The RYA, with the Coastguard and the Met Office, has been involved in an initiative to make coastal station reports or 'actuals' available on Navtex.
Opinions are divided on the importance and weight that sailors attach to forecasts and 'actuals'. But at the moment those who want actuals cannot get them at regular intervals during the day via the BBC or MRCC weather broadcasts or on Navtex 518 kHz.
The national Navtex channel (490 kHz) is underused. There are four spare slots per day from the Niton (ID Code I), Portpatrick (ID Code C) and Cullercoats (ID Code U) transmitters.
Currently these stations only broadcast inshore waters forecasts plus a national three-day outlook. The proposal therefore is to broadcast reports from a number of coastal stations relevant to each transmitter from around the UK.
Plans are now well advanced and the aim is to start a trial on or about May 1st using the Niton transmitter to broadcast actuals along the south coast.
The specific reporting stations and the number of reporting locations has yet to be finalised, but one aim of the trial is to determine exactly what can be included in each slot without overrunning the time available and how often each station can be broadcast.
It is likely that initially some or all of the following will be included: Niton; Greenwich LV AWS; Solent (MRSC); Bournemouth; Guernsey A/P; Jersey A/P; Isle of Portland; Channel LV AWS; Plymouth; Culdrose; Seven Stones AWS; St. Mawgan, Roches Point.
Reports will be broadcast on the next available time slot and as the trial develops (the RYA says: 'be patient because it will take time to build up'), it is hoped that further station reports can be added provided that reports are available at regular intervals throughout the day.
If successful, and if sailors find these useful, it is intended to extend these broadcasts to Cullercoats and Portpatrick. In parallel, the Met Office will soon be putting pages of marine actuals on its website for quick and easy download.
There will be one page each for the East, South and West coasts of Britain and one for open ocean buoy data. This data will be updated hourly.
There have been many reports from yachtsmen who have experienced Navtex reception problems, particularly around western Scotland.
It is hoped to utilise the shortly to be introduced Faeroes NAVTEX station and an extra broadcast from Reykjavik. Once these are operational, it is planned to move the Portpatrick aerial further south. Then, between Malin Head, the new Portpatrick, Faeroes and Reykjavik it is hoped that reception in this area will be greatly improved.
However, the RYA points out that Navtex is designed for use from the fairway buoy out to about 200 to 250 NM out to sea. It is not particularly good at receiving the signal if you are tucked up a creek or are somewhere surrounded by masts and tall buildings in a marina or yacht harbour. In harbour or within telephone contact of the land, there are many other sources of weather information available.
The RYA is appealing for constructive feed back from yachtsmen receiving the new 'actuals' data from Niton. They would like to know:
- The position of the vessel when data was received
- Day or night (0600- 1800 or 1800- 0600)
- Type of set fitted onboard
- Usefulness of the data
- If you found the data broadcast on Navtex 490 kHz contributed to safety at sea
For more information visit www.rya.org.uk
