This is a pre-passage source and decision desk, not a current forecast or clearance to depart. The map is centred approximately on the area, not on your route or a forecast-zone boundary.
This is a geographic source directory, not an indication that a passage is permissible. Check current maritime restrictions, port-authority instructions and navigation warnings independently of the weather forecast.
1. Primary sources
Open current bulletins and warnings for every sea area on the route. These links are starting points, not a promise that each covers the whole location; if unsure, identify the issuer through WMO–IMO.
2. Route and local effects
Weather, currents and traffic-control rules are separate operational checks.
Bosporus and the Sea of Marmara require separate consideration of weather, current, traffic rules and official transit control.
Use MGM for the applicable marine sector, then current authority instructions for transit status and timing. A favourable weather map is not permission to enter the strait.
How to use this source set
Start with the warning, then the marine text for the exact named area. If the route crosses a zone boundary, obtain both bulletins. Note issue and valid times, wind units and the meaning of wave height. Where a link opens an agency portal, navigate to its current marine product; a homepage is not itself a forecast.
Compare with an exposed station or buoy if available. Check its position and observation time: a sheltered station does not overturn a warning for an open channel. If a bulletin is missing or stale, identify the issuing service via WMO–IMO and defer the decision until current information is available.
Before-passage check
- Mark departure, exposed legs, arrival and feasible diversions; find the responsible named marine areas for each.
- Check warnings, issue and valid times; assess conditions when you expect to reach each leg, not only at departure.
- Compare wind and gusts, waves and swell, visibility, thunderstorms and local effects; do not infer a strait from a sheltered harbour.
- Compare recent observations where available, noting their time and exposure; a mismatch calls for another check.
- Set the next bulletin check, a reassessment trigger, an alternative and a backup communication channel.
Model map — optional
Windy is a third-party model display, not the issuer of official warnings. Choose a layer and check its valid hour and model run. Nothing loads until you click.
Without JavaScript, open the map separately.
If connectivity fails
Before departure, save the current official text bulletin and warning with issue time. Arrange another way to receive updates, such as an appropriate coastal broadcast, NAVTEX or satellite channel. A saved map cannot replace new warnings.
How to choose weather tools · All sailing areas
Scope: Source list assembled 25 September 2026; check its freshness and coverage before use. This public area guide is not a current personalised forecast, navigational notice service or safety verdict. Personalised forecasts with AI and experts are in closed testing; public booking is not open. The skipper makes the decision.
Three checks: weather, strait status, vessel plan
Treat the Bosporus passage, open Marmara leg and any Dardanelles continuation as separate tasks. MGM's Marmara text is a weather product; the Directorate General of Coastal Safety provides official strait traffic and communication entry points. An open traffic status for one category does not automatically establish a yacht's eligibility or instructions. Keep the applicable authority check separate from the AI weather comparison.
- MGM daily marine text — Separate east/west Turkish Black Sea and Marmara sectors with time periods.
- Directorate General of Coastal Safety — Strait traffic opening/suspension information and official maritime communication links.
Do not turn a regional current arrow into a transit instruction
A global surface-current layer cannot resolve the local flow at every bend, harbour or strait opening. Nor can a high-water time specify the stream in a weather-sensitive strait. Obtain locally applicable current and navigational information, and retain which flow statement is measured, modelled or only general context. Visibility and the yacht's handling capability can remain operational constraints even when the broad marine wind forecast improves.
A traffic delay changes the Marmara weather timeline
If waiting or a suspension shifts the transit, rebuild the forecast periods for the strait exit and next exposed Marmara leg. Do not preserve the original arrival estimate simply because the departure weather was acceptable. Reassess if the latest authority status, visibility or local forecast changes. A return or waiting berth must be independently feasible; the weather brief does not direct VTS communications or provide pilotage through the strait.
Editorial review of this material: 27 September 2026. This date concerns the page content; check current forecast issue times and validity at the original sources.
- Turkey
Choose the Aegean or Mediterranean coastal plan and evaluate the bay exit separately.