Sea state - forecast

[Trello]

(There has been a question regarding this before, but it related to a specific area, and I'm more interested in a generic answer).

Where do members get their forecasts of sea state?

The Met Office "Inshore waters and strong winds" page breaks up it's information into 19 areas around the UK - so these areas are so big that I'm not sure how useful they are for small craft.

The last time I went to the South Wales coast, I used a surfing website - these usually give much more precise information, but they're more interested in the size of BREAKING waves. I thought a forecast of waves 1-2 ft high seemed promising, but when on the sea (only about 1 km from the shore), the waves were more like 5-6 ft. The kids were in their element, but Mrs T was less than impressed, especially as (since the weather was good) we had all elected not to wear wetsuits and we were all soaked down to underwear level.

To it's credit, the frib 360 performed beautifully, but it would have been good to have known beforehand that those were the conditions we were to experience, as opposed to the 1-2 ft expected.

[citygent111]

I use an app called NAUTIDE. The premium version is about £10 I think but well worth it.

It gives a summary on the first page of that days tide times for a given location, then around that there's weather, swell, wind speed at land & sea, all adjusted hourly.

Been using it this "summer" in Anglesey and it's always been spot on - it said it was too windy to launch, and it was right every time!!

[Max...]

IME as much as you look at the apps and forecasts you can generally (at least in my patch of the south coast) add a quantity of knots to the wind speed and inches (if not feet) to the wave height...

But then you get mornings like today when you get up early for a sunrise paddle and when the wind turns out to be less than forecast (ie nothing) and wow!

[willk]

You're correct that the Met give too broad a brush stroke for your use. It is however, the first thing to check as it is "source" data and all else will be based on it.

Once the official data confirms that your analysis portal of choice is showing today's forecast, you can start to dig into detail to suit your plans/equipment.

I have had great success with www.ventusky.com. The app will chart wind speeds, sea swell, wind waves, precip, visibility, etc. with great detail over time. It provides great detail about the types of waves and their properties.

[Steve509926]

Hi, I use a combination of Met office, an app called bouyweather (which I've found to be very accurate) and local sources ie: Fowey Harbour office weather.

[treerat]

Wind Guru works for me, and seem prety gopod most of the time too

[Fenlander]

I use Ventusky and Meteoconsult. We also try and choose locations where there are options for quieter waters if it really looks like getting challenging at sea on our planned route.

Also were part of the conditions due to tidal flow... that can make more difference than the wind at some times/locations. It's something The Gurnard always plans carefully for.

[jeffstevens763@g]

Magic seaweed I’ve used primarily for surfers what’s good for them is shite for us look for web cams too wheedale hotel Whitby used to be my go to for that area Redcar I got friendly with a fisherman bought his catch and more info than you need ensued but as others say met office etc

[Limecc]

Magic Seaweed is gone. They sold out.

[Brinormeg]

Originally Posted by Limecc

Magic Seaweed is gone. They sold out.

MS……surfline…….explore where you want on map….then most of it still works for free

[Iankristy]

Tend to look at 2 or 3, average it out then look at wind direction and tide. Tbf my boats tolerance to swell is pretty good so usually only being there and out on the water can really be definitive. Don’t head back in very often [emoji847]

[Trello]

Thanks for all the suggestions - quite a few I hadn't come across.

Quite right that MagicSeaweed has, alas, joined with Surfline - which has a far less user-friendly interface than MS had. It was actually the Surfline app which I had used as my forecast on the trip mentioned above.

So far, I'm really liking the interface of Ventusky - even if it turns out to be as uninformative as Surfline was, at least it looks better!