Offshore marine weather – Level 1
The purpose of this course is to give you, in a short time, a weather toolbox really usable at sea to ensure the safety of your crew and that will allow you the best optimization of your crossing time.
It is essential for the skipper to go beyond than the immediate reading of a grib file, to understand its limits and to combine the observation of natural elements with the interpretation of digital data received on board.
You are the weather condition analyst in the area, and the decision maker for the strategy to be followed to reach a stopover without material breakdown or frightening your crew. We bring you the physical understanding of natural systems and the analytical tools to choose the right option, as a good sailor.
DAY 1 – 9 AM – 12.30 AM
- Introduction to the general atmospheric circulation. Convection cells, major wind regimes.
- Planning your trip: Major cruising routes around the globe. Seasonality and level of difficulty.
- Cyclonic seasons, their characteristics and periods in the different basins.
- The intertropical convergence zone (Doldrums). Position and characteristics of the zone, precautions and navigation strategy.
- The major ocean surface currents, their values and directions, sources and use of files.
- Mastering an isobaric map: Reading, interpretation and use in frontology management.
- Use atmospheric pressure. Notion of average value, interpretation, barometric trend.
- Wind fields: representation, downloading sources, interpretation of grib files.
DAY 1 – 2 PM – 5 PM
- Understand a depression: the different types of depressions, their cyclogenesis and their characteristics.
- Which strategy should be used to avoid them?
- The anticyclones: characteristics and particularities.
- Trade winds: position, characteristics of the wind regime (observation and evolution)
- Sea state: wind sea, primary and secondary swell formation
- Prepare a navigation: acquisition of documents, maps, weather sources. Discovering websites, forecasts, acquisition software.
- Getting started with communication equipment, which solutions for which files?
- Exercises with practical work: Analysis of maps, acquisition of technical vocabulary, setting in strategic condition.
