While it’s essential to monitor the conditions when choosing the best weather window for departure, equally important is being well-versed in obtaining and interpreting weather data while offshore – keeping up with the latest evolving weather movements enables you to position yourself to take advantage of favourable winds and avoid dangerous conditions.
Getting weather data while on passage can be done via SSB radio or satellite systems like Iridium, Inmarsat, and Starlink. The crucial aspect is the device’s ability to transfer meaningful data, particularly weather files in GRIB format and weather routing files. Certain satellite devices, such as Inreach, Zoleo, and Spot, cannot transfer weather data files. These SBD (short burst data) devices have limited functionality despite their popularity, and cannot handle voice communications either.
Reliability is paramount, especially in adverse conditions when weather updates become most critical. The connection should be available at any time, ensuring you never rely on outdated data: twice-daily weather data retrievals are sensible. Timing your analysis and planning with weather model updates will further enhance your decision-making process.
SPECIALIST SOFTWARE
Offshore weather demands specialised software so you don’t have to be constantly connected to the web.GRIB format files while efficiently managing your downloads based on your connection type’s speed and bandwidth.
