Heckler
Well-Known Member
Was just pondering after reading about the best way to sail north from gib. If one goes offshore 150 miles, how does one get an up to date weather forecast?
Stu
Stu
How to get a weather forecast offshore?
- Thread starter Heckler
- Start date
Buck Turgidson
Well-Known Member
I used a cheap ssb receiver and an iPad app to get weather fax.
ShinyShoe
Well-Known Member
There is a weatherfax thread currently running on the PBO thread on here...
oldvarnish
Well-Known Member
Yep, have a look at that. For such a passage, a combination of fax charts and UK shipping forecast on LW and you're home and dry. Throw in a bit of local stuff on the Navtex and you'll have more weather stuff than you can handle.
Twister_Ken
Well-Known Member
How far offshore does Navtex go, assuming standard aerials from the kit manufacturer, and not some super-duper ham aerial set-up?
sighmoon
Well-Known Member
We lost it (Navtex) about 20 miles off the Norfolk coast. I've no idea how far we were from the transmitter. The aerial is on the pushpit though, not up the mast.
Neil_Y
Well-Known Member
The fact is that in a mono hull you're only making 120-160 miles a day so you can't do much about where you are relative to weather systems, so the forecasts offshore are mainly advanced warning of what is coming (you also see this with less warning from wind direction and clouds) It is reassuring to see the pictures though and I used an ssb receiver and laptop, which worked well transatlantic, I had a Nasa HF3 but many people were using the cheap trany portable radios linked to lap top.
You always reef early and shorten sail at night of you want a trip with less stress and keep your eye on clouds for squals.
You always reef early and shorten sail at night of you want a trip with less stress and keep your eye on clouds for squals.
Koeketiene
Well-Known Member
Orwell based - Furuno NX300.
Regularly get NAVTEX reports from as far as Croatia & Haifa.
NormanS
Well-Known Member
Suspect that there maybe something wrong with your Navtex or installation. On the West Coast of Scotland, we get Navtex from all sorts of exotic foreign stations like Germany and Iceland, as well as the more normal Portpatrick, Malin Head, and often Cullercoats.
jdc
Well-Known Member
If you've an SSB receiver you can also listen to forecasts from Falmouth CG on 1880kHz. This should be audible right across Biscay at least. And of course there are Spanish and Portugese stations broadcasting on MF, eg Finisterre on 1764kHz. So no need to get faxes if you don't want to.
oldvarnish
Well-Known Member
There's probably a quoted figure but I don't know what it is. 300 miles?
It can be substantial distances. I once had ice warnings from Canada while on the equator with a standard unit and no special aerial. Equally, I haven't been able to get Niton off the Irish coast.
But on this planned passage from Gib to the UK you'll never be out of range of either Spanish or French. Navtex on the Azores never seems to be working. Not when I'm there, anyway.
TIP - make sure you have a plan of the French and Spanish sea areas.
webcraft
Well-Known Member
.
We got Navtex right across Biscay (rhumb line Scillies to La Coruna)
- W
We got Navtex right across Biscay (rhumb line Scillies to La Coruna)
- W
prv
Well-Known Member
I believe each Navtex station has a quoted range - they're not all the same. But we're talking hundreds of miles.
EDIT: Yep, here's a list of the Northern European ones: http://www.icselectronics.co.uk/support/info/navtexdb
100 miles or so around Belgium and Holland where everything's close together, up to 450 miles in the frozen north.
Click "Return to map" at the bottom to see other areas.
Pete
EDIT: Yep, here's a list of the Northern European ones: http://www.icselectronics.co.uk/support/info/navtexdb
100 miles or so around Belgium and Holland where everything's close together, up to 450 miles in the frozen north.
Click "Return to map" at the bottom to see other areas.
Pete
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Heckler
Well-Known Member
Thanks all for the info, looks like SW radio and pooter
Stu
ShinyShoe
Well-Known Member
You'll get an android tablet for under £100 - far cheaper than a 'puter.
jerrytug
N/A
Good list. I believe the northern ones have longer range because the aerials are in high places!
Edited, that might be a myth, perhaps Oostende etc have a shorter range because that's all that is required?
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Marsupial
Well-Known Member
We used navtex a barometer and a person who reads clouds, the cloud reader was the most accurate.
Heckler
Well-Known Member
SWMBO has a Tab2 she uses with Navionics, got an Asus onboard as well so can take our choice
Stu
Koeketiene
Well-Known Member
Oostende Radio can - if required - cover for most/all coastal stations (excluding VHF) in Norhern/Western Europe.
The facility is to a large degree manned & operated by the military and has a considerable war-time role (back-up in case of satelite failure).
OST is one of the few remaining big HF & MF radiostations in Europe.
http://www.coastalradio.org.uk/worldcoastal/oostenderadio/oostende.htm
temptress
Well-Known Member
I've done that trip many times and usually manage to pickup BBC R4 on 198 long wave, navtex, Spanish forecasts on VHF (listen on16 and then change channel - quickly they rattle through th eenglish forecast very quickly), French forecasts when in Biscay. IMO thei ssue will be too many sources of information each giving a slightly different forecast. OH and loads of beating whatever way you go unless it's vis the carrib.
If you need a forecat badky there is often a merchant sdhip nesrby that will oblige. Or you could try a satphone and GRIB files or SSB+Pactor and GRIB or weatherfax.
