| These are the free of charge sites I use to find the best time and venue to go sailing, whether you're wave sailing or learning, all the best forecasts are here. Wave sailors need the most information since their fun is based on wind, surf and tidal states all coming together in unison. Miss-time it by an hour and conditions could be rubbish, so get INto it here! |
Wind Now |
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Here I can see what the wind is actually doing right now. Since the wind usually travels from the west, I keep a good eye on what's coming my way by looking at the venues to my west. If it's from the south west, remember to add on an extra force for anywhere in the Solent, or if it's a hot sunny day in spring, add an extra force ish for Shoreham/ Worthing/ Hove, Calshot/Hillhead, Mersey Island and Weston-Supermare due the the sea breeze local effects.
http://www.xcweather.co.uk/
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For sailors around West Wittering and Hayling Island check out Chimet for more real time local forecasts.
http://www.chimet.co.uk/ |
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For more detailed local information including best wind directions check out the brilliant Windwatcher.
http://www.windwatcher.net/ |
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Surf Now |
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This data is real time from wave bouys dotted around the country, I use this site to see if there's any surf. The wave period is as important as the wave height. Wave heights over 5ft with periods over 8 seconds means good fun- the higher the period, and the higher the waves, the more fun. Wave periods are rarely over 10 seconds in the UK and rarely over 15 ft. When they are, drop everything and go.
http://magicseaweed.com/UK-Ireland-Wave-Buoys/1/
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Wind Forecast |
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This is a good site for wind forecasts- each full bar on the arrow represents 10 knots of wind (so two full bars = 20 knots) and each half bar is 5 knots (so one and a half bars = you guessed it, 15 knots) This is a world standard in weather forecasting. Click on the time or day you want a forecast for on the left hand menu.
http://expert.weatheronline.co.uk/uv10_frame.htm
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Windguru is also very good because it makes adjustments for localised effects and gives a cloud cover rating so you know when to work on the tan.
http://www.windguru.cz/int/ |
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The met office issues an accurate 24 hour inshore forecast at 5am and 5pm daily. Can't live without it.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/weather/coast/inshore/ |
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Surf Forecasts |
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This forecast doesn't just have pretty colours- it shows the surf moving towards us from the Atlantic like a mini movie for the whole week ahead. You can use the 'next' button to study the wave heights at three hourly intervals. Pay special attention to their direction and for the best waves catch them on an incoming tide.
http://magicseaweed.com/UK-Ireland-MSW-Surf-Charts/1/swell/in/
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Isobar Chart |
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Low pressures spin anti clockwise and are called anti cyclones, but all you need to know is the closer the white lines are, the windier it is. The wind's direction is usually about 15 degrees to the right of the direction of the isobar. The lower the pressure (sometimes down to around 975 in the winter) the stormier it is. Low pressures zig zag up and down the northern hemisphere, usually passing us in a north east direction tracking just west of Ireland, but in some years traveling over Ireland or the UK, for instance in 2007 bringing more rain, wind and milder winter temperatures.
http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/weather/uk/surface_pressure.html |
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Jet Stream |
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North Atlantic jet stream info to boost your likelihood of wind- combining this with the wind forecasts is like playing a trump card- if both the jet stream and wind forecasts are good, you're on for a really good day!
http://www.metcheck.com/V40/UK/FREE/jetstream.asp
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Tides |
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Tides are so important around the UK whether you're a beginner wanting to sail in standing depth water, for instance in Poole Harbour, (or any water at all in Southend) or an expert wanting to catch the best waves sailing at Gwithian in Cornwall or Kimmeridge. Intermediates will find almost impossible chop and shorebreak on Hayling Island at high tide, compared with easy launching and totally flat water at low tide.
http://www.pol.ac.uk/ntslf/tidalp.html
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