For Foundation Findings #49 we examined weather delivery options that coastal and inland boaters can use while out on the water. Sure, marine weather over a VHF radio is the tried and true method for knowing whether that dark cloud approaching is going to ruin your day but what if….you could see a radar image of the approaching storm and know that you only needed to travel a few miles south to get out of the trajectory of the storm? At your fingertips is marine weather information that just a few years ago was only accessible on land. New technologies are being developed daily that can deliver weather to boaters out on the water. In this test, the Foundation looked at mobile phone based weather products, satellite weather services and weather accessible on the internet for inland and coastal boaters.

VHF Satisfactory But…

In preparing for this Foundation Findings we polled staff about their feelings on VHF marine weather and what information they wanted while boating:

• “During my pre-departure check list I turn on VHF channel 2 to get the local marine weather and then continue prepping the engine, opening valves, identifying enough life jackets, etc. After the computer generated voice reads through a half dozen zones, they get to mine. If I am busy then I miss it and have to go through the cycle again. Give me the information right away so I can digest it.”
• “On hot summer days I know that there is a high possibility of thunderstorms. It’s like that every summer day. If I can see a radar loop I have a better idea of the direction and speed of an approaching storm.”
• “As a racing sailor there is only so much you can get from VHF marine weather. I need wind and tide/current information. Before I leave the house, I get a general idea about the forecast from online resources. But if I had that information available to me throughout the course o f a day we would be a step ahead of our competitors.”