For centuries going boating safely has relied on making the right decision in terms of the weather, so where do we get our information?
Knowing where to get weather information is key. On this page we’ve drawn together some handy resources which are used by our Instructors when they are making decisions. We hope that you find it useful.
As an instructor how we look at weather and get the information we each need will depend on: 1) Personal preferences 2) Where we are going 3) How variable the weather presently is or is likely to be,
For example if staying in Lymington/Poole Harbour/close to shore then the BBC Website forecast for Poole/Lymington will probably suffice.
If the weather is variable then backing that up with perhaps the inshore forecast and XC Weather makes sense. If going further afield or into remote areas then these plus Windguru gives that bit more useful information. If wanting to see how the weather is likely to evolve then a review of the inshore forecast, shipping forecast and synoptics for the coming days is sensible. As you can see it is not an exact science but a good tip is to look at forecasts even when you are not boating to build an understanding so when you do need to make decisions you are better at it.
Live weather | |
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Cobbs Quay Weather – our home base – here | |
Poole Harbour Weather (Live data from Poole Harbour) – here | |
Lymington Yacht Haven Weather – Live information – here | |
Poole Yacht Club weather station – here | |
Bramblemet – (live from the Bramble Bank) – here |
Local weather | |
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Poole Weather – here | |
Lymington Weather – here | |
Popular with windsurfers and kitesurfers a simple to use site – here | |
Simple and generally very accurate – here |
Weather Forecasts | |
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Coastal Forecast – here | |
Shipping Forecast – here | |
Inshore Waters Forecast – here | |
Shipping & Gales Forecast – here | |
Inshore Waters Forecast – here |
Explanations and terminology | |
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“Gale Force 8” – what does this really mean in terms of wind speed and wave height – here | |
Want to understand what all the terms mean in the Shipping and Inshore Waters Forecasts. Understand what words like ‘Imminent’ and ‘Soon’ really mean – here |
Synoptic charts & other sites ~ for the more experienced | |
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A Weather portal with many sources of weather – here | |
Synoptic – +00Hrs – here |