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Boating Tip: 8 Weather Apps & Websites To Help You Stay Safe
Weather! How do you predict it to ensure that you have a great day out boating?
We’re out on a photo shoot on Moreton Bay and as you can see we’ve got absolutely fantastic weather conditions, and not by accident.
There are some simple websites and apps that you can use and the easiest way for me to show you those is back in the office on my computer.
Watch the video below as I step through a few of them.
Here’s the example from the Australian BOM used in the video:
Here’s the examples from PredictWind shown in the video:
Why should you check the weather?
A day on the water can be made more or less enjoyable by the weather so let’s look at a few of the apps and websites available to help you make a more informed decision as to when and where to go out. That way you’ll have more great times out on the water in comfort and safety.
Remember, the weather is only a part of the planning process and other environmental factors such as tides, swell and waves play an important part.
It is always important to go out:-
- Within your own limits of experience as the skipper
- Within the limits of your boat – a 30ft boat will be better in rougher conditions more than a 9ft tinny.
- Prepared – make sure you log on with the coastguard, have up to date and working safety gear and enough fuel for your trip
So, what online resources can I use?
One of the key things to understand is that the app or website you look at is pulling data and forecast models from one of several places. This means you can check three apps but still be looking at only one forecast which may not be accurate.
The most common apps that boaties seem to choose from and their underlying forecast models are:
1. Australian Agencies (BOM, ADFD, ACCESS, AUSWAVE)
2. USA (NOAA, GFS, Wavewatch)
3. Europe (ECMWF, IFS) plus access to all others
Which is the best?
In terms of usability each has pros and cons and it can come down to personal preference on how you like your data displayed.
For accuracy I prefer PredictWind. The reason for this is two-fold, firstly it is very easy to use by simply viewing any number of environmental factors from wind speed to wave height. The display will show me animations of how the conditions will develop hour by hour, over the next week in very high resolution.
In fairness other apps do the same. The main reason I favour PredictWind is that it accesses the ECWMF data which seems very accurate when I compare forecast to what I experience on the water, and you can choose any other model to compare it to on the same screen.
I would usually check all three forecast models and if they are in general agreement that conditions will be favourable then I’ll go boating. I have seen days where there is as much as a 10 knot difference in forecast wind strength between the models and then you need to work out the risks and/or effort involved.
The other sources of information you can access are the Marine Forecasts published by the BOM (Australian Bureau of Meteorology) online, which cover large areas (low resolution) so are limited in their application to the local, coastal boating which most of us do.
The coast guard also gives weather updates on the VHF radio (check your local coast guard for channel) and also on their Facebook pages.
Hopefully this information will help you plan better boating days.
Click here for more Tips For Better Boating from Standen Marine on our Blog page.
There’s also Video Tips and Boating Destination Videos on our YouTube channel that give you even more information!
ABOUT NEIL:
Neil Singleton is a Senior Sales Broker at our Brisbane office and he’s more than pleased to offer his recommendations for boating on Moreton Bay to any boat owner in the area whether you are a novice boat owner or experienced and just want to compare notes.
Call 1300 657 686 or email marine@standengroup.com.au for more information.
Ask for Neil Singleton or just connect on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/neil-singleton-1590511a/
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