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.
On a tidal Atlantic coast, the forecast wind is only one input. Check swell direction and period, tidal stream and the specific harbour or bar approach from current local publications.
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
Match each coastal leg and harbour approach to Portuguese marine products.
The Portuguese Atlantic coast requires a separate check of each exposed cape and harbour or river entrance.
Use IPMA marine warnings and sectors; compare the swell period and direction with the specific entrance and any current port closure information.
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.
Divide the coast by exposed decisions
A passage along Portugal should list the next exposed cape, any river/bar entrance and the intended refuge, not just repeat one city forecast down the coast. Compare IPMA's mainland marine issue with sea-state information at each timed leg. Coastal sailing still needs a horizon long enough for the actual arrival; the existence of multiple harbours does not establish that they are accessible under the same swell direction.
- IPMA marine bulletins — Mainland, Azores and Madeira marine product selection.
Wind relief does not clear a harbour bar
Check swell height, period and direction separately from local wind. A calmer afternoon wind field can leave an exposed entrance affected by previously generated sea. Obtain current harbour/captaincy information before treating a port as refuge; the marine forecast and the port's operational status are different evidence. No fixed bar height or wind threshold in this guide substitutes for those local instructions.
- IPMA marine bulletins
- RYA passage planning — Practitioner guidance on contingency, tides, vessel and crew constraints.
Use an entrance update as a decision trigger
For a north-to-south coastal scenario, compare nominal and reduced progress to the next confirmed refuge. If a closure, approach warning or sea-direction change removes that option, reassess before passing the last usable alternative. Do not continue merely because the boat has following wind offshore. A return, wait or different destination must be evaluated against the new sea state and the remaining crew and fuel margins.
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.