Weather briefing from Raymarine

Marine electronics company to back Round the Island weather briefing

Raymarine is organising a free weather briefing for skippers, crews, and the Round the Island race team on Friday 25 June, at 5pm, in the bar of the Island Sailing Club, prior to the race itself on 26 June.

Chris Tibbs, who has just beaten the record for ‘Round Britain and Ireland’ as team meteorologist and navigator on board Team Solune; a former Whitbread and BT Global Challenge sailor and experienced meteorologist, will be hosting the event. As well as living on the island, Chris is the Official Forecaster for Skandia Life Cowes Week so his knowledge of local conditions is second to none.

At the weather briefing, Chris will be overlaying the weather data onto Raymarine’s RayTech PC navigation software, a PC navigation that incorporates on-board and online data in an easy to use software format. This acts as the intelligence hub for a world of information including free three-day animated weather forecasts. These can be viewed hour by hour, so users can see how the weather will develop during the race.

For the sailors taking part, it is important to understand in advance what the wind will be doing, which direction it is moving and to plot this against the best course.

By overlaying weather data on the race course, skippers and navigators can plan the best route and develop their race strategy prior to the start of the race, which can then be downloaded into on-board electronics for use during the race. Competitors in the Round the Island race can test out RayTech by downloading a free demonstration version from the Raymarine web site.

The weather briefing is followed by the Island Sailing Club’s Happy Hour, which starts at 6pm in the bar.