Wind Forecast Shapes Weatherdetermined Routing From America’s Cup Racing To Leisure Cruising Around The Globe While predicting the weather is not an exact science, Wind Forecast predictions play a critical role in any sailor’s experience on the open seas. The more detailed and specific the forecast, the more reliable the information and tripplanning becomes. What’s more, Weather routing is dependent on frequently updated information. Consequently, both technology and methodology become essential in providing the best marine forecasts for any kind of sailing. What You Need Frequent Information All kinds of sailors need wind forecasting – from yacht racing to cruising, from power boating or fishing to windsurfing, even kayaking. In the past, and even some current services, only provide generalized wind forecasts twice daily, typically in the morning and afternoon. Yet, there are services (see PredictWind.com) that have developed stateoftheart technological tools that update hourly, including wind speed and direction maps for both long haul and local areas. Imagine having the technological tools that can show weather patterns, including wind forecasts, hourly and evolving over time. Imagine having access to 15,000 global live stations at your disposal. To be as accurate as possible requires frequent realtime data input as often as possible. The current wind forecasting trend is to provide frequent information since it has a direct impact on routing, comfort or speed. It’s In The Details Topographical Features Many marine forecasting services do not include topographical features. Without such detail, you only have half the wind and weather routing story. The most accurate weather modeling must include specific topographical features because they can so dramatically affect any wind field. When searching for a service that provides the greatest predictive weather modeling, look for services that include relevant topographical locations you are likely to encounter, color contours that demonstrate wind speeds and arrows that show direction for as little as 1 kilometer. What’s Your Sailing Purpose? In competitive racing, wind is the fulcrum that maximizes vessel design combined with navigator and crew capability. It goes without saying that you want to capitalize on the strongest and most accurate predictive wind patterns available. Having the capacity to show the fastest and most detailed wind currents for your next race can be indispensible. Ideally, you will look for a service providing weather modeling from distances as great as 100 km down to 8 km (or down to 1 km) – for open America’s Cup style races or local buoy races in your own marine ‘back yard’. For pleasure cruising, even fishing, relying on wind forecasts that model the most comfortable weather routing system is equally important. For comfort and safety, navigators want to chart a course that avoids sailing upwind when the wind is strong. Select services that offer weather routing from either perspective – speed or comfort (and safety), since it is critical to your ultimate purpose and pleasure. Predict Wind @ 2012
For additional information on cuttingedge wind forecast and weather routing tools, visit http://www.predictwind.com/ for further details.
Predict Wind @ 2012