The blog
Navygatio – Web Home Page
Weather4D Routage & Navigation brings a major novelty : The Service Navygatio (¹), a web interface which will allow to record the navigations on a server as time goes by, add photos, to share own page with relatives, compare tracks, Analyze performance, and much more to come. A real " Cloud at the unique service of Weather4D Routage & Navigation users with iOS and SailGrib WR with Android. Read more …
In an article updated in August 2020 (¹), I described nautical works in digital format that can be usefully saved on iPad in the Apple Books application. Among them, I mentioned the Météo-France books available in PDF format for free download from their documentary portal.
In the "Courses and Manuals" section of this site, a new book can be downloaded, Published in 2020, entitled " Meteorological Observations and Measurements – Volume 1 / Clouds and other meteors ”, A wealth of information about clouds, and all associated weather phenomena, which are called "meteors" (²). Read more …
Many sailors who cross the "Big Blue" have known for ages that, if the navigation is relatively easy, the weather represents a particularly difficult constraint to deal. Indeed, if the coasts are mostly clean and the dangers very localized, if the tides are almost insignificant, if the currents are to be considered only in well defined areas, the major difficulty comes from a capricious meteorology, difficult to forecast, which can represent a real danger by its changing moods, sudden, even rough. Read more …
The new tutorial " Introduction to Marine Weather is available on the iBook Store (¹).
A complete reworking of the originally published book in 2015, new, clearer and more readable layout in portrait mode, ful revision of the text, Updated videos and illustrations. Read more …
NOAA (¹) annouced on 22 March a major upgrade to its weather forecasting model GFS.
For the first time, the Global Forecasting System (GFS), NOAA's flagship weather forecast model (¹) will be coupled with the global wave model Wave Watch III (WW3), produced by the CMNF (Fleet Numerical Meteorology and Oceanography Center), which will extend the current forecast of waves from 7 down to 16 days and improve the prediction of ocean waves forced by the atmosphere. Read more …
In Weather4D, as generally in other applications, sea state forecasts are described by ocean models. The most used is the model WW3 (Wave Watch III), published by FNMOC (Fleet Numerical Meteorology and Oceanography Center) of the US Navy, with a global model due to 7 days and resolution 1° (60NM), and a Europe model to 3 days and resolution 0.2° (12NM). Météo-France publish the models MFAUM (Wave Assimilated Model) coupled with the ARPEGE and AROME weather models with three resolutions : Global at 0.5° (30NM), Europe at 0.1° (6NM), France at 0.025° (1,5NM) with variable deadlines (¹). Read more …
MacENCx64 is now the name of the MacENC application which has just been published by its new developer NavStation.
MacENC has been completely adapted and recompiled into 64 bits for recent MacOS systems and new processors, which explains the new name. I continue to ensure the French translation. But be careful : to date Navionics cartography is no longer available. So there is no charting yet for the coasts of Europe, except ENC S-57 and S-63 available from Chartworld (see the page Digital charting). Read more …
While, this morning of the 9th day, Hugo Boss at the top of the Vendée Globe 2020 finishes crossing the “Doldrums” at a slow trot (¹), followed by the fleet of competitors which spread out behind him to the north of the Cape Verde Islands, It is a completely different score that the leaders of the game are playing Virtual Regatta. Read more …
Friday 13 November will not be a lucky day for the Vendée Globe skippers 2020 (¹). They will have to negotiate the encounter with tropical storm "Theta" which crosses their course with average winds that can reach the 40 nodes and powerful bursts. Above all, the sea will be to be feared because, strongly crossed as they passed the centre of the low pressure system, Waves may exceed 6 meters and break in a chaotic way. Read more …
On the second day of racing of this Vendée Globe 2020, we can say that the weather conditions that the skippers will experience on the descent towards the Doldrums will be particularly tough. After a departure in a damned weather, A first weak cold front passed without incident, The Solitaires will cross a second, much more violent front during the night and morning from Tuesday to Wednesday, for the group that went to the West, and in the evening for the group passed between the DST (¹) and Gallicia.
But these upcoming conditions are very different for Virtual Regatta players and For sailors… Read more …