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
Use the French marine service alongside regional tropical warnings.
Martinique and Guadeloupe lie in distinct French local forecast areas, with Atlantic-facing and Caribbean-facing shores.
Open each island’s Météo-France marine bulletin and special warning, then the regional tropical outlook. Do not transfer a leeward-coast sea state to the Atlantic side.
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.
Select a marine sector before a marina or city
Open the Martinique and Guadeloupe marine pages separately. Martinique's products distinguish sea sectors and bays, while Guadeloupe's marine entry also serves the northern French islands; read the actual selected coverage. For an inter-island passage, attach the bulletin for each exposed section and arrival rather than transferring a Fort-de-France or Pointe-à-Pitre land forecast to the sea. Keep coastal and offshore BMS distinct.
- Météo-France Martinique marine — Martinique sea sectors, coastal and offshore special bulletins.
- Météo-France Guadeloupe marine — Guadeloupe and northern French islands; coastal/offshore BMS must be distinguished.
A leeward itinerary still has exposed transitions
Mark the point where the itinerary turns around an island or leaves its shelter. Compare the forecast at that point with the wave direction and period at the intended arrival. The same island can offer different exposure on its Caribbean and Atlantic sides; a calm bay report does not determine the next headland or passage. Keep the model point table separate from the forecaster-reviewed marine text.
Do not copy an 'all clear' label into the plan
A marine page can display a status at the time it was loaded, while a bulletin or tropical alert changes later. Save the applicable issue and set a new check before the exposed leg; do not retain an unqualified 'no warning' statement in the itinerary. If the revised swell or BMS changes the arrival assumptions, compare the alternative coast and its own access conditions before extending the 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.
- France
Keep Atlantic tidal coasts separate from Mediterranean island and gulf planning.