Most articles or seminars on marine weather talk about watching the weather for a passage or even a day sail. It’s every bit as important when you’re at anchor, on a mooring, or even at a marina. Why? Because being caught unawares by a storm can cause you to drag anchor, lose your mooring due to chafe, or subject you to a wet dinghy ride or worse.
Why To Watch The Weather When You’re Not Underway
When we were in Boot Key Harbor, in Marathon, Florida, a multi-day blow caused foot-high whitecaps, even in the protected harbor. I remember one with winds blowing at close to 30 knots.
Several boats in the anchoring area dragged anchor. In another blow, a moored boat had her bow cleats rip out. She went careening across the anchorage before going aground in soft mud just feet before hitting a massive seawall.
One boat found one of its mooring lines chafed through. I lost count of how many dinghies and kayaks have gone walkabout, with owners calling on the VHF for assistance in finding and retrieving them.
This weather wasn’t unexpected. All the weather services forecast it for days. And it was a subject of discussion on the local Cruiser’s VHF Net, too.
What was unexpected was the number of people that I’ve talked to who weren’t expecting this blow and did nothing to prepare.
Daily Weather Watching
It’s really not difficult to track weather every day. It just takes setting the intention and following through. These are the steps I took to keep bad weather from taking us by surprise.
Use Your Senses
The first step is the easiest: look around. Go up on the deck. What do you see in the sky? Is the wind beginning to increase? After years of cruising, we become far more attuned to weather. Many of us can predict rain moments before the first drops fall. Don’t forget to use your eyes and nose to predict what’s coming.
Another benefit of starting with your eyes is that you can compare your observations with professional information and learn more for the future.
Weather Radio
If you’re in the United States, listen to VHF weather radio every morning. Overseas, you can get NOAA reports on your SSB radio.
Weather Apps
If you have internet, you have any number of weather apps to rely on. I shared my favorite weather apps. You can get recommendations from other cruisers as well. John C. recommends NOAA’s Weather Prediction Center for graphical surface analysis.
Cruiser’s Net
Listening to the cruiser’s net is a good way to crowdsource knowledge. Weather is no different. If the same weather forecast is appearing in everyone’s favorite source of information, it’s time to prepare.
Prepare For Bad Weather
When we expected high winds at Boot Key Harbor, we prepared in advance. Here’s how we got ready for bad weather.
Reduce The Need For Dinghy Trips
Choppy seas make for a wet dinghy ride. Even worse, you could get injured loading items (and crew) in and out of the dinghy.
When squalls were forecast, I went shopping. I didn’t want to have to transport a heavy load in high winds. At the same time, I did other necessary errands, so I wouldn’t have to go ashore if conditions were just “too yucky.”
When our dog Paz was with us, we’d take her and ourselves for a good long walk ashore in case we didn’t go for a day or two. We also changed plans with friends. Neither couple wanted to dinghy home, get out of the dinghy, and then hoist the dinghy in the dark when it’s blowing in the high 20s. So we moved the date.
Protect Your Boat
Check your mooring lines. We left extra lines on all winter because of the training northers that come through, but if we hadn’t, we would have added an extra. Don’t forget to examine your chafe guards.
Were we in a marina, we’d add extra dock line, any extra fenders we had, and double-check our chafe gear on both the boat and the cleat and dock.
At anchor, we’d move to a protected location for the expected wind direction — and do it far enough in advance of the winds that the anchor would be well dug in before the blow. Be sure your anchor alarm is set, and that you have the proper scope out for higher winds.
Protect Items On Your Boat
High winds will quickly shred flags. We took down our US flag before the wind began to blow.
Check your halyards (read Stop Clanking Halyards) and make sure other deck gear is well secured.
We hoisted our dinghy as winds began to pick up, and let it down only when we were about to use it. If we did use it, we’d hoist it again when we returned to the boat. When it was tied off the back of the boat, we used two independent lines. These were attached to different places on the dinghy and on the “big boat.”
Help For Weather Watching
None of this is particularly hard to do, but it requires keeping an eye on the weather forecast, even in a “safe place.” You don’t have to be obsessive, but checking the forecast at least once a day will let you know what to expect so that you can ready yourself and your boat. Daily checking is, obviously, even more important during hurricane season if you’re in hurricane waters!
Yes, I know it can feel intimidating–especially when you’re just starting out. That’s why I wrote Weather Basics for Boaters. It helps you hone in on the details that really matter and makes the information you’re getting from apps more accessible.
With a little knowledge and some preparation, you can keep your boat safe from bad weather even when you’re standing still.
Carolyn Shearlock has lived aboard full-time for 17 years, splitting her time between a Tayana 37 monohull and a Gemini 105 catamaran. She’s cruised over 14,000 miles, from Pacific Mexico and Central America to Florida and the Bahamas, gaining firsthand experience with the joys and challenges of life on the water.
Through The Boat Galley, Carolyn has helped thousands of people explore, prepare for, and enjoy life afloat. She shares her expertise as an instructor at Cruisers University, in leading boating publications, and through her bestselling book, The Boat Galley Cookbook. She is passionate about helping others embark on their liveaboard journey—making life on the water simpler, safer, and more enjoyable.
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