Use the password “weather” to access the livestream on our Crowdcast platform.
Join ICEBEAR skipper Andy Schell and a few of the 59 North team for an in-depth, foundational discussion on offshore weather patterns, forecasting, routing & tech. This session will serve as a primer of what's to come in the forthcoming 'Offshore Weather' series, and will focus on a general offshore weather discussion, based around the North Atlantic basin. We'll look at the big picture - what the large-scale weather phenomenon are that drive local conditions in the various places we sail, and how we make 'go/no-go' decisions on picking departure dates for various passages. We'll talk about how we do things at 59º North, the weather sources we use, how our professional weather routers at WRI Inc. fit in with their service, and why we plan our big-picture seasons the way we do. No prior knowledge of weather required. Open to all, and FREE with password.
The session is FREE. The software works such that you, as an audience member, can remain in the background, with a chat on the side available. OR, if you have your webcam & audio setup, you can request to come ‘on stage’ and you will pop up in a split-screen video/audio to ask questions, make comments etc. You can also write questions & comments in the chat/text section.
Weather Fundamentals Outline
Welcome & thanks for joining! What to expect…
~90 minute presentation as a primer on offshore weather
Tools we use to forecast
Forecasting versus routing
Q&A at the end
Session recorded for later viewing
Storytime
Big-Picture Weather - What creates patterns on a large scale?
Forecasting versus Routing
Forecasting Tools
GRIBs - what does it stand for?
GRIB viewers
Interpreting GRIBs & their limitations
A note on Heavy Weather…
Departure Weather
Preview for next week
BVI-Bermuda WX simulation with August & Andy
How each boat would progress along the route
Input from the pros at WRI - how to interpret a text forecast
Actual decision on departure date
Q&A
Links/Resources:
https://www.59-north.com/blog/2015/11/3/caribbean-1500-planning-a-weather-window-to-sail-offshore
https://www.59-north.com/blog/2015/11/20/caribbean-1500-analyzing-the-weather-from-the-passage-south
https://www.59-north.com/blog/2019/5/15/icebear-amp-isbjorn-offshore-it-wasnt-that-windy
https://www.59-north.com/blog/2018/6/7/departure-into-the-high-arctic
https://www.59-north.com/blog/2019/2/28/isbjorn-trans-atlantic-p-7-gilligans-island
