Sea condition, wave, wind & weather app

[Steve509926]

After venturing out onto the Solent last week when the sea conditions changed very quickly and seeing the recent pics which Pikey Dave posted, it made me think about the weather and in particular forecasting changes in sea conditions.
I've looked at a few apps, but I am wondering if there is a consensus of opinion as to which is the best app for SIB/Rib users.

[Fender]

https://www.windy.com/?50.670,-1.187,5 is very good, but obviously wind over tide is very different to wind against tide - and that is where a little thought and experience at the helm will give you an idea of what the conditions should be.............................

[Poly]

i've been using Windy recently. (Only the free version). For a very simple idea of sea consditions the inshore waters forecast from CG (available in the SafeTrx app) is a very good clue - provided you understand that the words relate to specific sea conditions not how your mum would describe it... so in a <4m rib/sib it translates to roughly:

Calm ==> Perfect, lets go, not going to get better than this
Slight ==> A bit of chop, occassional bigger bits but most OK, can normally keep it on the plane,
Moderate ==> Starting to get hard going, often difficult to keep on the plane,
Rough ==> Bloody uncomfortable, likely to regret going out
Very Rough ==> Its nice in the pub.

[Steve509926]

Originally Posted by Fender

https://www.windy.com/?50.670,-1.187,5 is very good, but obviously wind over tide is very different to wind against tide - and that is where a little thought and experience at the helm will give you an idea of what the conditions should be.............................

Hi Mr F, I'm comfortable at the helm and with winds etc years of dinghy sailing (Laser, Tres, Magno) has given me a good idea of what I'm capable of handling. What I'm thinking of is 24-48 hrs forecasting so that I can make a snap decision to drive the 2 hours to Conwy, Menai without being disappointed when I get there.

[Pikey Dave]

Originally Posted by Steve509926

Hi Mr F, I'm comfortable at the helm and with winds etc years of dinghy sailing (Laser, Tres, Magno) has given me a good idea of what I'm capable of handling. What I'm thinking of is 24-48 hrs forecasting so that I can make a snap decision to drive the 2 hours to Conwy, Menai without being disappointed when I get there.

The met office inshore waters forecast, is my first port of call when making plans.
I also use Windfinder.

https://www.metoffice.gov.uk/weather...aters-forecast

[Orwell boy]

Originally Posted by Fender

https://www.windy.com/?50.670,-1.187,5 is very good, but obviously wind over tide is very different to wind against tide - and that is where a little thought and experience at the helm will give you an idea of what the conditions should be.............................

when doing alot of estuary boating ,sounds obvious but the change in tide direction is probhably more likely to catch you out than change in wind direction ,but tide direction is totally predictable and most chart plotters have this info ,so it shouldnt be outside of your pre trip considerations,especially as fender says you must understand wind over tide !

[treerat]

I use windguru, seems to be accurate for my chosen locations.

[HDAV]

Ive just decided to postpone my Friday trip to Saturday due to windy (app) forecast

[Max...]

Windguru, Magic Seaweed and really useful all round info for tides and weather is tides4fishing - web and app:

https://tides4fishing.com/uk/england/hastings#_tides

But to be honest more often than not I just look at the BBC weather online and add about 5 to 10 mph to their given wind speed - never fails!

[Steve509926]

Originally Posted by HDAV

Ive just decided to postpone my Friday trip to Saturday due to windy (app) forecast

A bit different, Cardiff was by the sea last time I looked! I don't want a wasted 4 hr return trip in the car.

[Ferryman]

If you’re looking at the Solent, don’t forget SolentMet - it tells you exactly what’s going on now at bramble bank and Chichester harbour entrance.

[Pecheur Anglais]

Windy is the best I have found, but it is not always accurate with its predictions in the Conwy/Menai area. (We have a view of the eastern entrance to the Straits and Llandudno's Great Orme across Conwy Bay from our house) Basically the further ahead you look, the less accurate it is. Maybe due to the mountains.
What I do is check it again as late as possible and I look at the wind gusts rather than just the wind.
Steve, re your post #4, the wind direction makes a big difference here, especially for launching. The prevailing wind is westerly/south westerly. Not too bad, especially in the lee of the land. Worst is from the north, can make launching from Llanfairfechan or Penmaenmawr challenging as the waves surge up the slipway.
Saying that, it can be inaccurate in a good way. Right now Windy says the wind is 12kt from the NW, gusting 21kt with 0.7m waves.
Also just checked the met inshore forecast and that says force 4-6 backing 3-4 over next 24 hours, with drizzle. So that is way out!
Looking out of my window, the air looks still, no leaves are moving, wave height is maybe 0.1m and not a cloud in the sky. Looks fabulous. Best get over here now!

[Max...]

Originally Posted by Pecheur Anglais

Looking out of my window, the air looks still, no leaves are moving, wave height is maybe 0.1m and not a cloud in the sky. Looks fabulous. Best get over here now!

And you Sir are the best asset of all - a real person living right next to the coast looking out of his window in real time - we just need a network of them on RIBnet to call on... saves all the faffery and stress of organising/packing/readying/driving expecting glass and nine times out of ten getting swell and chop.

[Steve509926]

Originally Posted by Pecheur Anglais

Windy is the best I have found, but it is not always accurate with its predictions in the Conwy/Menai area. (We have a view of the eastern entrance to the Straits and Llandudno's Great Orme across Conwy Bay from our house) Basically the further ahead you look, the less accurate it is. Maybe due to the mountains.
What I do is check it again as late as possible and I look at the wind gusts rather than just the wind.
Steve, re your post #4, the wind direction makes a big difference here, especially for launching. The prevailing wind is westerly/south westerly. Not too bad, especially in the lee of the land. Worst is from the north, can make launching from Llanfairfechan or Penmaenmawr challenging as the waves surge up the slipway.
Saying that, it can be inaccurate in a good way. Right now Windy says the wind is 12kt from the NW, gusting 21kt with 0.7m waves.
Also just checked the met inshore forecast and that says force 4-6 backing 3-4 over next 24 hours, with drizzle. So that is way out!
Looking out of my window, the air looks still, no leaves are moving, wave height is maybe 0.1m and not a cloud in the sky. Looks fabulous. Best get over here now!

Hi PA, have I found a new best friend in North Wales??????
Joking a side would you object to me sending you a PM the day before I was thinking of coming over?

[Pecheur Anglais]

No problem! If I don't answer you will know that I am probably out enjoying the calm waters, or, maybe out surfing

[Pecheur Anglais]

Originally Posted by Steve509926

Hi PA, have I found a new best friend in North Wales??????
Joking a side would you object to me sending you a PM the day before I was thinking of coming over?

No objections at all

[Steve509926]

Thanks PA

[Fenlander]

>>>a real person living right next to the coast looking out of his window in real time

Of course they aren't located in every area but webcams are also very useful as are any local Coastwatch stations where the weather instrument data is shown online in real time.

For example Brixham and Torbay area is well covered by webcams with great image quality... Brixham Harbour Live Streaming Webcam

Or Teignmouth here... Teignmouth NCI - Dual Live Webcams at Eastcliff

And their live weather here... click on each dial for the trend graphs... Teignmouth NCI - Live Weather at Eastcliff

[Fenlander]

>>> make a snap decision to drive the 2 hours to Conwy, Menai without being disappointed when I get there.

Your launch location of choice gives you a similar drive to us. We are about two hours from driveway to parked up at our chosen place. Add on an hour to get and mix fuel... load the car etc it's three hours plus the same in reverse at the end of the trip plus at least an hour the next day washing and repacking everything.

So judging weather is pretty crucial to avoid arriving and finding conditions too unpleasant for a meaningful run out.

I just use a combination of BBC land weather forecast and Meteoconsult marine weather. It's just one I've settled to understanding what it means in real sea conditions...

https://marine.meteoconsult.co.uk/ma...ham-4358-0.php

For me a plan B is always in my mind so we try and pick launch locations where there is a quieter second option if the weather is more lively than expected... such as the choice to launch and head to open sea of the other way up a calm estuary for plan B.

I have to say when we changed to the Aerotec it helped loads over previous SIBs for our comfort and feeling of confidence so we are able to set off for the coast these days in a greater range of conditions.

[Steve509926]

Originally Posted by Fenlander

>>>a real person living right next to the coast looking out of his window in real time

Of course they aren't located in every area but webcams are also very useful as are any local Coastwatch stations where the weather instrument data is shown online in real time.

For example Brixham and Torbay area is well covered by webcams with great image quality... Brixham Harbour Live Streaming Webcam

Or Teignmouth here... Teignmouth NCI - Dual Live Webcams at Eastcliff

And their live weather here... click on each dial for the trend graphs... Teignmouth NCI - Live Weather at Eastcliff

Thanks Mr F, I didn't even think about luce webcams.