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Sandy.Herbert
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Group: Forum Members
Posts: 17,
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I want to replace my existing navigation hardware and I am looking for advice on the state of the art.
My present system is 12 years old. It consists of two Garmin GPSmap 4008s, one at the chart table and one on the binnacle. They are networked and both can be used to display maps, follow routes, display AIS targets, control and display the radar and all the other stuff they do like display tides, show wind graphs etc. etc.
I use a PC and OpenCPN or Homeport to do routing and transfer the routes using SD cards ( no WiFi on these old systems). Up till now I have used a sat phone to connect to the Internet and to download grib files using Sailmail or similar. I use the PC and OpenCPN to display the grib files. I have a Vesper AIS which is also my WiFi hub.
This system does everything I want and has served me well.
However the GPSmaps are getting old and are classed as legacy devices by Garmin. I managed to update the OS recently which has prolonged their lives but I can see the end coming. The plotters don't support the most recent Garmin maps and can't read any other format. Also Garmin maps are fantastically expensive.
I am a bit out of the cruising network and I would like to know what people are installing now for long distance offshore cruising. Ideally I would like a system not based on a dedicated plotter. However, I do want a reliable system and if this means a brand plotter so be it. I would also like to know what people are installing for satellite communications and weather. Answers from real experience please rather than speculation.
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Simon Currin
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Group: Administrators
Posts: 1K,
Visits: 86
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Sandy, We did a similar upgrade last year and can share the mistake we made! We decided to save a few pennies by opting for two touchscreen Raymarine MFD’s (Axiom). The one at the nav station is fine but the one at the helm goes crazy when it is raining as the rain drops trigger MoB’s and all sorts of nonsense. This is easily overcome by switching off the touchscreen but we then have no way of interacting with the device when the screen is wet. We have had to buy networked remote controls which was rather more expensive than buying an MFD with in-built manual knobs and buttons. With the above caveat the new network is a vast improvement on what we had before. As for satellite / weather the combination of PredictWind and Starlink is very powerful and substantially cheaper than Iridium or installing SSB. We found PredictWind’s ‘over the horizon AIS’ a great tool for various niche reasons I won’t bore you with. Simon +xI want to replace my existing navigation hardware and I am looking for advice on the state of the art. My present system is 12 years old. It consists of two Garmin GPSmap 4008s, one at the chart table and one on the binnacle. They are networked and both can be used to display maps, follow routes, display AIS targets, control and display the radar and all the other stuff they do like display tides, show wind graphs etc. etc. I use a PC and OpenCPN or Homeport to do routing and transfer the routes using SD cards ( no WiFi on these old systems). Up till now I have used a sat phone to connect to the Internet and to download grib files using Sailmail or similar. I use the PC and OpenCPN to display the grib files. I have a Vesper AIS which is also my WiFi hub. This system does everything I want and has served me well. However the GPSmaps are getting old and are classed as legacy devices by Garmin. I managed to update the OS recently which has prolonged their lives but I can see the end coming. The plotters don't support the most recent Garmin maps and can't read any other format. Also Garmin maps are fantastically expensive. I am a bit out of the cruising network and I would like to know what people are installing now for long distance offshore cruising. Ideally I would like a system not based on a dedicated plotter. However, I do want a reliable system and if this means a brand plotter so be it. I would also like to know what people are installing for satellite communications and weather. Answers from real experience please rather than speculation.
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Dick
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Group: Forum Members
Posts: 970,
Visits: 1.3K
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+xSandy, We did a similar upgrade last year and can share the mistake we made! We decided to save a few pennies by opting for two touchscreen Raymarine MFD’s (Axiom). The one at the nav station is fine but the one at the helm goes crazy when it is raining as the rain drops trigger MoB’s and all sorts of nonsense. This is easily overcome by switching off the touchscreen but we then have no way of interacting with the device when the screen is wet. We have had to buy networked remote controls which was rather more expensive than buying an MFD with in-built manual knobs and buttons. With the above caveat the new network is a vast improvement on what we had before. As for satellite / weather the combination of PredictWind and Starlink is very powerful and substantially cheaper than Iridium or installing SSB. We found PredictWind’s ‘over the horizon AIS’ a great tool for various niche reasons I won’t bore you with. Simon +xI want to replace my existing navigation hardware and I am looking for advice on the state of the art. My present system is 12 years old. It consists of two Garmin GPSmap 4008s, one at the chart table and one on the binnacle. They are networked and both can be used to display maps, follow routes, display AIS targets, control and display the radar and all the other stuff they do like display tides, show wind graphs etc. etc. I use a PC and OpenCPN or Homeport to do routing and transfer the routes using SD cards ( no WiFi on these old systems). Up till now I have used a sat phone to connect to the Internet and to download grib files using Sailmail or similar. I use the PC and OpenCPN to display the grib files. I have a Vesper AIS which is also my WiFi hub. This system does everything I want and has served me well. However the GPSmaps are getting old and are classed as legacy devices by Garmin. I managed to update the OS recently which has prolonged their lives but I can see the end coming. The plotters don't support the most recent Garmin maps and can't read any other format. Also Garmin maps are fantastically expensive. I am a bit out of the cruising network and I would like to know what people are installing now for long distance offshore cruising. Ideally I would like a system not based on a dedicated plotter. However, I do want a reliable system and if this means a brand plotter so be it. I would also like to know what people are installing for satellite communications and weather. Answers from real experience please rather than speculation. Hi Sandy, I have 10+ years with the following system and lots of miles and lots of countries. It has met all my needs, but I have not followed advances in the industry. Primary navigation is done on a laptop using MaxSea software and is done at the nav station safely down below. It talks to a Furuno chart plotter (ethernet) under the dodger easily seen from the helm. All navigation could be done on the CP, but is far easier to do on the computer. For our needs, it is very nice to have nav info in the cockpit as well radar display and controls: especially for the radar. There is also a full package of Furuno wind/depth/GPS/radar and ICOM AIS transponder. Having a visual on the chart plotter under the dodger has been very nice and has enhanced safety on many occasions. We can see it easily from the helm, but prefer it under the dodger as we are rarely at the helm. We also want anyone on the helm (when going into anchorages, for example) to maintain situational awareness (and perhaps night vision) by not manipulating a chart plotter (sort of like using a phone to sending a text or calling while driving). Over the decades we have gotten weather primarily from SSB, (Ham and marine), and more recently Iridium sat phone (data and voice). But this seems likely to change with Starlink in the budget for next season. The only hesitation I have with the above is a wish that the radar was stand-alone with its own display: I am largely not a fan of integration with gear that is important for safety. (Similarly, my ICOM AIS transponder does have output to the CP and laptop MaxSea navigation programs, but also has its own display, albeit small, but quite usable. Come back with questions. My best, Dick Stevenson, s/v Alchemy
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Sandy.Herbert
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Group: Forum Members
Posts: 17,
Visits: 1
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+xSandy, We did a similar upgrade last year and can share the mistake we made! We decided to save a few pennies by opting for two touchscreen Raymarine MFD’s (Axiom). The one at the nav station is fine but the one at the helm goes crazy when it is raining as the rain drops trigger MoB’s and all sorts of nonsense. This is easily overcome by switching off the touchscreen but we then have no way of interacting with the device when the screen is wet. We have had to buy networked remote controls which was rather more expensive than buying an MFD with in-built manual knobs and buttons. With the above caveat the new network is a vast improvement on what we had before. As for satellite / weather the combination of PredictWind and Starlink is very powerful and substantially cheaper than Iridium or installing SSB. We found PredictWind’s ‘over the horizon AIS’ a great tool for various niche reasons I won’t bore you with. Simon +xI want to replace my existing navigation hardware and I am looking for advice on the state of the art. My present system is 12 years old. It consists of two Garmin GPSmap 4008s, one at the chart table and one on the binnacle. They are networked and both can be used to display maps, follow routes, display AIS targets, control and display the radar and all the other stuff they do like display tides, show wind graphs etc. etc. I use a PC and OpenCPN or Homeport to do routing and transfer the routes using SD cards ( no WiFi on these old systems). Up till now I have used a sat phone to connect to the Internet and to download grib files using Sailmail or similar. I use the PC and OpenCPN to display the grib files. I have a Vesper AIS which is also my WiFi hub. This system does everything I want and has served me well. However the GPSmaps are getting old and are classed as legacy devices by Garmin. I managed to update the OS recently which has prolonged their lives but I can see the end coming. The plotters don't support the most recent Garmin maps and can't read any other format. Also Garmin maps are fantastically expensive. I am a bit out of the cruising network and I would like to know what people are installing now for long distance offshore cruising. Ideally I would like a system not based on a dedicated plotter. However, I do want a reliable system and if this means a brand plotter so be it. I would also like to know what people are installing for satellite communications and weather. Answers from real experience please rather than speculation. Thanks for this reply. What do you do for routing and weather? Do you do it directly on the plotters?
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Simon Currin
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Group: Administrators
Posts: 1K,
Visits: 86
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Sandy, I’m afraid to say I say we all weather on an iPhone (courtesy of PredictWind) which works very well for us but I know traditionalists would not approve. Connections is via to Starlink with Iridium as a backup - though we may dispense with the latter next season given it’s cost. Simon +x+xSandy, We did a similar upgrade last year and can share the mistake we made! We decided to save a few pennies by opting for two touchscreen Raymarine MFD’s (Axiom). The one at the nav station is fine but the one at the helm goes crazy when it is raining as the rain drops trigger MoB’s and all sorts of nonsense. This is easily overcome by switching off the touchscreen but we then have no way of interacting with the device when the screen is wet. We have had to buy networked remote controls which was rather more expensive than buying an MFD with in-built manual knobs and buttons. With the above caveat the new network is a vast improvement on what we had before. As for satellite / weather the combination of PredictWind and Starlink is very powerful and substantially cheaper than Iridium or installing SSB. We found PredictWind’s ‘over the horizon AIS’ a great tool for various niche reasons I won’t bore you with. Simon +xI want to replace my existing navigation hardware and I am looking for advice on the state of the art. My present system is 12 years old. It consists of two Garmin GPSmap 4008s, one at the chart table and one on the binnacle. They are networked and both can be used to display maps, follow routes, display AIS targets, control and display the radar and all the other stuff they do like display tides, show wind graphs etc. etc. I use a PC and OpenCPN or Homeport to do routing and transfer the routes using SD cards ( no WiFi on these old systems). Up till now I have used a sat phone to connect to the Internet and to download grib files using Sailmail or similar. I use the PC and OpenCPN to display the grib files. I have a Vesper AIS which is also my WiFi hub. This system does everything I want and has served me well. However the GPSmaps are getting old and are classed as legacy devices by Garmin. I managed to update the OS recently which has prolonged their lives but I can see the end coming. The plotters don't support the most recent Garmin maps and can't read any other format. Also Garmin maps are fantastically expensive. I am a bit out of the cruising network and I would like to know what people are installing now for long distance offshore cruising. Ideally I would like a system not based on a dedicated plotter. However, I do want a reliable system and if this means a brand plotter so be it. I would also like to know what people are installing for satellite communications and weather. Answers from real experience please rather than speculation. Thanks for this reply. What do you do for routing and weather? Do you do it directly on the plotters?
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Dick
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Group: Forum Members
Posts: 970,
Visits: 1.3K
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+xSandy, I’m afraid to say I say we all weather on an iPhone (courtesy of PredictWind) which works very well for us but I know traditionalists would not approve. Connections is via to Starlink with Iridium as a backup - though we may dispense with the latter next season given it’s cost. Simon +x+xSandy, We did a similar upgrade last year and can share the mistake we made! We decided to save a few pennies by opting for two touchscreen Raymarine MFD’s (Axiom). The one at the nav station is fine but the one at the helm goes crazy when it is raining as the rain drops trigger MoB’s and all sorts of nonsense. This is easily overcome by switching off the touchscreen but we then have no way of interacting with the device when the screen is wet. We have had to buy networked remote controls which was rather more expensive than buying an MFD with in-built manual knobs and buttons. With the above caveat the new network is a vast improvement on what we had before. As for satellite / weather the combination of PredictWind and Starlink is very powerful and substantially cheaper than Iridium or installing SSB. We found PredictWind’s ‘over the horizon AIS’ a great tool for various niche reasons I won’t bore you with. Simon +xI want to replace my existing navigation hardware and I am looking for advice on the state of the art. My present system is 12 years old. It consists of two Garmin GPSmap 4008s, one at the chart table and one on the binnacle. They are networked and both can be used to display maps, follow routes, display AIS targets, control and display the radar and all the other stuff they do like display tides, show wind graphs etc. etc. I use a PC and OpenCPN or Homeport to do routing and transfer the routes using SD cards ( no WiFi on these old systems). Up till now I have used a sat phone to connect to the Internet and to download grib files using Sailmail or similar. I use the PC and OpenCPN to display the grib files. I have a Vesper AIS which is also my WiFi hub. This system does everything I want and has served me well. However the GPSmaps are getting old and are classed as legacy devices by Garmin. I managed to update the OS recently which has prolonged their lives but I can see the end coming. The plotters don't support the most recent Garmin maps and can't read any other format. Also Garmin maps are fantastically expensive. I am a bit out of the cruising network and I would like to know what people are installing now for long distance offshore cruising. Ideally I would like a system not based on a dedicated plotter. However, I do want a reliable system and if this means a brand plotter so be it. I would also like to know what people are installing for satellite communications and weather. Answers from real experience please rather than speculation. Thanks for this reply. What do you do for routing and weather? Do you do it directly on the plotters? Hi Sandy, I have used a paid router only a few times, but always generated my own routing out 3 days using existing weather forecasts including wind/wave. I then take the paid for route and compare. If similar, I am happy: any discrepancies, I ask the router why. For example, I used a router from Iceland to Greenland. He had me going farther S than I had worked out. He said he had kept me S as there was a low lurking in Canada and coming my way 3-5 days out. It was forecast to stay N of rhumb line and not be a bother, but if it tracked a more southerly route, it could bring significant headwinds and some ugly weather. So, he had me going S and added a few miles but meant I might have greater options if the low tracked S. I have never used a computer-generated route program, but have heard they exist. I would do the same as above and try to figure out why if significant discrepancies occur. One of the benefits of generating your own route is that you have much greater situational awareness if/when weather does not unfold as forecast. This means you are already up-to-speed on the whole picture and able to respond without going back to the drawing-board. It helps greatly write down a day-by-day anticipation of the passage. For example: day three, noon, winds SSE at 15kn T, bar xyz inches, cloudy, wind expected to veer, rain possible. You do this pretty much when doing route planning, but written down you notice things like a low approaching faster than anticipated by the bar pressure dropping earlier or the wind is doing something which needs explaining. As the passage proceeds, I am always revising the route daily out at least 3 days as the forecast changes. Come back with questions. My best, Dick Stevenson, s/v Alchemy
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Sandy.Herbert
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Group: Forum Members
Posts: 17,
Visits: 1
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+x+xSandy, We did a similar upgrade last year and can share the mistake we made! We decided to save a few pennies by opting for two touchscreen Raymarine MFD’s (Axiom). The one at the nav station is fine but the one at the helm goes crazy when it is raining as the rain drops trigger MoB’s and all sorts of nonsense. This is easily overcome by switching off the touchscreen but we then have no way of interacting with the device when the screen is wet. We have had to buy networked remote controls which was rather more expensive than buying an MFD with in-built manual knobs and buttons. With the above caveat the new network is a vast improvement on what we had before. As for satellite / weather the combination of PredictWind and Starlink is very powerful and substantially cheaper than Iridium or installing SSB. We found PredictWind’s ‘over the horizon AIS’ a great tool for various niche reasons I won’t bore you with. Simon +xI want to replace my existing navigation hardware and I am looking for advice on the state of the art. My present system is 12 years old. It consists of two Garmin GPSmap 4008s, one at the chart table and one on the binnacle. They are networked and both can be used to display maps, follow routes, display AIS targets, control and display the radar and all the other stuff they do like display tides, show wind graphs etc. etc. I use a PC and OpenCPN or Homeport to do routing and transfer the routes using SD cards ( no WiFi on these old systems). Up till now I have used a sat phone to connect to the Internet and to download grib files using Sailmail or similar. I use the PC and OpenCPN to display the grib files. I have a Vesper AIS which is also my WiFi hub. This system does everything I want and has served me well. However the GPSmaps are getting old and are classed as legacy devices by Garmin. I managed to update the OS recently which has prolonged their lives but I can see the end coming. The plotters don't support the most recent Garmin maps and can't read any other format. Also Garmin maps are fantastically expensive. I am a bit out of the cruising network and I would like to know what people are installing now for long distance offshore cruising. Ideally I would like a system not based on a dedicated plotter. However, I do want a reliable system and if this means a brand plotter so be it. I would also like to know what people are installing for satellite communications and weather. Answers from real experience please rather than speculation. Hi Sandy, I have 10+ years with the following system and lots of miles and lots of countries. It has met all my needs, but I have not followed advances in the industry. Primary navigation is done on a laptop using MaxSea software and is done at the nav station safely down below. It talks to a Furuno chart plotter (ethernet) under the dodger easily seen from the helm. All navigation could be done on the CP, but is far easier to do on the computer. For our needs, it is very nice to have nav info in the cockpit as well radar display and controls: especially for the radar. There is also a full package of Furuno wind/depth/GPS/radar and ICOM AIS transponder. Having a visual on the chart plotter under the dodger has been very nice and has enhanced safety on many occasions. We can see it easily from the helm, but prefer it under the dodger as we are rarely at the helm. We also want anyone on the helm (when going into anchorages, for example) to maintain situational awareness (and perhaps night vision) by not manipulating a chart plotter (sort of like using a phone to sending a text or calling while driving). Over the decades we have gotten weather primarily from SSB, (Ham and marine), and more recently Iridium sat phone (data and voice). But this seems likely to change with Starlink in the budget for next season. The only hesitation I have with the above is a wish that the radar was stand-alone with its own display: I am largely not a fan of integration with gear that is important for safety. (Similarly, my ICOM AIS transponder does have output to the CP and laptop MaxSea navigation programs, but also has its own display, albeit small, but quite usable. Come back with questions. My best, Dick Stevenson, s/v Alchemy Thanks for your reply. Does the Maxsea software on the laptop share the same charts as the plotter? Do the Maxsea charts have some sort of licensing system which allows them to be installed on multiple devices or something like that? You say you send your routes to the plotter via an ethernet network. Does the plotter appear on the PC just like any device where you can copy paste to it? ( I ask because some of the systems for sending routes to a plotter appear to require you to mail it. No joke.) I have to do most of my route planning on an old discontinued piece of Garmin software called Homeport which does read the same charts. However I have to physically take the SD card with the chart on it out of the plotter and put it in the laptop, then transfer the route onto an SD card and put that in the plotter then put the SD card with the chart on it back in the plotter. One day I'm going to drop an SD card into the bilge and then I will be stuck. The current Garmin route planning software appears to assume that you will always be in network range so that you can load your charts from the web. As I understand it, you are still not allowed to keep copies of charts on multiple devices. Are you aware of any new systems which don't run on dedicated plotters? I have ideas of going to a PC based system but I can't find a solution yet for an interactive device in the cockpit.
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Sandy.Herbert
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Group: Forum Members
Posts: 17,
Visits: 1
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+xSandy, I’m afraid to say I say we all weather on an iPhone (courtesy of PredictWind) which works very well for us but I know traditionalists would not approve. Connections is via to Starlink with Iridium as a backup - though we may dispense with the latter next season given it’s cost. Simon +x+xSandy, We did a similar upgrade last year and can share the mistake we made! We decided to save a few pennies by opting for two touchscreen Raymarine MFD’s (Axiom). The one at the nav station is fine but the one at the helm goes crazy when it is raining as the rain drops trigger MoB’s and all sorts of nonsense. This is easily overcome by switching off the touchscreen but we then have no way of interacting with the device when the screen is wet. We have had to buy networked remote controls which was rather more expensive than buying an MFD with in-built manual knobs and buttons. With the above caveat the new network is a vast improvement on what we had before. As for satellite / weather the combination of PredictWind and Starlink is very powerful and substantially cheaper than Iridium or installing SSB. We found PredictWind’s ‘over the horizon AIS’ a great tool for various niche reasons I won’t bore you with. Simon +xI want to replace my existing navigation hardware and I am looking for advice on the state of the art. My present system is 12 years old. It consists of two Garmin GPSmap 4008s, one at the chart table and one on the binnacle. They are networked and both can be used to display maps, follow routes, display AIS targets, control and display the radar and all the other stuff they do like display tides, show wind graphs etc. etc. I use a PC and OpenCPN or Homeport to do routing and transfer the routes using SD cards ( no WiFi on these old systems). Up till now I have used a sat phone to connect to the Internet and to download grib files using Sailmail or similar. I use the PC and OpenCPN to display the grib files. I have a Vesper AIS which is also my WiFi hub. This system does everything I want and has served me well. However the GPSmaps are getting old and are classed as legacy devices by Garmin. I managed to update the OS recently which has prolonged their lives but I can see the end coming. The plotters don't support the most recent Garmin maps and can't read any other format. Also Garmin maps are fantastically expensive. I am a bit out of the cruising network and I would like to know what people are installing now for long distance offshore cruising. Ideally I would like a system not based on a dedicated plotter. However, I do want a reliable system and if this means a brand plotter so be it. I would also like to know what people are installing for satellite communications and weather. Answers from real experience please rather than speculation. Thanks for this reply. What do you do for routing and weather? Do you do it directly on the plotters? I guess I am still thinking in terms of grib files. I find Windy and such OK for short passages but for offshore sailing I like to be able to plot the grib files on the chart and plan my route accordingly.
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Simon Currin
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Group: Administrators
Posts: 1K,
Visits: 86
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But that’s exactly what PredictWind does. It’s a multiday routing tool comparing projections basted on all the GRIB models. Windy also has a similar routing tool.
Simon
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Sandy.Herbert
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Group: Forum Members
Posts: 17,
Visits: 1
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+x+xSandy, I’m afraid to say I say we all weather on an iPhone (courtesy of PredictWind) which works very well for us but I know traditionalists would not approve. Connections is via to Starlink with Iridium as a backup - though we may dispense with the latter next season given it’s cost. Simon +x+xSandy, We did a similar upgrade last year and can share the mistake we made! We decided to save a few pennies by opting for two touchscreen Raymarine MFD’s (Axiom). The one at the nav station is fine but the one at the helm goes crazy when it is raining as the rain drops trigger MoB’s and all sorts of nonsense. This is easily overcome by switching off the touchscreen but we then have no way of interacting with the device when the screen is wet. We have had to buy networked remote controls which was rather more expensive than buying an MFD with in-built manual knobs and buttons. With the above caveat the new network is a vast improvement on what we had before. As for satellite / weather the combination of PredictWind and Starlink is very powerful and substantially cheaper than Iridium or installing SSB. We found PredictWind’s ‘over the horizon AIS’ a great tool for various niche reasons I won’t bore you with. Simon +xI want to replace my existing navigation hardware and I am looking for advice on the state of the art. My present system is 12 years old. It consists of two Garmin GPSmap 4008s, one at the chart table and one on the binnacle. They are networked and both can be used to display maps, follow routes, display AIS targets, control and display the radar and all the other stuff they do like display tides, show wind graphs etc. etc. I use a PC and OpenCPN or Homeport to do routing and transfer the routes using SD cards ( no WiFi on these old systems). Up till now I have used a sat phone to connect to the Internet and to download grib files using Sailmail or similar. I use the PC and OpenCPN to display the grib files. I have a Vesper AIS which is also my WiFi hub. This system does everything I want and has served me well. However the GPSmaps are getting old and are classed as legacy devices by Garmin. I managed to update the OS recently which has prolonged their lives but I can see the end coming. The plotters don't support the most recent Garmin maps and can't read any other format. Also Garmin maps are fantastically expensive. I am a bit out of the cruising network and I would like to know what people are installing now for long distance offshore cruising. Ideally I would like a system not based on a dedicated plotter. However, I do want a reliable system and if this means a brand plotter so be it. I would also like to know what people are installing for satellite communications and weather. Answers from real experience please rather than speculation. Thanks for this reply. What do you do for routing and weather? Do you do it directly on the plotters? Hi Sandy, I have used a paid router only a few times, but always generated my own routing out 3 days using existing weather forecasts including wind/wave. I then take the paid for route and compare. If similar, I am happy: any discrepancies, I ask the router why. For example, I used a router from Iceland to Greenland. He had me going farther S than I had worked out. He said he had kept me S as there was a low lurking in Canada and coming my way 3-5 days out. It was forecast to stay N of rhumb line and not be a bother, but if it tracked a more southerly route, it could bring significant headwinds and some ugly weather. So, he had me going S and added a few miles but meant I might have greater options if the low tracked S. I have never used a computer-generated route program, but have heard they exist. I would do the same as above and try to figure out why if significant discrepancies occur. One of the benefits of generating your own route is that you have much greater situational awareness if/when weather does not unfold as forecast. This means you are already up-to-speed on the whole picture and able to respond without going back to the drawing-board. It helps greatly write down a day-by-day anticipation of the passage. For example: day three, noon, winds SSE at 15kn T, bar xyz inches, cloudy, wind expected to veer, rain possible. You do this pretty much when doing route planning, but written down you notice things like a low approaching faster than anticipated by the bar pressure dropping earlier or the wind is doing something which needs explaining. As the passage proceeds, I am always revising the route daily out at least 3 days as the forecast changes. Come back with questions. My best, Dick Stevenson, s/v Alchemy The only time I have used someone to help me with timing and weather was for the passage between Madagascar and Richards Bay in South Africa. Everyone including me seemed to be terrified of the South African coast and it was a great comfort to have the advice of someone who knew the area well. Otherwise for offshore stuff I downloaded grib files using Sailmail and overlaid them on the chart and planned my route accordingly. I guess this is already getting to be old technology though.
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