Marine weather for mariners

Marine meteorology is the weather a mariner can use: where the wind will be in six hours, whether the fog will lift, and which side of a low is the one you would rather be on. This marine meteorology course is written for seafarers and yacht crew, not for forecasters.

You learn pressure and wind, the Beaufort scale, highs, lows and fronts, how to read a synoptic chart, the main kinds of fog, waves and swell, and the forecasts that actually reach a vessel — shipping forecast, coastal reports, NAVTEX and the broadcast sources behind GMDSS. The last module is a go or no-go decision written out in plain language.

What you will learn

• Relate pressure gradient to wind strength and direction
• Describe sea state with the Beaufort scale and a wave report
• Read a synoptic chart: highs, lows, fronts, troughs and ridges
• Explain the weather you meet ahead of, in, and behind a front
• Name the conditions that produce radiation fog, advection fog and sea fog
• Choose a marine forecast and say what the terms are telling you to do
• Write a short go or no-go decision for a coastal passage

Who this course is for

Course format

Self-paced online. Plan for about 8–12 hours. Lessons run in a browser on a laptop, tablet or phone. There is nothing to install. When you finish, Sea Skills Online issues a certificate of completion. That certificate records your study. It is not an STCW, MCA or RYA certificate.

Watchkeepers and yacht crew. Price £39. Checkout creates your account, or signs you in, takes payment through Stripe, and adds the course to your dashboard.

Tutor support

Unlimited free tutor support is included. If a lesson does not make sense, email hello@seaskillsonline.com. There is no extra charge, and there is no limit on how often you write.

Course contents

1. Weather that changes a passage

   Module 1

   Wind, visibility, sea state and pressure tendency: the four things that should alter a plan, and the things that can wait.

2. Pressure, wind and the Beaufort scale

   Module 2

   Isobars, gradient, Buys Ballot on the water, and describing what you see with a Beaufort number.

3. Highs, lows and fronts

   Module 3

   The life of a depression, warm and cold fronts, and the wind shift and rain you should expect as they pass.

4. Reading a synoptic chart

   Module 4

   A worked chart: centres, fronts, spacing of isobars, and a 24-hour picture for a coastal area.

5. Fog, cloud and visibility

   Module 5

   Radiation fog, advection fog and sea fog, and the temperature and wind clues that they are likely.

6. Waves, swell and fetch

   Module 6

   Wind waves against swell, fetch and duration, and why a falling wind does not mean a comfortable sea yet.

7. Marine forecasts

   Module 7

   Shipping forecast areas and terms, inshore waters, NAVTEX, and how a forecast is a source to be timed and checked.

8. A go or no-go decision

   Module 8

   One coastal passage, one forecast and a written decision: sail, delay, or change the route. The reasoning is the lesson.

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Common questions