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.
Coastal, reef, island and offshore products are not interchangeable. Compare the official warning with swell direction, local tide and exposed arrival before relying on any model-based route.
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
Check the exposed Northland coast separately from an island anchorage.
Bay of Islands sailing can appear sheltered inside the bay while an offshore approach or headland is exposed.
Match the MetService marine zone to the exposed leg and check incoming swell at the intended entrance; a bay observation is not an offshore wave report.
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.
Bay of Islands inshore weather does not describe the whole Northland leg
MetService provides separate inshore and coastal services. For an Opua/Paihia-based plan, distinguish a sheltered bay outing from a Cape Brett or onward-coast passage, then select the product actually covering the exposed track. This guide links to the marine service rather than reproducing a bulletin that may become outdated. Always obtain its dated text and warnings instead of relying on a destination-town icon.
- MetService marine service coverage — Separate inshore, coastal and high-seas responsibilities; consult current boundary definitions.
- MetService marine forecasts — NZ marine access is script-rendered here; current full bulletin not read in this extraction. Direct product verification is limited; obtain the current issue from the issuer.
A regional wind pattern is a hypothesis to check today
MetService has discussed a Northland lee-trough mechanism that can make coastal winds differ from the broader synoptic flow. Treat that mechanism as a reason to check today's local forecast and recent observations, not a prediction for your chosen day. Compare conditions over the exposed coast with the headland ETA and a relevant observation. Keep swell direction and visibility separate from any apparently favourable wind trend.
- MetService: Northland lee-trough case — Historical mechanism example; original article now redirects, not a current forecast. Direct product verification is limited; obtain the current issue from the issuer.
- MetService marine service coverage
Reassess before leaving the bay's shelter
Compare a bay-only day with a coastward extension at the exposed arrival and return ETA. A longer plan that appears comfortable at the berth may become materially different after the headland. If delay changes the receiving coast's conditions or the current issue expires, shorten or rebuild the itinerary while the checked alternative remains accessible. Do not infer a safe Northland passage from calm observations inside the bay.
- MetService marine service coverage
- LINZ tide predictions — Port-specific heights/times with daylight-saving and publication caveats; not all stream phases. Direct product verification is limited; obtain the current issue from the issuer.
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.