Course Outline by Jim Corenman
1. Look Outdoors
a. Calibrated barometer/barograph
b. Wind speed and direction
c. Cloud observations
2. Warnings and text forecasts (general info: http://www.nws.noaa.gov/om/marine/home.htm)
a. Via HF SSB (voice) from USCG http://www.nws.noaa.gov/om/marine/hfvoice.htm
b. Via HF SITOR (radiotelex) from USCG http://www.nws.noaa.gov/om/marine/hfsitor.htm
c. Via email from Saildocs (email: info@saildocs.com)
d. Via sat-phone/Internet http://www.nws.noaa.gov/om/marine/forecast.htm
3. Radiofax charts via HF-SSB http://weather.noaa.gov/fax/marine.shtml
4. Forecast data in Grib format
a. Sources:
i. Saildocs (email gribinfo@saildocs.com)
ii. Global Marine Net (http://www.globalmarinenet.net/grib.htm)
iii. http://www.navcenter.com/
b. Viewers and grib-compatible chart programs:
i. Airmail/Viewfax (http://www.siriuscyber.net/wxfax)
ii. MaxSea (http://www.maxseainc.com/index.html or http://setsail.com/maxsea/intro.html)
iii. Raytech (http://www.raymarine.com)
c. How to get it
i. Sailmail (http://www.sailmail.com)
ii. Iridium (http://iridium.com)