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.
Check the current tropical warning separately from the routine marine forecast; neither an island app nor a model animation substitutes for the responsible coastal bulletin. Reef entrances also require current chart and local-authority information.
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
Short hops still need a check of channel winds and the next anchorage.
Grenadine island hops have short but open channels and anchorages with different swell exposure.
NHC gives wider Caribbean context; identify the current local coastal bulletin for the specific island and check the arriving swell before choosing an anchorage.
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.
Distinguish SVG waters from an onward Grenada leg
An itinerary through Bequia, the smaller Grenadines and onward toward Grenada is not one jurisdictional forecast. Use the Saint Vincent and the Grenadines service for its stated area, then obtain the responsible product for the onward leg. Search engines can surface old SVG forecasts with very similar titles; inspect the issue and valid period. An archived marine advisory must never be presented as a current warning.
- Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Meteorological Services — SVG forecasts and marine advisories; search found archived editions, so current issue must be verified. Direct product verification is limited; obtain the current issue from the issuer.
- NHC marine products — Broader Gulf, Caribbean and tropical Atlantic/Pacific context; confirm the current product at the issuer. Direct product verification is limited; obtain the current issue from the issuer.
The next short hop can be the exposed one
List the open island gap and arrival anchorage separately, even when the distance looks small. Compare forecast wave and swell direction with the approach and the return route, not just the wind inside the departure bay. A reef-fringed stop adds navigation and local access requirements that a regional bulletin does not resolve. Avoid assigning all Grenadine anchorages the same shelter description.
Test the last stop against tomorrow's route
When choosing a final overnight stop, run a scenario in which the following day's passage is slower or the wind direction changes. Would the yacht still have a checked departure route and a suitable destination, or would the crew be committed to another exposed gap? Reassess before leaving a genuinely available alternative. Record current local advice without treating a charter itinerary as a meteorological endorsement.
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.