A big question. We have just been researching an article about receiving weather information by e-mail, and although that is at the leading edge of how yachts receive weather data, we still use older methods while cruising. It has to be said that a proportion of the cruisers we meet don't seem too bothered about getting weather information. We are currently anchored off Komodo Islands in Indonesia, where we have been watching the Dragons - more about this in another piece. The weather here is benign to the extreme, we haven't had more than 10-15 knots for the last month or so since we left Thursday Island in Australia. We have sailed some of the 1500 miles to here, but mainly we have had to motor through lack of wind, so far about 1200 liters of diesel.

Consequently we haven't worried about getting weather forecasts, as we knew what they would say - no wind.

However, in areas that have the potential for adverse weather, we study forecasts constantly, and choose a time for the passage when the forecasts show a favourable period.

Others are not so inclined. We were waiting for favourable conditions to leave New Caledonia last year for the 5-day passage to Brisbane in Australia. Lows were coming off the Australian coast that would give us 40+knot headwinds, so we were waiting for a lull between them. We were studying the Internet forecasts ashore, and had been in contact with a NZ based Meteorologist who provides routing forecasts (more about these later) when another cruiser, planning to do the same passage, stopped by our boat to say goodbye.

"What about the low?" we asked.

"What low?" he replied.

So, as with most things, particularly while cruising, everyone has his or her own methods. There is an argument that suggests that your boat - and you - should be able to take anything the sea throws at you, so why worry about the weather. Personally we subscribe to the view that if we can give ourselves an easier or more efficient passage, we will, and knowing about the weather gives us a good chance of meeting that aim.

Internet

If we have access to the Internet, normally in an Internet cafe ashore, we look at the numerous weather forecast sites available. Most countries have a national weather service and we check out those for local weather wherever we happen to be. One of our favourites is the US Navy site, which provides world wide weather forecasts as a public access service (http://152.80.49.210). Although not easy to use at first look, this is an especially good site, as 10 day forecasts are available which are helpful for pre-passage planning.

Weatherfax

The mainstay of our weather analysis is our weather fax receiver and our SSB. Each month the US Weather Service kindly puts the latest world wide fax schedules on their site (www.nws.noaa.gov/om/public.htm), downloadable as an Acrobat file (about 550k) so whenever we have access to the Internet we obtain the latest copy so we know where and when to get faxes from. When you get a copy, also check out all the information in the back about NOAA weather data available on the Internet.

We use our SSB linked into our Furuno fax, as the reception is better and we always seem to be receiving in poor conditions. We also like a hard copy. If you don't want to go to the expense of a dedicated fax printer, then there are many fax programs available for PC. Try these out before you go, or buy one that a cruiser you know is already using as a number of friends have chopped and changed many times until they found one which worked for them.

So, at the minimum, we are able to receive weather forecasts, or at least the current weather charts, by weather fax receiver. But these require analysis, and with experience it is possible to glean a huge amount of information about the weather you will be getting from the current Mean Surface Level Pressure chart for your location, particularly if you have been receiving them regularly and have been following trends and system movements.

To interpret weather fax data you'll need to have some understanding of important weather indicators at different latitudes and in different parts of the world. For example isobars are not such important indicators of local weather in the tropics as they are in higher latitudes. And whereas a barometer may be an indicator of strengthening winds in high latitudes, compression zones do not show up as a change in isobaric pressure. Many boats were caught out on passage to New Zealand last year, their barometers didn't budge but wind strength increased at a startling rate. Compression zones are created by a low and a high squeezing together and generate much stronger winds (50 knots or more) than those based on pressure gradient alone. Careful monitoring and analysis of the local weather patterns and weatherfaxes will warn you of an impending compression zone.

If you don't yet have the experience to interpret the data you can receive, we suggest getting hold of Steve Dashew's book on weather (Mariner's Weather Handbook). We know it sounds sycophantic as we write for his website, but it really is good, a mine of solid information and we have learned a lot from it.

VHF and SSB Voice Forecasts

Most weekend cruisers are aware of automated and manual voice forecasts on VHF, but in some countries, notably Australia, these are also available on SSB. Once we got used to the automated voice, we used this all the way up the Oz coast until we were out of range. The trouble with this is we didn't know about it until we were in Australia, so more research on the Internet before we got there would have worked wonders.

E-Mail Forecasts

Parts of the world are not well served with weather fax information. In particular, during our Pacific crossing a few years ago, we were regularly receiving the North Pacific Ocean fax transmitted from Honolulu, which was the only one available for the area. Unfortunately, we were running along the bottom of the chart and couldn't see the Southern Ocean weather systems which were giving us dreadful swells and occasionally strong winds, so we decided to investigate how to access some of the available Internet data from our boat.

We already had e-mail, then we were using Mini-M, now we use Iridium (see piece from 02 Aug 01 about this).

There are a number of options available if you have access to e-mail. Some require you to use a Satellite phone, others you can use an SSB service such as SailMail.

A number of electronic chart programs such as MaxSea provide the option to download weather forecasts which can be overlaid onto your chart, and even animate the forecast like they do on the TV. This provides a very good analysis of the upcoming weather. As well as wind and pressure, some provide wave and swell data as well.

If you don't have a chart system, stand alone systems such as Bon Voyage and Transas Weather Wizard also provide this data.

For SSB e-mail users we can highly recommend www.Buoyweather.com (see our 26 Jul 02 piece on this). For a massive 10 cents a forecast, you will be sent a 5 day passage forecast customised to your future 24 hour positions. Even if you are not full time cruising, their site is a worthwhile visit for weekend sailors.

Weather Forecasters

Finally, the last e-mail service we have used is a weather router. We used Bob McDavitt (mcdavitt@metservice.com) in New Zealand for the trips to and from New Zealand and Australia. He e-mails us a personalised 5-day forecast for NZ$50, about US$20.

SSB Nets

SSB plays a significant informal role as well. Although everyone has been saying for years it has had its day, this is true for professional mariners, but cruisers use it to keep in touch with each other all the time. There are numerous private and public nets where weather information is exchanged, and some shore based stations provide a daily weather and reporting service for yachts, most recently we have used Des at Russell radio in New Zealand. Every day, without fail, he logs yacht's positions and relays weather for your position taken from the NZ and Australian weather fax charts.

Conclusion

So there is a lot of information available if you know where to look and are prepared to make use of it. One of the potential problems of access to information is that you stop using your own senses. Weather forecasts are not always right; sometimes there is a significant lag between the weather occurring and the forecasters knowing about it, especially in the tropics.

We received a forecast from a highly respected forecaster who has always been 100 percent accurate for us in the past (OK, it was Bob, but it wasn't his fault) that gave 10 knots wind, maximum 15 knots and fine weather for a 5 day passage. As we left the anchorage (i.e. the forecast was current) we had 25 knots and for 3 days it blew 20 to 30 knots and we didn't see the sun once, yet the daily forecasts were still giving 10 knots. Why? Because the tropical convergence zone was forming right over our heads and it took a day or so for the data to filter through and be integrated into the forecast. We could see what was happening, we knew what to expect from that type of weather (squalls, thunderstorms) and which direction to head to make the best of the conditions. Those are the skills that will keep you safe no matter what the weather throws at you.

Whatever information you can get is useful - and we get as much as we can - but never stop using your eyes and ears, your barometer and your experience.