2014 PORT FAIRY RACE WEATHER

With the Port Fairy race fast approaching, skippers will doubtless be watching the weather forecasts with increasing interest. We all know how challenging ocean races can be when unexpected weather arrives!

Thanks to the generosity of long time ORCV supporter Peter Coleman (and his company Entire), the race management team for the M2PF race will have the benefit of a completely tailored weather forecast from UBIMET. UBIMET is a European company with a local presence here in Melbourne and they specialise in providing customised weather forecasts and severe weather warnings in real time using its own algorithms and models. You may have seen them featured on TV as the weather forecaster for the recent Grand Prix here in Melbourne.

Raw weather data provides the basis for UBIMET’s models and for each forecast. UBIMET currently has access to WMO standard compliant data from over 17,000 weather stations worldwide. This data is combined with input from lightning detectors, satellites, radars, weather buoys and radiosondes. As such, UBIMET has access to one of the largest and most advanced weather station networks in the world. The data is continuously updated on high-security servers and processed for regional and local forecasts.

In addition to a pre-race forecast for the race corridor from Port Phillip Heads to Port Fairy, UBIMET will be monitoring the weather during the race ( courtesy of Peter’s son Tom who is one of UBIMET’s chief forecasters) so that race management will be kept well abreast of any emerging weather concerns.