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--- weather [2025/10/26 14:09]
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+++ weather [2026/08/29 13:39] (current)
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 If you check out **discussion boards for boaters and sailors**  you may be able to find some well informed discussions about models and apps, particularly about the **higher end features their paid versions**  provide and how useful users have found them for trip planning, extended trips, etc. in specific areas.
+</WRAP>
+----
+==== Watching for Weather Changes (When You Are Close to Or On the Water) ====
+<WRAP indent>
+**Peter Marcus's Advice in Bellingham**
+) See any dark lines right on the horizon which isn't very far away from us because we are only sitting about four feet above the surface, maybe a pleasure/fishing boat pounding into the waves and wind in the distance.
+) A strong wind approaching will have a mist line above it, almost always there, moisture swept up above the surface like a very faint see-through fog.
+) Clouds….sneak a peak up, compare them to a permanent object,(different shapes tell different stories), like a surfski paddler sitting on a rock….get a feel for how fast the cloud is traveling.
+) okay, maybe four things….wave shape and pattern, 15 mph SE might have that Post Point chop, especially going over the reef right there, but if there is a little bigger mini roller under certain sets of waves or under that slop, it might be suggesting something from the distance…..so resort back to 1)
 </WRAP>
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   * [[https://wx.ikitesurf.com/|iKitesurf]]
   * [[https://forecast.predictwind.com/|PredictWind ]]- requires login but you can save two locations for free, use website or IOS, Android apps
+      * What you get with a [[https://www.google.com/search?q=what+do+I+get+with+a+basic+predictwind+subscription&sxsrf=ANbL-n5RBps48xK4YVtRN-CzDHpUrICZHQ:1774027605647|"basic" PredictWind subscription]] (higher levels are "standard", and "professional")
   * [[https://spotwx.com/|SpotWx]]
   * [[https://tempestwx.com/map/47.9292/-120.8313/7|Tempest Weather Stations]] map with personal weather station reports
@@ Line 54: / Line 73: @@
   * [[https://www.windfinder.com|Windfinder]]
   * [[https://www.windy.com/|Windy]] requires free registration to save favorite locations. Will also send you alerts of weather conditions you specify
+      * What you get with a [[https://www.google.com/search?q=what+do+I+get+with+a+premium+windy.com+subscription&oq=what+do+I+get+with+a+premium+windy.com+subscription&gs_lcrp=EgZjaHJvbWUyBggAEEUYOTIGCAEQLhhA0gEJMTU5ODlqMGo0qAIAsAIB&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8|"premium" Windy subscription]] (the windy app has a "pro" level option)
   * [[:mobile_marine_apps_websites|2016 Extended Table of Marine Apps & Websites]] - Navigation, weather, tides, ship traffic, water conditions
   * **Pacific Northwest**
@@ Line 87: / Line 107: @@
 See [[:conversions|Numeric Conversions]] (mph, m/s, knots, degrees F, C)
-[[https://www.weather.gov/mfl/beaufort|Explanation of Beaufort Scale]]
+  * [[https://www.weather.gov/mfl/beaufort|Explanation of Beaufort Scale]]
+  * **Homemade Scales (**rough estimation - and this is ONLY provided for humor)
+      * One crude system invented by a couple of sea kayakers  [[https://dnorwell.medium.com/the-aegean-athens-to-turkey-in-a-kayak-273c378ac294|paddling from Athens to Türkiye]]
+        * …stand and pee perpendicular to the wind (//Ed. note - this means you stand sideways to the wind, NOT facing the wind//). The distance the pee travels with the wind before hitting the sand is measured and calibrated to sea state. At the peak of our stay…(//stuck on an island during high winds//) we hit **4.3 meters**. (//Unfortunately the authors of this system did not provide the height or angle of their pee launch so we have no calibration adjustments for variations in these factors (but let's assume the angle of launch is horizontal), and of course you would need to determine where your own boating skills land on the Beaufort Scale. If you build up a data set based on your own tests and reported winds from weather services then you could come up with your own calibrated scale. BUT obviously this is at best just a crude current state estimator and in NO WAY a forecast tool for conditions that have yet to arrive//)
+          * ADJUST this scale for your skill level, current water temperature, availability of rescue service, etc.
+            * 1 meter — doable (Beaufort 2–4)
+            * 2 meters — dangerous (Beaufort 5)
+            * 3+ meters — don’t try it (Beaufort 6+)
 </WRAP>
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         * [[:stories:wtf_system_september_2015|2015]]
       * **Books**
+        * [[https://www.mountaineers.org/books/books/marine-weather-pocket-guide-a-field-reference|Marine Weather Pocket Guide/Field Reference]] Jeff Renner
         * [[https://www.starpath.com/catalog/books/books_index.htm|Starpath Books List]]
       * **Home Weather Stations**
         * [[https://pwsdashboard.com/|Personal Weather Station Dashboard]]
         * [[https://shop.tempest.earth/products/tempest|Tempest Weather Stations]]
-      * **Social Media **see [[:blogs|Paddling Related Social Media]]
+      * **Social Media **see [[:blogs|Paddling Related Social Media]] (just about any paddling related social media will include questions and discussions concerning weather)
   * **Pacific Northwest Weather**
       * **Books**

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