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.
Resolve the exact named coastal and offshore forecast sectors before crossing a national boundary. Island lee, headland acceleration and a narrow channel can differ from a broad Mediterranean model cell.
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
Check the next channel and anchorage orientation, not only the resort forecast.
A Corfu–Paxos plan may change from the lee of Corfu to an open Ionian crossing or the mainland shore.
Use the HNMS Ionian sector and any relevant Italian outlook; check the direction of incoming swell at the intended arrival, not only the wind at departure.
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.
Leave Corfu's shelter on the timetable
Break a Corfu–Paxos example into the departure-side lee, the open crossing and the arrival coast. Use the current North Ionio coverage after checking the plotted route; an Italian outlook is additional context only when relevant to a westward continuation, not an automatic requirement for every local hop. Record the expected arrival hour rather than evaluating the entire passage at departure time.
- HNMS marine sectors — Named Greek sea sectors; not automatic route matching Direct product verification is limited; obtain the current issue from the issuer.
The return may change the useful anchorage
Compare the forecast wind and swell direction with the intended bay at arrival and after the planned visit. An anchorage convenient for the outward passage can become exposed before departure for the return. If only a sheltered shore observation is available, retain that exposure limitation and check the open-sea product. Do not turn a tourism description of calm Ionian water into a forecast conclusion.
- HNMS marine sectors
- HCMR POSEIDON observing components — Greek marine observing infrastructure; operating status must be checked Direct product verification is limited; obtain the current issue from the issuer.
A useful Paxos day brief
Set a check before leaving island shelter and another before extending the shore stop. Compare the original round trip with a shorter visit using the revised return ETA, including the effect of a slower upwind leg. Obtain current harbour and entrance information independently. The purpose is to make the return constraint explicit, not to provide an anchorage coordinate, a universal wind limit or clearance to cross.
- HNMS marine bulletin guide — Units, time terms, warning structure Direct product verification is limited; obtain the current issue from the issuer.
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.
- Greece
Ionian coast, Saronic Gulf and open Aegean island passages require different plans.