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
Choose the correct long coastal sector and its current wind warning.
Western Australia stretches across very different latitudes and coastal exposures; one state-wide map is not a passage forecast.
Use BoM warnings and the exact coastal waters, then inspect swell, tidal entrance and cyclone products where seasonally relevant.
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.
Perth local waters are not the northern WA coast
Choose the actual Western Australia coastal district before reading the marine numbers. The BoM state directory links local waters, coastal forecasts, tides and high-seas products separately. A Perth or Fremantle start and a northern-coast itinerary require different evidence; a state-wide weather image cannot substitute for both. On a multi-day plan, note the product change along the track and the updates needed before each exposed leg.
- BoM Western Australia forecast directory — Local/coastal/high-seas selection with tide links.
Use coastal observations without extending their footprint
The WA coastal observation table groups sites by district and separates wind, gusts and available sea/swell variables. Check the chosen station's time and exposure before comparing it with a forecast. A missing sea column is not a wave measurement, and a protected mainland site cannot confirm the conditions at an offshore island approach. Keep the ocean-facing arrival assessment separate from the comfort at departure.
- BoM Western Australia coastal observations — Coastal districts and measurements; compare exposure and timestamps.
Reassess the receiving coast when the direction changes
For a Perth-area island day or a longer coastwise stage, test the return and arrival under slower progress and a changed wind/swell direction. An attractive outbound forecast does not guarantee the same protection on the way back. In northern waters add the current applicable tropical products rather than a seasonal assurance. If the destination's entrance or local stream information is unavailable, make the gap explicit before committing.
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.