Weather Routing, Inc. - Sailing Products & Tools

Weather Routing, Inc. (WRI) is pleased to announce several new tools that we have recently made available for sailing. We now offer customized charts for high resolution sea surface temperatures and currents, sea surface altimetry, ocean mixed layer depth, and bathymetry, all of which are updated on a daily basis. Each of these products has specific uses that can be beneficial for sailing and/or yacht racing, as described in each section below. This page is intended to explain the benefits of each chart, and provide examples of how they are used. Please click the images on the right to view the sample product images in full size.
Sea Surface Temperature/Currents - These charts show the sea surface temperature, with currents overlayed on top. Arrows (streamlines) point toward the direction of movement of water at the surface. Tighter clustering of streamlines indicate faster speeds. In the example image of the Maryland, USA coast (center), notice the cooler sea surface temperatures near/east of the coast. The offshore moving currents indicate that ocean upwelling is occuring, and one could expect a good offshore current assist in this location. Also note the western wall of the Gulf Stream in the far bottom right of the image.

Sea Surface Currents/Speed - These charts display a very high resolution depiction of ocean currents (speed and direction). Arrows point toward the direction of movement of water at the surface, and speeds are contoured in knots. These charts can be used to determine the location of favorable or unfavorable currents; valuable information when it comes to planning a route.

Sea Surface Altimetry - These charts show the upward and downward fluctuation of the sea surface height (usually a very small difference, measured in centimeters). Higher values for altimetry typically indicate ocean upwelling or tidal currents, which can be used in conjunction with our current products to locate current eddies and maximize best possible current assist when planning a route.

Depth Charts (Bathymetry) - These charts show ocean depth, or the distance from the surface to the ocean floor. These charts are useful in locating steep drop-offs in the ocean floor (continental shelf), as demonstrated in the first example image (far left) of the Oregon Coast, USA. Largest open-ocean swells are typically reduced in height when propogating onto the continental shelf.

Meteograms - Our Meteograms depict customized forecast values in an easy to view chart format, showing wind speed and direction, air temperature, wave direction and height, air pressure, and voyage times. Unlike most meteograms provided by other services today, WRI's Meteograms ARE NOT automatically generated by computer model data. Our meteograms are manually produced "in house" by our team of experienced Marine Meteorologists.