Weather routing for sailing
Every new run of every weather model reaches Saily WR as soon as it is published. Draw your trip: every model covering it, from AROME to ECMWF, gives its route in seconds, in the wind and the current, clear of the coast and the shallows.
How it works
Three steps, and the fastest route in each weather model is in front of you: how long it takes, when it arrives, and the fuel if the wind drops.
Its polar, its performance and its engine, once and for all.
Two clicks on the map, start then destination, and the departure time.
One per weather model, with its duration, its arrival and its fuel.
Every model covering your trip gives its route, on its latest run, in seconds, each as soon as it is computed. Where they overlap, the forecast is solid; where they part, you know to keep an eye on the sky.
See each model and its latest run →Its polar among 22,400, including those of 21,778 boats from their ORC certificates (2019 to 2026), and its performance as a percentage: a foul hull, tired sails or a short-handed crew. It stays saved in your browser, or in your account if you sign in, to find it on any device.
Set up my boat →On the bathymetry, the route avoids water shallower than the minimum depth you set (your draught plus a safety margin); or, if you prefer, it sails round the land, each of its points beyond the coastal margin you set, in miles.
The route seeks out a fair current and keeps away from a foul one, tide included with SMOC. Speed over ground and the miles gained from the current are shown for each route.
Below the speed of your choice, the engine takes over. Engine hours and fuel are estimated, and the motoring legs drawn on the map.
Wind barbs along the route, curves of the wind and of the boat speed: you know what lies ahead before you cast off.
The isochrones are shown on the map, so you can see why the route goes where it does; the time step and the grid are fitted to each trip.
Coverage
Wind, current, coastline and depths cover the whole planet, from an ocean crossing to a short hop between two harbours; and wherever finer data exist, your route makes use of them.
The bar shows how fine each dataset is, from 25 km down to 10 m.
Every model covering your departure and your destination computes its route: the global ones anywhere, the finer regional ones over their area.
The global models, from GFS (≈ 25 km) to ECMWF (≈ 10 km): any trip, all the way offshore.
AROME France, the finest of the regional models, from the southern North Sea to the western Mediterranean.
The surface current carries or slows each route: you choose the model it sails in, or no current.
SMOC, the default, from Copernicus Marine, tide included, or RTOFS, as an option, from NOAA.
The route avoids water shallower than the minimum depth you set or, if you prefer, the land as OpenStreetMap draws it.
EMODnet bathymetry, the default, at chart datum.
GEBCO bathymetry, at mean sea level, without tide.
Coastlines, as an option, from OpenStreetMap.
Wind Météo-France, ECMWF, NOAA, DWD, DMI and ItaliaMeteo; current Copernicus Marine and NOAA; waves Météo-France MFWAM via Copernicus Marine. Depths EMODnet (chart datum) in Europe and the eastern Caribbean, GEBCO 2026 (mean sea level, without tide) elsewhere, land © OpenStreetMap contributors. Not for navigation.
Describe your boat once, then plot as many routes as you like, on forecasts updated several times a day.
Blog
Where does the better breeze lie, where does the stream run? The map now shows the wind or the current all around the route, hour by hour.
The mean wind sets the route, the gusts the reef and the sea the comfort: routes now show the gusts and the waves they will meet.
Three of the models behind a route solve no equation of physics: they learnt the weather from its past. How they work, and how far to trust them.