TODAY'S TIP - Provided by weather guru - John Carroll
Going coastal cruising? There are many ways to check the weather, especially via the Internet.Two good sources of information are the plain text forecasts issued by the National Weather Service for zones along the coast. Plain text is helpful because you can have it sent to your phone. This example is for the Gulf of the Farallones reproduced below:
* 834 AM PST FRI JAN 7 2011*
*.SYNOPSIS FOR THE CENTRAL CALIFORNIA COAST AND BAYS INCLUDING
MONTEREY BAY...*GULF OF THE FARALLONES...AND CORDELL BANK NATIONAL
MARINE SANCTUARIES...
NORTHWEST FLOW WILL INCREASE OVER THE COASTAL WATERS LATER TODAY
AS HIGH PRESSURE BUILDS OVER THE PACIFIC OCEAN. WINDS WILL
INITIALLY BE STRONGEST OVER THE NORTHERN WATERS INCREASING
SOUTHWARD THROUGH THE NIGHT.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
POINT REYES TO PIGEON POINT TO 10 NM-
* 834 AM PST FRI JAN 7 2011*
* SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY IN EFFECT FROM 7 PM PST THIS EVENING*
* THROUGH SATURDAY AFTERNOON*
* TODAY*
NW WINDS 5 TO 15 KT. WIND WAVES 1 TO 3 FT.
W SWELL 8 TO 10 FT AT 16 SECONDS.
* TONIGHT*
NW WINDS 15 TO 25 KT. WIND WAVES 3 TO 5 FT.
W SWELL 7 TO 9 FT AT 15 SECONDS. PATCHY FOG.
* SAT*
NW WINDS 15 TO 25 KT. WIND WAVES 3 TO 5 FT.
NW SWELL 7 TO 9 FT AT 14 SECONDS. PATCHY FOG.
* SAT NIGHT*
NW WINDS 15 TO 25 KT. WIND WAVES 3 TO 5 FT.
NW SWELL 6 TO 8 FT.
* etc...
While these zonal forecasts provide a quick view of what is expected over the next few days, spatial and temporal details are absent. Having examined the overview, a more detailed view of the forecast conditions pertinent to your intended route of travel can be obtained. Two examples of the kind of information available is shown in the figures below. These graphical forecasts give a much clearer view of where and when the winds and seas forecast in the text message will occur.
This map shows the winds forecast for 1 PM PST Saturday 1/8/11
This map shows the wave heights for 4 PM PST the same day.
Take John's Weather Class (see above for details) on Saturday, January 22nd.
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Saturday, February 5th 
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Captain Precision is out on the open ocean in a steady 15 knot wind in his new Beneteau 70. He senses that the anemometer at the top of his 100 ft tall mast is reading significantly higher than what he feels the wind to be in the cockpit. Taking his trusty hand held anemometer he takes several readings and indeed the mast head speed measurements are 30 to 40% higher than the hand held instrument's readings. Rate the following to explain his observations; ordered from most likely to least likely:
