In order to help the sailor know what the weather will be like, each country is required to have a weather service. MétéoFrance issues weather reports on a regular basis (see MétéoFranceMarine Guide).
There are 4 types of bulletins according to the type of activity: shore, coast, open sea and open sea. The coastal bulletin is the one we are interested in. This bulletin is issued by a CROSS three times a day by VHF.
It is also available on the Internet. The structure is always the same:
WSB notice: in case of difficult weather conditions (Force 7 or more for a coastal bulletin).
General situation: barometric situation on a region of about 1500km wide.
Forecast (for the day or night depending on the time of issue) :
- Wind: direction/force/possible trend
- Sea
- Swell
- Weather
- Visibility
Forecast for the next day
Future trend
Observed weather at different locations in the area of validity of the bulletin
Date and time of the next bulletin
When taking a written bulletin, since the flow is important, consider a pre-filled sheet and use abbreviations.