This joint collaboration between the Small Craft Group and the Royal Meteorological Society was held this year at the RNLI Lifeboat College in Poole. It was run as a hybrid event with delegates able to attend in person or to view it on line. Unfortunately, in the event, a rail strike on the day caused a low attendance in person at the College, with some of the SCG people being unable to return home and having to stay an extra night. What we do for RIN!

Paul Bryans and Prof Liz Bentley welcome the audience to Weather and Sailing 2022

The weather also joined the event by showing its great variety, with high winds and rain on the preceding night, mist clearing to sunshine during the day, followed by a front bringing in more rain during the evening. For those who had pre-booked there was a limited tour of the College facilities; although not the full tour it still allowed a visit to the simulator which allowed the visitors to experience the foul conditions under which RNLI crews sometimes have to work.

During the day we heard from Richard Falk of the RYA that they had no influence over the weather, but that they could influence training for yachtsmen (and, of course, women). Past training had concentrated, he felt, on official forecasts and was overburdened with definitions. Recently the RYA had changed to a more dynamic approach with less emphasis on memorizing numbers and more on understanding how the weather developed, and combining forecasts from various sources. However, Richard did warn against shopping amongst many forecasts until the desired one was found. Sailers should be aware of different sources of weather information but understand the merits of official and unofficial forecasts. This fitted well with the review of Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping (STCW) for professional mariners that was currently recommending a greater balance between the use paper and paperless systems. There was also a similarity here with the changes happening in navigation with the UKHO ceasing all production of paper charts.

Christian Dumard described the Squid weather routeing software, with its ability, if I understood correctly, to merge different sets of weather information in GRIB file format, and then to produce a weather routed passage plan. It has the capability of producing a chart of isochron lines detailing all the locations the yacht is able to reach at any specified time as well as a table showing wind speed and angle together with boat speed. A warning was given that the program assumes that the vessel will be in smooth water, that the boat is light and the crew up to windward. The resolution can be adapted to the length of the passage, thus allowing higher resolution for coastal sailing compared with ocean crossing.

Ronan Boyle from Irish Lights ended the morning session with a description of the trials they are undertaking with weather reporting from Metocean buoys. Met Éireann already operate several weather buoys, but these are mostly well offshore and are good for detecting weather patterns. Irish Lights buoys are positioned in inshore waters in areas where Met Éireann would like extra data. Even so they are likely to be in deep water, from 30 to 100 metres, with all chain moorings with a submerged float part way down to support the weight of the chain. Being free to swivel, some of the buoys have a metal sail to allow them to orient with the wind. The navigation light has a wider vertical spread than normal to allow for movement of the buoy. Comparison with these Irish Lights buoys and the Dutch Datawell Waverider buoys showed good correlation for wave heights but gave a wider range of values for direction. This has led to a second set of tests being done.

Simon Rowell from British Sailing Team started the afternoon session by describing how he was able to interpret a forecast to give accurate local area information. A photo of Tokyo Bay with Mount Fiji in the background showed several different layers of haze and cloud which aided the micro forecast for the racing. Using a synoptic chart of Europe, on which Simon’s Cornish home was marked, showing a low and two fronts Simon said that as the first front passed the sky should clear to sun; with straight isobars behind the front the wind should remain from the same direction. Satellite images from 07:00 showed the front just to the West of Cornwall. By 13:00 the satellite image indicated a brightening up. GRIB data then showed the wind veering at 13:00. (The old saying, “Rain before seven, fine by eleven” would seem to cover this. Ed.) Unfortunately the GRIB files aren’t sufficiently  detailed to show what happens round headlands where the wind can swirl and accelerate. Looking at Rio de Janeiro the GRIB files fail to notice the conical rock that influences the wind in the entrance, whilst around Castle Rock in Falmouth, with the wind accelerating, there is still a small calm area right inshore.

Adam O’Neill, RNLI Instructor, gave details of the RNLI’s current range of lifeboats and the weather conditions in which they were considered safe to use. The D class ILB could be out in slight to moderate conditions at night, moderate by day. It also had a three hour limit due to the amount of fuel it carried. The B class Atlantic could be deployed in moderate to rough conditions at night and rough by day. With both these boats being launched from a trailer, perhaps with a tractor, the stern first recovery was made more difficult with onshore winds. The all weather lifeboats have no limits imposed by the conditions. Adam then showed the drogue carried by all weather boats used to give directional stability to a towed casualty, especially when being towed downwind. Adam ended with some sensible advice to those needing rescue:  Don’t endanger yourself:  Inform the Coastguard: Listen to the lifeboat cox’n:  Tidy the boat, stow away spare un-needed gear.

Chris Kobush and Sophie O’Neill next gave us an insight into sailing in high latitudes, both the Arctic and Antarctic. One of the weather hazards encountered will be ice. In the Arctic the need to check ice conditions is helped by consulting the weekly ice charts published by the Canadian Met. Office. There are three stages to plan for. Firstly, the ocean passage. On this, icebergs which have calved off glaciers may be met. These require a good look-out, including the use of radar, especially at night. Secondly, the offshore approaches. The ice is likely to be pancake ice and broken sea ice. This can develop into cat ice which can trap a vessel. Thirdly, inshore navigation. Growlers and bergy bits are the type of ice met with here. These can pile in after a vessel has passed through them into an anchorage and trap her. On navigation charts there are relatively few soundings, especially in coastal waters which may have been beneath ice until recently. A steel boat is able to withstand knocks and pressure, and a lifting keel and rudder will help prevent ice damage while at anchor. Satellite images of likely anchorages are useful, and can be confirmed with reconnaissance by dinghy and drone. In fog, there is little likelihood of meeting other vessels, but icebergs are a worry. Surface temperature charts can be downloaded and it is possible to heave to and wait. Pressure charts are useful in predicting heavy weather as is regular logging of barometer readings. Look at cloud patterns – “Mare’s tails and mackerel scales make tall ships carry low sails”. Katabatic winds can come down mountainsides. Snow and ice on deck cause slipperiness and stability worries while driving snow reduces visibility.

Our final speaker was Ian Rivers from Row Sentinel. What an adventure! Ian served in the army and the SAS for more than 20 years. As a civilian he worked as a security adviser in Syria until captured by rebels and held for six days. He escaped whilst being transferred to a new location when a different group of rebels ambushed his original captors, and then walked to Turkey using natural navigation techniques that would be approved by Tristan Gooley. To commemorate his release and raise money for service charities he decided to row single handed and unsupported from New York to the Isles of Scilly. He also eschewed GNSS, relying on old fashioned techniques. Training at Plymouth University with scientists and sports psychologists, the Covid pandemic interfered and delayed the project until the summer of 2021. Simon Rowell (see above) helped with weather predictions, finding a three day window with offshore winds that would get Row Sentinel well away from coastal traffic on the American continental shelf. Using dead reckoning in the absence of any visible sun, it was ten days before Ian was able to get astro sights, which he found difficult to take from a small craft. His position was then within 100 nautical miles of his DR. Getting better at this, Ian was able to send regular sight positions to the shore team after three weeks. Row Sentinel was hit by a storm that caused damage to the craft and injury to Ian. The storm was predictable, but the 90˚ wind shift that accompanied it led to a very confused sea. The vessel was flooded and listing heavily to port. Remembering the Serenity Prayer, “God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, courage to change the things I can, and wisdom to know the difference.”, Ian managed to gradually empty the boat and continue the journey without the electronic instruments that had been put out of action, leaving him with only the compass, autopilot and a radio. Each day he was given the bearing from his position to the Isles of Scilly and eventually made it in 85 days, 22 hours and 59 seconds.

All in all, a varied and interesting day. Thanks must go to the RNLI which allowed the use of the Lifeboat College, Dr. Andrew Eccleston who set up and controlled the on line viewing for those unable to be present and to the Royal Meteorological Society in the person of the Chief Executive, Prof. Liz Bentley, for combining with RIN to run this event.