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
National coastal bulletins and current navigational restrictions must be checked for the exact route.
The eastern Black Sea involves different national coasts; the issuer for a western section may not cover the destination.
Use Turkish MGM for its coast and Georgia’s official portal for local weather, checking whether a marine product is available; identify other issuers via WMO–IMO. Check restrictions and port status separately.
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.
Trabzon/Hopa and Batumi do not share one issuer
Use MGM's eastern Turkish Black Sea marine text for the Turkish portion, but do not extend it automatically into Georgian coastal responsibilities. Georgia's National Environmental Agency is a national hydrometeorology entry point; this review did not confirm a specific current operational sea bulletin. Identify the actual destination product and current port information before completing a cross-border brief. A national homepage is useful discovery, not itself a marine forecast.
- MGM daily marine text — Separate east/west Turkish Black Sea and Marmara sectors with time periods.
- Georgia National Environmental Agency — National hydrometeorology entry point; exact operational marine bulletin not verified. Direct product verification is limited; obtain the current issue from the issuer.
- WMO–IMO marine warning directory — METAREA issuer discovery; products may be delayed, national issuer remains authoritative.
Mountain coast and exposed sea need different evidence
Mark open-water exposure, coastal approaches and any river-influenced or enclosed harbour separately. A town or airport observation is a site measurement, not the wind and wave history of the whole coastal leg. Retain marine direction, gust and visibility information for the approach time. Avoid inventing terrain gust multipliers, named local jets or entrance-current numbers when the authoritative local publication has not been verified.
An unresolved arrival source limits the comparison
For a Turkish-to-Georgian coastal scenario, test reduced progress and note whether a current local issue covers the revised arrival. If not, show the gap instead of manufacturing a complete forecast from a favourable model field. Reconsider before losing the last confirmed shelter when the destination exposure changes or required official data are unavailable. Port status, navigation warnings and permission remain independent of the weather score.
- WMO–IMO marine warning directory
- Georgia National Environmental Agency
- RYA passage planning — Practitioner guidance on contingency, tides, vessel and crew constraints.
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.