Is there a way to view archived Marine Forecasts?

[brambor]

Hopefully all of us check a marine forecast before we go to paddle. Sometimes when we get to the water, the conditions don't necessarily match what the forecast predicted. I usually print out my forecast beforehand with tide information.

Is there a way to check what the ACTUAL conditions were the previous day versus what the forecast predicted? I would love to compare the waveheights and the wind speed especially.

[Kevin B (RPS Coach)]

Hopefully all of us check a marine forecast before we go to paddle. Sometimes when we get to the water, the conditions don't necessarily match what the forecast predicted. I usually print out my forecast beforehand with tide information.

Is there a way to check what the ACTUAL conditions were the previous day versus what the forecast predicted? I would love to compare the waveheights and the wind speed especially.

Try www.gomoos.com.

[EEL]

Kevin's advice is spot on that GoMOOS will give you history for each buoy. However, what was measured at any given buoy may or may not relate to to conditions in the area in which you paddle. Seldom will you encounter what the offshore buoys read, but you may encounter local high winds and nasty stuff from sea breezes that the buoys will never see too. For example this Tuesday the marine forecast was for 5-10 Kt winds around Boothbay and we started paddling on mirror like water with a gentle two foot swell. A couple of hours later it was 15+ with gusts 25+ as a front went through. Buoys did not register that much at all, but local airport did.

Also you need to take into account wind direction, etc. for example a west wind may kick up good size waves well offshore where the buoys are located, but it will be quite flat near shore. That said, monitoring the buoys of interest regularly may enable you to get a good "feel" for what to expect when combined with the land and marine forecasts.

When looking at buoy data is a good idea to read the descriptions of how the data is collected and what the numbers mean.

Ed Lawson

[brambor]

This past Wednesday we went for a morning paddle. Previous night's forecast was moderate but when we arrived at the shores in Falmouth Landing I could see this normally very protected harbor churning. I could only imagine what it would be if we ventured behind clapboard island. We then thought about checking out Cousins Island. The put in was very windy and waves were washing into the cockpit. Some of us were uncomfortable to paddle in this. We decided to just play in the waves right near the shore to get a good feel. After about 10 minutes of play we felt that just hugging the shore might be fine. We ended up circumnavigating Cousins Island and had a great trip but the forecast did not match the conditions.

I understand that had I checked the marine forecast immediately that morning that it could have been different but at that particular day I could not do this easily. We were dropping our kids at school with out kayaks loaded and we were running late.

Now, my post is not a complaint but just a mild interest in seeing what the success ratio of the forecast is and also to see what we were paddling in according to the official opinion. For someone as green as I am I might exagerate the paddling conditions according to how I felt about it while the official report might be more benign.

[EEL]

I understand that had I checked the marine forecast immediately that morning that it could have been different but at that particular day I could not do this easily.

It is not uncommon for the forecast to change considerably over a 24 hour period. Best bet is to get a weather radio if not a marine VHF handheld so you can hear forecasts more easily.

Might want to look at data from Harpswell buoy for that day. It is in a protected area and I suspect more likely to record data comparable to Cousins area that the Casco Bay buoy.

Ed Lawson