PredictWind adds passage planning and time-based climate views for sailors

PredictWind has expanded its Climate Data tool with two features aimed at cruisers, racers and boaters: Passage Guide for choosing the best months for a passage, and time segments for seeing how conditions usually change through the day. The updates are built on more than 10 years of weather data and are available now.

Why it matters: - PredictWind’s Climate Data tool now gives sailors a faster way to plan around typical weather patterns instead of relying only on short-range forecasts. - Passage planning can affect routing, safety, sail choice and departure timing for cruisers, powerboaters and racers. - The new views are designed to help users make decisions months ahead, when many of the biggest trip and race choices are made.

What happened: - PredictWind added Passage Guide and time segments to Climate Data. - Passage Guide helps cruisers and powerboaters identify the best time of year to make passages around the globe. - Time segments help racers and boaters see how average conditions change through the morning, afternoon and night. - The features are available now in Climate Data at Climate Data. - All users can view the current month’s climate data. - Every month of the year is available with a PredictWind Basic, Standard or Professional subscription.

The details: - Passage Guide uses more than 10 years of historical weather data. - Each month is rated Good, Marginal or Avoid on a color-coded chart. - Each passage includes a written summary covering wind, wave and temperature trends. - Each passage summary also includes recommended departure windows, planning notes and limits of the data. - Passage Guide works in both directions for trip planning. - Users can start with a passage and see the best months to travel. - Users can also start with a departure date and browse passages that match favorable seasonal weather. - Time segments break Climate Data’s wind and wave roses into morning from 9am to 1pm, afternoon from 1pm to 6pm and night from 6pm to 9am. - The 24-hour view remains available for overall daily averages. - For racing sailors, the time segments show typical breeze and sea state at a venue during race time. - For day sailors and boaters, the time segments show how a typical day looks at a local spot before a weekend forecast is available.

Between the lines: - The update pushes PredictWind deeper into planning tools, not just forecasting, by turning archived weather into decision support. - The product is aimed at both safety-minded cruising users and performance-focused racers, which broadens its use case beyond one sailing segment. - Jon Bilger said the features are meant to replace guesswork with years of weather history, especially for decisions made long before a trip or regatta begins. - Bilger also said learning a venue’s personality once took years of experience and local contacts.

What the company says: - PredictWind says the tools help sailors choose the right month for a passage or the right setup for a race venue. - Bilger said the same data can help anyone from a regatta campaign crew to a sailor planning the next adventure.

What’s next: - PredictWind is positioning Climate Data as a broader planning hub as users look beyond immediate forecasts. - The company’s subscription tiers will likely be the main gate for full-year access to the new tools. - Users can expect more planning decisions to shift earlier in the process as historical climate views become easier to use.

The bottom line: - PredictWind is making its climate archive more practical by translating 10-plus years of weather history into passage timing and race-day expectations.