Weatherweb forecasts free this weekend

[simonjk]

I hope many don't think this to blatant a plug (I do contribute to the forums when weather is discussed, and a member of the forum did suggest I post this message).

I have made Weatherweb Xtra free of charge all weekend. You can get access to all charts, forecasts out to 5 days and satellite pictures. Forecasts updated 3 times a day.

To access go to www.wcsmarine.com and enter the password 40192test when prompted.

Thanks, hope that was okay. Be very interested to know your thoughts on the site and information available.

Simon
Simon Keeling


<hr width=100% size=1>Weather Consultancy Services Ltd
www.weatherweb.net & www.wcsmarine.com

 

[TonyMS]

In principle, 5 day forecasts are very useful, and I quite like your format. But what's the quality like? How do yours compare for accuracy with MetWeb's?

Tony

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[simonjk]

Hi Tony,

Thanks for taking a look at the forecasts.

Okay, firstly I would not say were were any greater or less accurate than Metfax.

It is very difficult to assess the quality of forecasts as the weather can vary significantly over a small area (as I am sure you already know). The person who can assess accuracy best of all is you.

Perhaps it may help to establish our credentials. WCS has been in operation for over 10 years and was founded by me. We provide bespoke briefing and passage forecasts for vessels ranging from single handed sailors to large commercial ships. We also provide all of the weather services for the Worldspace Weather Channel.

My company is small by comparison to the Met Office, but this does allow for you to receive a very personal service. Any queries you have are dealt with by me and so I have a very clear focus on what sailors are looking for.

I also run the Weather at Sea training courses, which as far as I am aware, are unique weather training courses for mariners.

Hope this answers your questions, but please do feel free to ask more and provide any feedback you can.

Thanks,
Simon

Simon Keeling




<hr width=100% size=1>Weather Consultancy Services Ltd
www.weatherweb.net & www.wcsmarine.com

 

[BrendanS]

By 'small in comparison', do you mean you don't have a multi million pound super computer which gets it wrong on a frequent basis.

Met Office were been giving a grilling on radio 4 recently about quality of forecast compared to just saying 'weather tomorrow will be the same as today'. Only a very few percent in it



<hr width=100% size=1>Err, let me know if Depsol enters the forum, I'll go and hide

 

[rickwat]

I can't make head or tail of it, I keep getting shunted to a page where I have to dial in if I stray from the page of a thousand menus. I managed the usual 120 hr forecast met chart which if it was current for the stated 1200Tues would be an 85hr forecast and a 72hr and 96hr forecast both for 1200Mon which is at best 61hrs away.

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[simonjk]

Heard those questions on R4 about quality. Don't know if you heard a gentleman called John Thormes speaking on there? If ever you get chance to hear his "Forecast Accuracy" lecture, do. It's very good.

Rickwat, what you need to do is to go to the www.wcsmarine.com page. In the top third of the page you will see a blank bar which says "Already subscribed"?

Enter the code 40192test in here, and that will log you in. You then won't keep getting the pages about buying tickets.

If you need more help, please don't hesitate to ask.

Cheers,
Simon


<hr width=100% size=1>Weather Consultancy Services Ltd
www.weatherweb.net & www.wcsmarine.com

 

[johna]

Simon
I have looked at the site and I am not sure if there is anything there that I do not already get free from WeatherOnline.

My interest at the moment is next wednesday Poole - Weymouth area. You have a forecast of W 23 knots. This appears to me to give an implied accuracy that cannot be. At least WeatherOnline only provides wind speeds in 5 knot bands for up to 5 days in advance.

What is it you are trying to sell us?

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[simonjk]

Hi John,

Thanks for looking at the site.

Weatheronline is an excellent site (in fact, I supply their UK forecast), and it is accurate.

The difference with the forecast on Weatherweb are two fold. Firstly, we do have forecasters who make the predictions in some of the forecasts. Secondly, other forecasts are presented so that they can be acessed via laptops and PDA's. I currently email the text forecasts (towards the bottom of the page) to lots of sailors around the western European coasts. This email service is trialing at the moment, but anyone is welcome to join.

On the accuracy issue, what you are seeing with the 23kts, in an assessed mean of likely wind conditions for Wednesday. Therefore the range for mean speed will likely be 20-25kt. It is always difficult deciding at what level to give wind speeds, and it is something I always question. However, at the moment, the majority of sailors seem to prefer it down to a 1 knot accuracy level. I think this is because it helps them assess day to day changes as the forecast is updated.

Hope this helps?

Simon

<hr width=100% size=1>Weather Consultancy Services Ltd
www.weatherweb.net & www.wcsmarine.com

 

[aod]

Hi Simon:

I think the information contained on the site is very useful and seemingly accurate and I have included the site in my list of favourites.

I think you offer some additional services like the personal forecasts which I would have found very useful on the recent AZAB and I think the the weather course would be useful to me and I would like further details please.

But, I couldn't dind anything on the site that I couldn't source free from other weather sites and thus I would be loath to purchase tickets in order to access information that I currently access for free!

Also while I haven't got the time to properly beta test I know that some of the links do not work which doesn't enhance the credibilty/quality of the site which as I have already said is okay.

Good luck in your endevours and please forward details of the courses you run.

Many thanks

Richard
richard@yacht-charter.net

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[simonjk]

Thanks for that Richard. Would have loved to have helped you out with the personal forecasts. having fun routing several boats back from Antigua at the moment. Looks like the winds really slacken off in the next few days...ho hum

Yes, I appreciate that much of the information is available elsewhere, but hope that the format and additional information we give may be of help.

What I am tring to do is build a service mariners can use.

This will evolve I am sure,as feedback arrives for sailors using the site.

What would you ideally like to see? Is there anything you don't see at the moment, or get from elsewhere that would be really useful? For example, on the aviation side we do a daily recorded audio forecast which looks ahead to the weekend, and the week ahead. It highlights windows of favourable conditions so that pilots can plan ahead. How about something similar for sailors?

On the training front, I have forward details of my courses to you. There are two courses, one a one day and the other a weekend. The one day is called "Sailing Weather", and the weekender is "Weather at Sea". The weekender is more in depth than the one day. Incidentally, I do run the one day course for clubs and schools (if they can get more than 12-15 people), at a discount.

Hope that helps,

Simon

Simon Keeling


<hr width=100% size=1>Weather Consultancy Services Ltd
www.weatherweb.net & www.wcsmarine.com