Planning on an east coast trip to Bermuda and back late spring and was wondering if anyone had experience/recommendations for a good weather routing service. Looking for someone who has more experience than me predicting/guessing weather patterns and windows. Thanks for the recommendations!
Weather Routing
- Thread starter JeffThompson
- Start date
Commanders.
http://www.commandersweather.com/index_files/Page436.htm
Plus there are now decent tool you can use on your ipad for GRIB download and weather routing.
http://www.commandersweather.com/index_files/Page436.htm
Plus there are now decent tool you can use on your ipad for GRIB download and weather routing.
try Chris Parker weather routing and service www.mwxc.com He does ssb and email discussions as well as personal routing service
Ken mckinley of Locus Weather
http://www.midcoast.com/~locuswx/aboutlocusweathe.html
I've used his services for 2 Marion Bermuda races and the returns.
http://www.midcoast.com/~locuswx/aboutlocusweathe.html
I've used his services for 2 Marion Bermuda races and the returns.
I highly recommend reading about the weather. How to read a weather chart and 500 mb charts. The US power squadron has a good weather course as well.
I also recommend the Sirius weather module/service for your chart plotter. It works all the way to Bermuda. It shows the weather gribs.
More important is to be able to download or view actual weather charts that were reviewed by meteorologists. These are available from NOAA. You can rent a sat phone and download to your computer. If you look at the Marion Bermuda race web page they list lots of resources.
I also recommend the Sirius weather module/service for your chart plotter. It works all the way to Bermuda. It shows the weather gribs.
More important is to be able to download or view actual weather charts that were reviewed by meteorologists. These are available from NOAA. You can rent a sat phone and download to your computer. If you look at the Marion Bermuda race web page they list lots of resources.
We can get weather fax via SSB using a SSB receiver only and our iPad. If you have the iPad it only cost about $200 for the SSB receiver and the app.
We have the Sony ICF-SW7600GR, about $130 from Amazon. The app is called HF Weather Fax and it was $40, IIRC. The guys on s/v Road Trip did a write up on their blog.
But you need to know how to read GRIB files. The Power Squadron has a good one. There are some online ones as well.
With the SSB receiver you can get the Chris Parker weather as others have mentioned too.
Keep in mind that if you install an SSB sender/receiver that will need a license. On that note, you also need an FCC license for your VHF if you are going to leave the country. Just some food for thought.
Good luck and fair winds,
Jesse
We have the Sony ICF-SW7600GR, about $130 from Amazon. The app is called HF Weather Fax and it was $40, IIRC. The guys on s/v Road Trip did a write up on their blog.
But you need to know how to read GRIB files. The Power Squadron has a good one. There are some online ones as well.
With the SSB receiver you can get the Chris Parker weather as others have mentioned too.
Keep in mind that if you install an SSB sender/receiver that will need a license. On that note, you also need an FCC license for your VHF if you are going to leave the country. Just some food for thought.
Good luck and fair winds,
Jesse
I have the Sony too but have never been able to get a single weather or fax broadcast. Now it's a $130 box in the closet. I looked up frequencies on the internet, used the extended antenna etc. nothing.
I'm sure it was user error. But the system to date had not been usable for me. I was in Annapolis during initial testing, now in OC California and same results.
Any specific info re frequencies tables etc would be fantastic. There is so much conflicting and incredibly vague info regarding, so anyone with precise working info please post.
Not sure why you had issues but it works for me. I found it from the write up on the blog I posted above. Did you read that link?
As for the specific frequencies, NOAA put out this book (pdf warning) with all the info you need. Frequencies, times, by region, etc.
I had a Kaito receiver. Highly rated. Unreliable.
Bought an old Icom M600 and it receives fantastic. MUCH better than the Kaito and others with small receivers report same poor reception.
Chris Parker is highly recommended. He gives up to date personalized reports based on your current position.
Bought an old Icom M600 and it receives fantastic. MUCH better than the Kaito and others with small receivers report same poor reception.
Chris Parker is highly recommended. He gives up to date personalized reports based on your current position.
My vote is for Chris Parker. We listen to him every morning, he is pretty good. I hear him advising sailors it is obvious he has a lot of sailing experience himself. I think this is a big bonus in a weather router.
We use Chris, (as well as Passage Weather, Windmapper, Windfinder when we have Internet access). Sherry studies it all I go with her decision, should we stay or should we go
.
Bob
We use Chris, (as well as Passage Weather, Windmapper, Windfinder when we have Internet access). Sherry studies it all I go with her decision, should we stay or should we go
.Bob
When I was doing ship routing, before the vessel ever got underway I used a pilot chart to describe to the captain what the "average" conditions might be along their PIM.
You can download pilot charts for various months in the Atlantic at
http://msi.nga.mil/NGAPortal/MSI.po...msi_pub_detail&CCD_itemID=106&pubConstant=APC
You can download pilot charts for various months in the Atlantic at
http://msi.nga.mil/NGAPortal/MSI.po...msi_pub_detail&CCD_itemID=106&pubConstant=APC
I've done that trip innumerable times and in my opinion, a weather router is a waste of money. Weather wise, the gulfstream makes it's own weather and no forecaster or satellite can pick up on these 'micro systems'.
On our last trip south, our sistership left within an hour of us following his router's directions; Oct 8, 2011. I just put my nose down and followed past experience beating feet directly for Bermuda. The other boat pissed around trying to find the router's predicted currents and winds (remember this is very much hurricane season).
We literally tied to the customs dock 5 minutes before a mighty southerly slammed into us. Our friends arrived something like 30 hours later, beat to death and with some serious broken gear.
On the previous trip, a year earlier, we were in a 70 knot southeasterly blow that was not on any of the broadcast weather reports. That lasted about two hours then it swung around to westerly at 40 and sent us back on our way to Bermuda lickity split, all the while the broadcasts for our area were saying we were having 15 to 20 knots of east north easterlies!
On our last trip south, our sistership left within an hour of us following his router's directions; Oct 8, 2011. I just put my nose down and followed past experience beating feet directly for Bermuda. The other boat pissed around trying to find the router's predicted currents and winds (remember this is very much hurricane season).
We literally tied to the customs dock 5 minutes before a mighty southerly slammed into us. Our friends arrived something like 30 hours later, beat to death and with some serious broken gear.
On the previous trip, a year earlier, we were in a 70 knot southeasterly blow that was not on any of the broadcast weather reports. That lasted about two hours then it swung around to westerly at 40 and sent us back on our way to Bermuda lickity split, all the while the broadcasts for our area were saying we were having 15 to 20 knots of east north easterlies!