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.
This is a geographic source directory, not an indication that a passage is permissible. Check current maritime restrictions, port-authority instructions and navigation warnings independently of the weather forecast.
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
Select the Turkish coastal sector rather than extending a Bosporus forecast eastward.
The Turkish Black Sea coast is much longer than the Bosporus approach; choose the coastal forecast sector actually traversed.
Read Turkish MGM marine warnings and sector forecasts for the full leg; check swell at the intended harbour and current local navigation notices.
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.
Use the east/west coastal distinction
MGM's daily marine report separates the Turkish eastern Black Sea section, Hopa–Sinop, from the western section, Sinop–İğneada. Read the current named section and its period for the actual leg, rather than extending an Istanbul or Bosporus forecast along the whole coast. Preserve wind direction, warning, wave and visibility fields separately. A forecast for the opposite end of the coast is context, not confirmation of the destination approach.
- MGM daily marine text — Separate east/west Turkish Black Sea and Marmara sectors with time periods.
The open stretch and harbour mouth may disagree
For a Samsun–Sinop or western-coast scenario, mark exposed headlands and the chosen harbour mouth independently. Evaluate the wave direction and arrival time, not only wind at the departure town. A regional surface-current product cannot resolve harbour flow or replace current navigation notices. If a station is inland or sheltered, do not use it to overrule a marine warning for the open-water stretch.
Build the slower arrival into the decision
Compare a direct coastal leg with a feasible intermediate stop using each approach's own issue and constraints. If slower progress moves arrival into a forecast deterioration, reassess before passing the last confirmed shelter. A favourable current or following wind does not make an unverified entrance suitable. Keep the update channel and port-authority instructions explicit; the weather desk does not grant permission to navigate or transit.
- MGM daily marine text
- Directorate General of Coastal Safety — Strait traffic opening/suspension information and official maritime communication links.
- RYA passage planning — Practitioner guidance on contingency, tides, vessel and crew constraints.
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.
- Turkey
Choose the Aegean or Mediterranean coastal plan and evaluate the bay exit separately.