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.
Island arrival and offshore passage are different forecast scales. Record the ocean warning area, landfall time, local lee or acceleration zones and the next communications opportunity.
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
Atlantic approach conditions and local shelter are different forecast questions.
For Madeira or Porto Santo, mark the offshore approach and the island-side harbour separately; an island lee can shift over a short distance.
Use IPMA marine bulletins, then check local observations and the arrival swell. Treat a protected-side wind reading as local, not representative of the passage.
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.
Choose the island product, not mainland Portugal
Use the Madeira marine selection in IPMA for local island-water context and the appropriate high-seas issuer for an ocean approach. A Madeira–Porto Santo planning example should separate departure lee, exposed crossing and arrival coast. The shared country does not make the mainland or Azores forecast interchangeable. Keep the actual product title and valid period in the brief so a Portuguese portal does not become an anonymous source.
- IPMA marine bulletins — Mainland, Azores and Madeira marine product selection.
- WMO–IMO marine warning directory — METAREA issuer discovery; products may be delayed, national issuer remains authoritative.
Arrival swell can differ from a harbour wind reading
Inspect swell direction and period at the exposed approach as well as the local wind and gusts. A protected-side station reflects its site; label it accordingly rather than using it to dismiss offshore conditions. The destination's shelter may change with forecast direction, and an island gap is not described by a shore point alone. No automatic lee correction or universal island wind multiplier is applied here.
Do not transfer the stopover forecast into the ocean
For the next departure, rebuild the time-position schedule and confirm how the following high-seas issue will be received. Reassess if the weather system changes arrival exposure or the yacht's slower progress extends beyond detailed forecast support. An inter-island move, a coastal waiting day and a long ocean leg are distinct alternatives. The first comfortable hours after leaving harbour do not settle which is appropriate for the whole passage.
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.