The challenge of weather planning....Offshore.

When we go for a sail, our first concern is which way is the wind blowing...and how hard? OK, maybe we look for a SUNNY, 80 degree day first-then worry about the wind. We might be on a power yacht...

When I plan an offshore passage of 8-10 days duration, I can generally anticipate the first 2-3 days with some confidence but after that, where do I turn?

The old rule back in the dark days of the early 90's when the trips were back and forth from the Caribbean to Annapolis or New England, we would look at the weather in Seattle and if the Jet Stream was going west to east, we could anticipate similar weather patterns for the mid-Atlantic in 5-6 days. The prognosis shifted with the Jet. Not very scientific I will admit, but weirdly, it seemed to work about 80% of the time.

Now we have such amazing sites as PASSAGEWEATHER.COM to give graphic predictions a full 7 days in advance. What say you?

Jeff Moorman