Weather reports

[Vindleka]

We are exploring the various options for accessing accurate weather forecasts around France, Spain and through the Med. It would be interesting to know the preferred methods of anyone cruising in those areas. We are looking at Navtex / Online sources / Subscription services / SSB Fax services.

 

[npf1]

have a look at ocens.com

 

[dart]

Have a look at ZipGet (see below) it works very well in that area, I know because I developed it while there.

Navtex is good on passage but sometimes doesn't work in Marinas and only gives 24 hours ahead.

Try and get a French forecast, they are better than Spanish/Portuguese.

Also have a look at GRIB, this works well if you have airmail or sailmail with your SSB.

Useful sites:
www.weatherweb.net
franksingleton
metoffice

Try and get a system that gets you wave height predictions. I found this very useful even in the Med ...

Chris

 

[TigaWave]

We found that using the ssb receiver and fax/text a combination of charts from Northwood and Text from Offenbach were good for the Atlantic coast and islands. Offenbach being particularly good with 3 or 4 hourly forecast covering two days with swell details, which made it good for the coastal hops. They provide as good information as any of the web serices and are free. The schedules are available from Noaa in pdf format.
http://www.nws.noaa.gov/om/marine/rfax.pdf
http://www.cruisingclub.org/communications/CCA-OffshoreCommunicationsMemorandum8Mar04.pdf
You'll end up trying everything especially if the weathers bad hoping to get a good forecast, sat in internet cafes with a dozen other cruisers.

 

[RPC]

A very comprehensive online weather forecast website that covers all regions of the world for cruising yachts is on this link:

http://www.onpassage.com/Weather_Map/Weather_Map_Master_Index.htm

It has pages for each region and then links to many different types of forecast available online for that area.

 

[gcwhite]

Try accuweather.com. they go out 15 days with uncanny accuracy and also good detail.

 

[billcowan]

Try: theyr.net

my fav.