Reading the coastal forecast without overthinking it

The coastal forecast gives mean wind and gusts for each sea area. The gust number is the one that decides how the day will feel in a small boat.

Fetch matters as much as wind speed. The same breeze that is pleasant in a narrow sound builds a steep, short chop over a few kilometres of open water.

We look at three things before an exposed crossing: gusts, direction relative to the route, and whether there is a sheltered bail-out halfway. If two of the three look poor, we wait.