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.
Distinguish an island or coastal bulletin from the wider METAREA text and its validity window. Long passages need a reliable method to obtain refreshed warnings offshore; a saved app screen is not one.
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
An inter-island passage needs offshore warnings as well as local island forecasts.
Mauritius and Réunion have separate national marine products and different island approaches despite their proximity.
Use Mauritius Meteorological Services for Mauritius and Météo-France Réunion for Réunion; compare swell advisories and the approach facing the incoming sea before transferring a forecast between islands.
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.
Two islands, two warning systems
The Mauritius bulletin links heavy-swell, cyclone and GMDSS products; Réunion's marine service separates coastal, offshore, high-seas and harbour information. Choose the appropriate sources for both ends of an inter-island passage and the open middle, rather than transferring an island land forecast to the neighbouring island. A cyclone or swell menu's presence does not establish today's warning status: obtain and date the actual current product.
- Mauritius Meteorological Services bulletin — Mauritius bulletin plus heavy-swell/cyclone/GMDSS product menu
- Météo-France Réunion marine — Coast, offshore, high-seas, harbour and swell products
Do not equate lower wind with easier arrival
Compare wave direction and period at the destination coast with the forecast wind along the crossing. Ocean swell can make the approach question different from the sailing question. Réunion's named coasts and harbour products are useful for narrowing the source selection; they still do not certify access. A wind reading on the sheltered side of either island should not be used as evidence for the open inter-island sea.
Refresh after an island stopover
A forecast used to reach Mauritius may have expired before the next departure toward Réunion. Start a new brief with the latest offshore and arrival products, a communications method and a next check. Compare delay options using actual approach ETAs and an independently checked alternative. Missing data should remain visible; this page does not promise cyclone-season clearance or a universally sheltered coast.
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.