTEXgiving sea area forecasts twice a day - a MCA recommendation.
Those meet most coastal sailing and short passage making needs. If you want or need more then you have two options.
First, With a smartphone or a Tblet, there are there are many options. Secondly call Simon Keeling.
Zagato
Well-Known Member
I don't even have a mobile phone at the moment 'LIB' (lost it again as I never use them! Had one for work 24/7
straight in the bin when I packed the job in )The radio seems to be one option but looking at some of Nathan's clips the forecast was mostly wrong for him! This combined with VHF will be OK. It's really just when I'm moored in Itchenor for a few days and won't be setting foot on shore to see what the forecast is...
[Seajet=Quote] Oi ! Zagato,
We'll have none of that thank-you, you've got a lovely boat there ( for a non- Anderson ) so stick with her, she'll repay your loyalty.
Lol, can't believe I am planning to sell her already but I've now become obsessed with building a Caterham, it doesn't help when the showroom is just down the road
I am quite happy with returning to a Drascombe, it's more family friendly, is OK for Solent sailing and is a damn site less hassle to sail and maintain (plonk your outboard in, pull up your anchor from the cockpit and hoist the sails job done, no blimmen in board engine hassles, sea-cocks, heads, diesel bug, flushing tanks, gas pipe grief, electrics etc etc (not that I have had any of those griefs but it's just all more eventual complication). Fortunately my boat was pretty well all up together BUT I just like KISS and I will get just as much enjoyment if not more from slinging a hook overnight out on the mudflats, creek hopping in the Solent and the annual club round the island trip and rallies, than from sailing to Poole (I don't need all that boat for that!). I can also trail my Drascombe down to Falmouth and beyond which is a real attraction
I don't think I will ever be a serious cruiser, the Poole trip will be the deciding factor, if it really is an amazing experience/challenge then I'll stick with the Crabber for another year but I am psyched up for it to be like a 5 day mountaineering expedition, e.g. being cold, wet and exhausting but with the added bonus of constantly throwing up!! We'll see, I can do the hardship thats part of the mad fun but the sea sickness will be the test, hopefully I have got that under control to some extent, it's been OK so far...
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Uricanejack
Well-Known Member
I thought it was still a long standing tradition to listen to the BBC shipping forecast every 6 hrs. Waking up to the morning forecast is just part of sailing in the Uk. The ability to jot it down on the back of a fag packet an essential sailing sailing skill.
Dont smoke so I always had a problem with that.
Dont smoke so I always had a problem with that.
Seajet
...
Zagato,
while I agree about inboard engines being a hassle - been there with an ageing Volvo saildrive, never again, that's one reason I love the Anderson - working on the boat should be part of the fun, not a bother, otherwise one never really gets to know ones' boat.
This applies especially to dinghies but also to any sailing boat, the thing I love is that one can drive it over the top and be a nut, the worst that can happen is you get wet !
Try that in a Caterham ( I know a real Caterham nut who took her car to America for a rally ) or any car and the results if one gets it wrong could be a wheelchair or coffin...
As for the Poole trip, this is not exactly sailings' Everest, I'm a very cautious natural worrier and I've done it a few times singlehanded in a t shirt, my only worry was sunburn, it's a lovely trip with great scenery all the way and Poole is a great place, your biggest concern will be trying to find a decent meal, take some tinned curry !
while I agree about inboard engines being a hassle - been there with an ageing Volvo saildrive, never again, that's one reason I love the Anderson - working on the boat should be part of the fun, not a bother, otherwise one never really gets to know ones' boat.
This applies especially to dinghies but also to any sailing boat, the thing I love is that one can drive it over the top and be a nut, the worst that can happen is you get wet !
Try that in a Caterham ( I know a real Caterham nut who took her car to America for a rally ) or any car and the results if one gets it wrong could be a wheelchair or coffin...
As for the Poole trip, this is not exactly sailings' Everest, I'm a very cautious natural worrier and I've done it a few times singlehanded in a t shirt, my only worry was sunburn, it's a lovely trip with great scenery all the way and Poole is a great place, your biggest concern will be trying to find a decent meal, take some tinned curry !
john_morris_uk
Well-Known Member
To answer the OP's question:
On the boat I am sitting on as I type this. I have VHF, HF and Sat C plus Navtex plus a stand alone metfax with built in receiver and timer and two satellite phones so take your pick where to get wx data from...
On my own boat I've got LW radio, HF VHF and Navtex plus an iPhone when within signal range.
I just use whichever is easiest and as I am currently in a marina with free wifi I check the Internet using my phone. When we slip and proceed it will be a mixture of Navtex, Sat C and met fax pictures and reports. I might even flash up the HF and talk to someone.
On the boat I am sitting on as I type this. I have VHF, HF and Sat C plus Navtex plus a stand alone metfax with built in receiver and timer and two satellite phones so take your pick where to get wx data from...
On my own boat I've got LW radio, HF VHF and Navtex plus an iPhone when within signal range.
I just use whichever is easiest and as I am currently in a marina with free wifi I check the Internet using my phone. When we slip and proceed it will be a mixture of Navtex, Sat C and met fax pictures and reports. I might even flash up the HF and talk to someone.
Zagato
Well-Known Member
Once it's all done and I have got to know the boat it will be fine, just going through a load of hassle/worry and more expense at the moment. Seems to be something wrong and expensive everytime I visit the boat to sail her for the first time.
snowleopard
Well-Known Member
With a smartphone it's easy. I link into XCWeather:
http://www.xcweather.co.uk/
It's hard to use with a tiny screen but once you set it to default to your current location it only takes a few seconds to get a forecast with 3-hourly predictions for the next 5 days.
http://www.xcweather.co.uk/
It's hard to use with a tiny screen but once you set it to default to your current location it only takes a few seconds to get a forecast with 3-hourly predictions for the next 5 days.
franksingleton
Well-Known Member
I do not have a Ssmartphone and can only experiment with an iPad. However, I suggest that you might find one of several Apps will be clearer and very nearly as quick to use. They are all the same data as XCWeather. Although they all have their pros and cons, you might find iGrib meets your needs as well as any. You can save an area, eg around the Isle of Wight, Tap the area name and a few seconds later up it comes. Zoom in if necessary and it will be far clearer than XCWeather. Also, on my iPad and, presumably, a Smartphone it is saved to view later when off-line.
