The Weather

There are many different source of weather including:

• local newspapers
• radio stations
• TV
• Internet weather sites
• phone weather services
• weather fax
• VHF weather station
  

Before your trip, one of the easiest places to look for weather pertaining to your sailing adventure are websites from the yacht clubs in the areas local to your sailing trip.

Ottawa Sailing School Basic Cruising classes are typically taught out of either Nepean Sailing Club or the Britannia Yacht Club.

Before sailing, always check the weather!

• Nepean Sailing Club has a pretty reliable wind indicator that tells you what the current winds are doing. You should view the weather graph several times (at least once an hour for 2-3 hours) prior to sailing. This will give you an indication of what the winds are currently doing, and help you make a pre-sail sail selection decision.
• The local forecast gives you a high level overview of what is expected from a wind and weather perspective. Typically, you check this site to see if the winds will be calm or if there are any thunder storms expected.
• The weather radar will show you the location of any thunderstorms in the area. The play back will show you the motion of the clouds and give you a sense of what you need to look out for.
• AccuWeather.com provides an hourly forecast of the wind.