Weather book recommendations?

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RJJ

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So, I am still deficient the weather at sea book that I placed on my Father Christmas list.

Any recommendations appreciated. I have in mind a Yacht master level guide to weather at sea, with a modicum of theory, to help with interpreting longer-range forecasts, the barometer and cloud indicators, possibly covering wind strategy for cruising.

Did my YM some decades ago and I think I was always a bit light on this topic.

Thanks!
 
I just did a search on " Meteorology for seafarers" and got lots of downloadable material. Lucy52 has suggested one book but there are lots of "used" books for sale too.
 
GHA said:
Gotta have this on your kindle :cool:
Modern Marine Weather: From Time-honored Traditional Knowledge to the Latest Technology eBook: David Burch, Tobias Burch: Amazon.co.uk: Kindle Store
And 'the barometer handbook' by same author.
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The Amazon Kindle store is just for books that you can read online?
I have a problem that I bought $A50 Amazon Coins(?) thinking it was like Paypal but now I'm trying to find something to buy that would be useful on a cruising yacht. Maybe Modern Marine weather?
 
GHA said:
No. Download onto a phone, kindle, laptop,tablet...

You must be a rare individual that doesn't know how kindles work, a must have on a cruising boat. :)
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Your profile doesn't state where you are from but you obviously are not aware that Amazon is virtually non-existent in Australia.

I'm not interested in downloading onto a phone or computer: I want hard copy. (and I suppose that makes me " old fashioned"?)
 
RJJ said:
So, I am still deficient the weather at sea book that I placed on my Father Christmas list.

Any recommendations appreciated. I have in mind a Yacht master level guide to weather at sea, with a modicum of theory, to help with interpreting longer-range forecasts, the barometer and cloud indicators, possibly covering wind strategy for cruising.

Did my YM some decades ago and I think I was always a bit light on this topic.

Thanks!
Click to expand...

I have a pristine copy of the RYA Weather Handbook (RYA Code G1) for sale......price £5, excluding postage. PM me if interested.
 
GHA said:
And an online resource >>
Backyard Meteorology: The Science of Weather

And of course our own Frank's excellent offering >>
Reeds Weather Handbook 2nd edition (Reeds Handbooks) eBook: Frank Singleton: Amazon.co.uk: Kindle Store
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You have chosen not to tell us your location a so I am unsure of the value of your advice.

Are you always in mobile phone range of a network or do you have satellite internet on your yacht? What I am asking I suppose is are you a day sailor or a cruising yachtsman?

If you have satellite Internet what did it cost to set up? What system do you have?
Since the average book is around 3 mb what is your monthly cost (including downloads)

I hope you don't consider this post is "off topic" because we are talking books and I am trying to determine if Satellite Internet costs have come down sufficiently to make it a viable option.
 
coopec said:
You have chosen not to tell us your location a so I am unsure of the value of your advice.

Are you always in mobile phone range of a network or do you have satellite internet on your yacht? What I am asking I suppose is are you a day sailor or a cruising yachtsman?

If you have satellite Internet what did it cost to set up? What system do you have?
Since the average book is around 3 mb what is your monthly cost (including downloads)

I hope you don't consider this post is "off topic" because we are talking books and I am trying to determine if Satellite Internet costs have come down sufficiently to make it a viable option.
Click to expand...
Not quite sure what you're asking... I'm in Portugal at the moment, phone data. If you are posting on here on and off then you'll likely use more data than an occasional book or 3. Can't be many cafes/bars etc without free wifi these days. Getting weather data cruising will no doubt use up much more data than a few books. Satelite is expensive , I went over to Ham a while ago to allow for gribs/email offshore. But seldom you'll be far from wifi cruising if you want a few book, kindle is such a fantastic resource for a cruising boat - no longer stuck with the rubbish sitting in the book swap at the laundry/bar.... :cool:
 
GHA said:
Not quite sure what you're asking... I'm in Portugal at the moment, phone data. If you are posting on here on and off then you'll likely use more data than an occasional book or 3. Can't be many cafes/bars etc without free wifi these days. Getting weather data cruising will no doubt use up much more data than a few books. Satelite is expensive , I went over to Ham a while ago to allow for gribs/email offshore. But seldom you'll be far from wifi cruising if you want a few book, kindle is such a fantastic resource for a cruising boat - no longer stuck with the rubbish sitting in the book swap at the laundry/bar.... :cool:
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OK you are in Portugal that explains everything. I imagine right through Northen Mediterranean you would have mobile phone coverage.
In Australia once you are 30 km out to sea you are on your own - no more phone coverage until you get to Africa (8000 km).
Kindle books would not be viable in our situation
 
coopec said:
OK you are in Portugal that explains everything. I imagine right through Northen Mediterranean you would have mobile phone coverage.
In Australia once you are 30 km out to sea you are on your own - no more phone coverage until you get to Africa (8000 km).
Kindle books would not be viable in our situation
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If you're never less than 30Km out to sea then yes, no mobile internet for you. Everyone else uses free wifi at happy hour, local sim, local library, whatever - there's nearly always something. Where are you going to buy books 30Km out to sea?... ;) It's an awful lot easier to find wifi than it is to find a decent bookshop when cruising.

Fingertip grasp to the OP - some more 'how it works' weather on here >>

WeatherSchool
 
When I wrote Reeds Weather Handbook - Franks-Weather - The Weather Window, I tried to make it fairly general, useful to most sailors but particularly European/ Mediterranean. It is low cost, pocket sized and realistic. My impression is that some meteorologists go OTT - Simon Keeling is a good practical, hands-on meteorologist but always seems to me to be one such. Extremely enthusiastic but, in my opinion, over-detailed for the ordinary Joe or Jessie afloat. Great for armchair enthusiasts, less so when you have to make hard decisions fairly quickly - “Do we go today or not.?”

Some sailors writing about weather all too quickly show their limitations with facile description of weather and how it works or how weather models work. Again, they can go OTT. Some are firmly rooted in the past and try to show you how to use upper air charts, such as 500 hPa or thickness charts. All very interesting but hardly useful compared to output from National weather services with their highly developed models. Why keep a dog and bark yourself. You cannot beat the the “official forecasts” but you may be able to add something.

As users of forecasts, sailors should have an understanding of the limitations of the science and that is, in my opinion, not dealt with by many writers. I try not to give too much theory but concentrate on use of forecast services an other readily available information. None of us will get it right all the time. My emphasis is on minimising risk. There will be occasions when it will go wrong. A few hours of F9 when south of Guernsey three years ago, for example. The forecast was F5-6 with an outside chance of F7. Some might say, “A Daniel come to judgement,” but I am not religious!
 
To guess what is going on around me I found "Instant Weather Forecasting" by Allan Watts to be usefull in identifying clouds and what they meant. Putting the theory into practice as it were.
 
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