With weather conditions continually evolving, skippers need to factor forecast data into every passage plan and be prepared to modify it if the situation changes. This spiral-bound instant reference guide will help you draw the most relevant weather information from a variety of sources, understand and apply broader forecast data to your location and your anticipated route, and know when and how to make those necessary alterations. In clear, practical language, and with diagrams, photographs, explanations and bulleted lists, the book is also a useful primer or overview for RYA Coastal Skipper and Yachtmaster Offshore students by following the contents of the course: - Basic terms / the Beaufort Scale - Air masses - Cloud types - Weather patterns associated with pressure and frontal systems - Sources of weather information - Interpret a shipping forecast, weatherfax and weather satellite information - Land and sea breezes - Sea fog - Use of a barometer as a forecasting aid As a reference before sailing, a reminder of what is available for use before going to sea, and a guide to what to look out for and use when sailing, this practical handbook is aimed at skippers and crew of all levels, whether on day cruises or longer ocean-going passages. Spiral bound to lie flat and printed on splashproof paper, it is the ideal hands-on weather-focused passage planning guide, but with lots of tips for use on board it is the essential aide-memoire to have on the boat.

Weather determines when we sail, where we sail to – and whether we arrive safely. This essential pocket-sized guide equips the reader with all the necessary tools to predict and deal with local and distant weather conditions, whether on a day trip or a longer cruise, along the coast or further offshore.

Each topic is broken down into digestible chapters, explaining the origins and effects of the full spectrum of weather conditions, including:

- using and evaluating weather forecasts

- depressions, fronts, isobars and other coastal effects

- waves and swell

- weather lore and sky watching.

Meteorology is still advancing and sources of forecasts are changing. This new edition keeps the handbook up-to-date, with a particular focus on the increasing use of GRIB files, computer weather modelling and sources of forecasts, especially with the proliferation of computer forecasts becoming available free of charge.

With practical explanations and helpful diagrams and photographs, this is the ideal aide-memoire for skippers and crew, especially those studying for their Day Skipper and Yachtmaster exams.