How our yacht weather routing service works
Custom weather routing, with you in the lead
Ocean-Pro provides professional weather routing for sailing and motor yachts on offshore passages worldwide. Here's how a routing works, from registration to safe arrival.
We offer you two responsibility models to choose from:
- Ocean-Pro Weather & Routing primarily responsible — Ocean-Pro Weather & Routing leads on weather analysis and routing recommendations, with the owner or captain approving.
- Owner/Captain primarily responsible — the yacht owner or captain leads on weather analysis and routing decisions, with Ocean-Pro Weather & Routing reviewing and approving.
Either way, every forecast and routing decision will have your and Ocean-Pro Weather & Routing's input, and the yacht's performance parameters, the weather, and your and your crew's best interests foremost in mind.
Routing a trawler, sportfish, expedition, or motor yacht? See Motor yacht & superyacht weather routing.
Our recommended process
- Registration & pre-departure consultation — You would complete the Ocean-Pro Client, Vessel & Passage Registration form (owner info, billing contact and address, vessel and passage parameters, communication and departure plans, and choice of ongoing report format and primary model — see below). Then we will review it for adequacy and will let you know if we need any additional info. This is typically a week or more before you plan to leave the dock.
- Initial forecast & recommended route — We would send you an initial forecast for your departure, a recommended departure day and time, and a route built around the weather, your vessel's parameters and crew availability. This includes:
- Your Departure Weather Window Report — a one-page review of the weather for the days ahead, built from the primary model (GFS or ECMWF) with the secondary model reconciled against it, for the best (or least undesirable) day and time to leave the dock;
- Your first Synopsis, Weather & Routing Report, in the report format you've chosen (see below); and
- A voice call if needed to discuss the reports and your plans.
When you register, together we would agree which ongoing report format and primary weather model best suit you and the circumstances:
- Single-Model Synopsis, Weather & Routing Report — a one-page report, utilizing either the GFS or ECMWF global weather model. Together we would agree which model would be primary and which would be secondary; the report is built from the primary model chosen, with the secondary model reconciled against it in a short comparison narrative.
- Dual-Model Synopsis, Weather & Routing Report — a two-page report using both the GFS and ECMWF models together, side by side. Page one provides a regional weather synopsis for each model; page two carries a recommended routing table and a weather/seas table, for each model, plus a comparative summary highlighting where the two models agree or diverge.
Our forecasts are usually 3–6 day forecasts, in 24-hour intervals, covering skies, cloud cover, visibility, barometric pressure, temperature, winds, seas, and the probability, timing, and intensity of any rain, squalls, or storms. Each is refined using our AI-enhanced analysis of current and historical model data alongside your sailing yacht's VPP data, if you have it — if not, we may have one on file or be able to build one for your vessel. Reports are sent by email or WhatsApp: the Departure Weather Window Report typically 1–4 days before your tentative departure; the Single-Model or Dual-Model report typically 1–2 days before departure and then daily or every other day thereafter, your choice — see our Pricing & Payment options below.
- Daily two-way communications — prior to your departure and then daily or more often while underway, you would send us your position, status, and intentions, or we would check your AIS position via a tracking website, and we would send you your preferred Synopsis, Weather & Routing Report, by email or WhatsApp, given your vessel's latest position, status, course & speed, and our recommended routing. We would maintain daily two-way communication until you have arrived safely at your final destination, or a port or anchorage.
Storm & current monitoring
We closely monitor the formation, development, track, strength, size, and movement of highs, lows, storms, and fronts in both hemispheres to advise our clients on utilizing favorable winds or avoiding heavy weather. In the tropics especially, we monitor the ITCZ (doldrums), the adjacent trade winds, and the formation, development, track, strength, and wind field of any developing tropical depressions or storms so we can recommend utilizing their winds or avoiding proximity to them. Where a passage crosses a major ocean current — the Gulf Stream, Agulhas Current, or an equatorial current — we factor that current into our routing advice — whether to use it or avoid it.
What's included
- Initial weather, vessel, and crew reality check for departure and for every day underway.
- Route adjustments with each report as conditions develop or diverge from the forecast
- Direct availability during the passage — not a call center or a rotating desk of forecasters
- One point of contact throughout — you're speaking with Capt. Bob Cook from registration to arrival, every time
Monitoring weather and routing screens, mid-passage
- Additional help if needed — contact with family, ports-of-call, Customs and Immigration offices, or liaison with the USCG or SAR services
Communications options
- Contact methods: Telephone, video conference (Zoom), text message, email, WhatsApp, or other by arrangement.
- Satellite services (typical): Starlink, KVH, Viasat, Iridium, Inmarsat.
- Position tracking: MarineTraffic, ShipFinder, VesselFinder.
A note on text/SMS-only devices: Two-way satellite email or WhatsApp is strongly preferred over voice or SMS text alone. Short-message devices such as Garmin inReach, limited to 160 characters, can be a helpful backup but are not sufficient on their own — please confirm you have reliable, two-way digital communications capability before you depart.
Vessel tracking — we highly recommend employing active vessel tracking: Active vessel tracking shows us and others your vessel's position, course, and speed, in addition to your position reports to us. It allows us to prepare weather reports and routing advice for you anytime, without waiting for your next report. Offshore in the open ocean, satellites can receive and relay AIS signals, but only intermittently, so a Class A or 5 W Class B SO transponder with a dedicated antenna mounted as high as possible gives the best chance of being picked up. Be sure to register your MMSI number and keep your AIS system on and transmitting. Before departure and underway, confirm that your vessel's data appears and is correct on the popular vessel tracking sites such as MarineTraffic, ShipFinder, VesselFinder, etc.
Pricing and payment
| Report | Model | Price | Frequency |
|---|
| Departure Weather Window Report | GFS or ECMWF (primary model; secondary reconciled) | $50 / report | 1 report, sent 1–4 days before tentative departure |
| Single-Model Synopsis, Weather & Routing Report | GFS or ECMWF (primary model agreed together before departure) | $50 / report | Sent 1–2 days before your departure and then daily or every other day thereafter, your choice. |
| Dual-Model Synopsis, Weather & Routing Report | GFS and ECMWF | $100 / report | Sent 1–2 days before your departure and then daily or every other day thereafter, your choice. |
| Item | Detail |
|---|
| Minimum charge | $300 |
| Longer passages | 33–50% of the estimated charge for the full passage to be paid upon registration; the balance of the estimated charge for the full passage is agreed to be paid mid-passage or no later than at the conclusion of the passage |
| Weather, departure & routing consulting | No charge if minimal; otherwise $100/hour |
Weather, departure & routing consulting. Some owners and captains may want advice on a route, timing or departure window before engaging Ocean-Pro for a Departure Weather Window Report or Synopsis, Weather & Routing Reports. You're welcome to ask. If your question needs only a small amount of research, there is no charge. If it needs significant or supporting research and analysis, I'll give you an estimate before starting. I would bill and invoice my time at the rate of $100/hour (the minimum charge does not apply).
Our acceptable payment methods — secure online payment via Stripe's secure online invoice and payment service (credit card, debit card, or ACH bank transfer from U.S. accounts), or Zelle or Venmo's secure online digital payment service.
Some examples of how our pricing formula works:
- Sailing yacht example: a 2,500 nm ocean passage expected to take about 16 days might need 16 Single-Model reports at $50 each, or 8 Dual-Model reports (every other day) at $100 each — either way, about $800 total.
- Motor yacht example, 1,000 nm passage at two speeds: at an off-plane cruising speed of 10 kts, the passage takes about 100 hours (~4 days), typically needing 1 pre-departure report plus 2 underway (every-other-day) — about $300. At an on-plane cruising speed of 30 kts, the same 1,000 nm passage takes about 33 hours (~1.4 days), typically needing just 1 pre-departure report plus 1 underway — still $300, since our minimum charge applies.
These are illustrative estimates — your actual number of reports depends on your vessel's speed, route, and how conditions develop underway.