Introduction
Like all sailors the weather forecast is the key to where we go and how wet we are going to get. On each log entry I try to post the 0000 hrs UTC Met Office forecast, the one you hear on BBC Radio 4 after Sailing By, for the shipping area that I'm sailing in plus some other information from the forecast and the synoptic chart. In reality I use a number of forecasts, some traditional and formal like the shipping forecast and inshore waters forecast, others like Windy, see below, or Predict Wind are a bit more animated, but in are just the same as the good old Met Office Shipping Forecast.
Windy Page
The screen below is generated by the Windy website and uses the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) model.
Shipping Forecast Sea Areas
With my love of the UK Met Office Shipping Forecast I thought that a list of Shipping Areas that I've sailed in would be appropriate.
The United Kingdom Shipping Forecast Sea Areas.
Shipping Forecast Sea Areas I've Explored:
| Sea Area | Sea Area | Sea Area |
|---|---|---|
| 5. Cromarty | 6. Forth | 7. Tyne |
| 11. Humber | 12. Thames | 13. Dover |
| 14. Wight | 15. Portland | 16. Plymouth |
| 17. Biscay | 18. Trafalgar | 19. FitzRoy |
Shipping Forecast Areas Waiting to be Explored:
| Sea Area | Sea Area | Sea Area |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Viking | 2. North Utsire | 3. South Utsire |
| 4. Forties | 8. Dogger | 9. Fisher |
| 10. German Bight | 20. Sole | 21. Lundy |
| 22. Fastnet | 23. Irish Sea | 24. Shannon |
| 25. Rockall | 26. Malin | 27. Hebrides |
| 28. Bailey | 29. Fair Isles | 30. Faeroes |
| 31. Southeast Iceland |
Updated: 06/06/2026