Sailing weather forecasts for the Ionian in Greece Sailing weather forecasts for the Ionian in Greece can be confusing, let us explain where to find the best forecast for your sailing holiday. Foretelling the future in Greece used to involve an arduous journey to Delphi, the purchase of an over-priced goat from the farm outside the temple, some elementary butchery, and plenty of wailing. The best you could hope for was a cryptic prophecy. Then, like Odysseus, you would probably be swept away by a storm and take 10 years to get back to the charter company’s base. Presumably incurring some pretty considerable late return charges too. As time progressed the priests perfected the art of shouting over long distances, and the VHF became the preferred forecasting method. Listening to the distorted crackly voice saying “This is radio Olympia” instantly transports me back to my first weeks sailing in the Ionian. The strong Greek accent combined with poor reception was sometimes as hard to decode as an ancient prophecy. Then the gods developed the arcane GRIB files, though a basic soothsaying qualification was still a necessity to interpret the cryptic symbols. Back in the real world, sailors and fishermen still look at the sky and take note of natural indications of what will come. Small signs become almost legendary and everyone becomes very superstitious. I’m not talking about bananas or whistling though. After a particularly bad storm, a strange solitary small cloud in a clear blue sky over the top of the highest peak on Lefkada was classed as a harbinger of doom. Its appearance was enough to send Sail Ionian’s base staff rushing to check anchors and add extra lazy lines before the apocalypse returned. The main issue we have with forecasting in Greece is the localised nature of the conditions. Both the Aegean and the Ionian have a lot of small islands, some over 1000m high, which affect offshore weather patterns. They funnel and concentrate winds or cast large wind shadows. This topography also generates strong anabatic and katabatic winds. Depending on their direction, when they combine with offshore winds, they can double or halve wind speeds. All of this means there really is no replacement for local knowledge. A good charter company should provide a daily weather forecast to help guests understand the local situation. Without the use of the gods, or local knowledge passed down through generations of fishermen, what can the average modern yachtsman expect in Greece today? Thankfully some tech wizardry is all that is required, with most ancient oracles now having an app you can download on a smart phone. But where to start? Which site offers the best sailing weather forecasts for the Ionian in Greece? Firstly, there are the popular apps and sites that are at the forefront of forecasting for sailors world-wide. These sites are the best place to start before delving into Greek forecasts: Passage Weather Passage Weather is usually the place I start when I’m looking for a forecast. It’s incredibly easy to get an overview of the wider situation, though there are better options for looking at smaller cruising areas in more detail. Obviously, if you are sailing long distances this is essential, but when you want to understand the wider weather patterns and compare forecasting models this is also one of the best sites. It's also an easy place to get pressure charts, which can be hard to find now that the apps interpret the wind strengths themselves. Passage Weather has an incredibly useful ‘Low Bandwidth Interface’ which I’ve used often on deliveries. Windy Windy is my first stop on my phone, as I find the app has a great user interface and it is easy to get more detail when I want it. I love that you can compare the different forecasting models on one page. It’s also one of the few sites that uses the commercial ECMWF model, rather than just the free GFS model. The level of detail available is boggling, you can drill down through so many different layers, from a great pressure animation to the CAPE Index, which is very useful for predicting storms. Windfinder No sailor would be without Windfinder! When it launched, it was aimed at water sports enthusiasts and had a revolutionary easy forecast display. Hourly wind strengths and directions are available for a plethora of locations favoured by sailors, windsurfers, and kiteboarders. Their Superforecast is particularly useful in Greece, as they take into account terrain, which makes it more accurate around the islands. They even have a spot forecast for Sail Ionian’s base in Lefkada! PredictWind Another cutting-edge forecasting site and app with great features that allow you to compare forecasts. PredictWind even produce two of their own forecast models. As with Windy, there are so many layers you can drill down through. The site has various routing and departure planning tools that make it stand out from competitors. It also has a ‘local knowledge’ element where users can add information about harbours and anchorages. The basic version is free but subscriptions for the more advanced tools are expensive. Greek forecasting makes up for a lack of cutting-edge technology with layer of local expertise and knowledge, so you should also investigate the following. Meteo The national weather forecaster for Greece has a good website available in English, though the app is not great and only available in Greek. The Sailing Maps section is old school compared with the newer apps but does give a good accurate forecast for the various marine regions around Greece. It is quick to load and easy to see an overview of your cruising area for the occasional user, without having confusing options. Poseidon System The Hellenic Centre for Maritime Research offers forecasts online and through an app. It’s a much more modern approach than Meteo. The colour animated map is a great option for a local view. As well as a forecast, they also include a lot of data on sea temperature, salinity, and things like plankton forecasts for fishermen too. A network of weather buoys provides accurate historical data. HNMS / EMY The Hellenic National Meteorological Agency used to publish my preferred wind forecast for years, but the re-designed website did not do them any favours. The interface is clunky and hard to navigate, and it feels like there is a lot less information available than with other options. They do, however, provide an accurate option in the Ionian. University of Athens A final choice for the serious weather geeks out there! The University of Athens issues its own forecast and can be used to check against any of the Greek site above. It has a good overview of the weather with old-fashioned wind maps available under the main menu. Everyone has their favourite sailing weather forecasts for the Ionian in Greece site and interprets the signs differently. Far from being an inconvenience, I find the weather to be liberating. It is one of the elements of yachting that will never change, and I feel humble in the presence of nature's power. Without the unpredictability there would be far less challenge, and far less excitement. This post was written by Tom Fletcher