New East Coast Sailing Magazine is out!!

I've enjoyed the articals on rebuilding a rudder as I am in the process of building a new one fron scratch. Very usefull and informative , it gave me the confidence to go for it.
A great read all round
 
IWF article

New copy of this gem is available. :cool::cool:

The article on the Inshore Waters Forecast in particular is a very good read.
My thoughts exactly!

I never thought I would hear myself saying this but my experience has been the opposite of Dick's. Nearly all the other forecasts are automated and under-estimate the wind strength. Same goes for Simon Keeling who is often way off. The few times I've crossed the Estuary this year I have found the Met Office forecast pretty much spot on and the others way off.

I like the clear structure but agree "F5-7" or "F5 increasing 7" is too vague. Maybe that's why the Met Ofice can claim to be accurate (but not precise). The area Gib Pt to N Foreland is vast but if they split the UK coastline up into smaller sections the forecast would take half an hour and we'd all doze off.

Despite that the ECS mag is superb in both content and presentation. It's good to have an intelligent critique of the weather forecast.
Tony
 
Last edited:
I never thought I would hear myself saying this but my experience has been the opposite of Dick's. Nearly all the other forecasts are automated and under-estimate the wind strength. Same goes for Simon Keeling who is often way off. The few times I've crossed the Estuary this year I have found the Met Office forecast pretty much spot on and the others way off.

I like the clear structure but agree "F5-7" or "F5 increasing 7" is too vague. Maybe that's why the Met Ofice can claim to be accurate (but not precise). The area Gib Pt to N Foreland is vast but if they split the UK coastline up into smaller sections the forecast would take half an hour and we'd all doze off.

1. I agree that the IWF area Gib Pt - N Foreland is too large to be fit for purpose.
2. I do not think that making the area smaller would make the forecast take too long. In my experience, very few people rely on the LW, FM or VHF broadcast of the forecast but obtain it another way (internet, navtex, ...) - you just read the bit that concerns you. Takes no time at all.
3. Before setting out, I always check the MetOffice, Meteo France and the Belgian and sometimes Dutch/German forecast covering the Thames Estuary. The MetOffice one is always the most pessimistic one - without fail. It's like they feel the need to add a Bft or two 'just to be on the safe side'.
4. IMO, the archaic imminent, soon, later, ... should be replaced by morning, afternoon, evening, night (like the French do). More understandable, less confusing and correct whenever you hear/read the forecast.
 
You are allowed to disagree with me, Tony!
Thanks for the comments, keep them coming, and email me if you'd prefer (address is at the end of the article in ECS).
 
I've enjoyed the articals on rebuilding a rudder as I am in the process of building a new one fron scratch. Very usefull and informative , it gave me the confidence to go for it.
A great read all round

Good. Might be hard to believe but I really enjoyed doing it and it was not as difficult as I feared. Good luck.
 
Top