Forecast Accuracy
Notification Emails
Forecast Access
Billing
Yacht Racing Rules
Support
Forecast Accuracy
Will the PredictWind weather model perform better than other models available?
Yes. Seven years of extensive and comparative testing during Americas Cup yacht racing has proven the model to be the most reliable and accurate for wind prediction
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Will the forecasts always be accurate?
Like all other weather models available, it relies on a weather input file which can be comparable to a photographic "snapshot" of the earth's atmosphere. If these inputs are inaccurate, the model forecast is likely to be inaccurate. Fortunately we provide you with two forecasts twice daily created by independently generated weather input files. If there is a discrepancy between the model forecast and real time observations of more than 30 degrees and/or 5 knots the forecast should be discarded. This will happen in approximately 15% of cases.
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Are there certain weather situations that the model will perform poorly?
If the conditions are light winds (less than 8knots), expect the model performance to be degraded. This situation relates to all models, as the atmospheric pressure forces are weak in light air situations, and therefore it is harder to capture these forces accurately. During the early morning or late evening the wind strength can be overestimated by the model.
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How does PredictWind compare to other web based forecasts?
Many web based services (including services such as US Grib, Windfinder, WindGuru, MetView, BuoyWeather, and SeaBreeze) use the freely available GFS model from the USA Met Service (NOAA). Whilst the GFS is a good weather model, and free, it is only run at 60km resolution and therefore does not capture the local topography effects. At PredictWind we run our own proprietary model at 60km/8km/1km resolution capturing the local topography effects to produce a forecast of unparalleled accuracy. Please see the resolution video to gain a better understanding of the impact on resolution on accuracy.
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What happens if the forecast is wrong yesterday, should I still trust today's forecast ?
Yes. The process has no historical memory. Each model run starts with a new input file, and so you are best to put your trust in the PredictWind forecast.
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How accurate should I expect the forecast to be?
The forecast is generally accurate to +/- 2 knots +/- 15 degrees. This is an averaged wind strength and direction over a 1km area and a 20 minute time period. This does not account for gusts, or convective cloud related activity.
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Notification Emails
How do I turn off the notification emails?
Logon to the forecast site with your username/password. Select from the left hand menu > Locations. Next to the relevant location deselect the relevant check box.
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How do I know when my latest forecast is available?
You may choose to activate the forecast notification email functionality. Logon to the forecast site with your username/password. Select from the left hand menu > Locations. Next to the relevant location select the relevant check box.
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Forecast Access
How many times can I logon and access the forecast?
Unlimited times for the billing period that you have subscribed to - 3 months, or 1 Year.
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How many times can I change the forecast locations?
Unlimited, but restricted to 6 changes for each 6hr forecast period.
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From how many computers/devices can I access the forecast?
You can access the forecast from any 2 devices (the system looks at your IP address) in a 6hr period. For example you can look at the forecast at your home PC, then work PC. If you try to access from a 3rd device (or 3 IP addresses) within a 6hr period you will be logged off the forecast site and your password changed. The new password will be displayed on the website for the 3rd device, so that you can continue to access the forecasts. This is to prevent users abusing the system and passing on their username and password. Please note our Terms and Conditions state the license granted is solely for your own personal use.
Note: The process is refreshed every 6 hours, so you can logon from unlimited devices, so long as you respect the 2 logons within a 6hour period.
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How do I access the PredictWind site when using a mobile connection, with an IP address that is changing regularly?
So long as you do not use the "logout" menu from the forecast site, or close your web browser, it does not matter if the IP address of your connection changes.
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Billing
What happens at the end of the 3 months or Yearly billing period?
A reminder email will be sent 2 weeks before your subscription expires regarding the next billing date. You have the option to cancel and use the free version.
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Can I upgrade between Product Levels?
Yes. This is possible at any time will all subscriptions. During the upgrade process, the current subscription is automatically canceled. To do this select from the left menu Billing > Change Product/Billing
Note: Refunds will credited to your next purchase, but not exceeding the amount of the new purchase.
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Yacht Racing Rules
Is it legal to use PredictWind whilst racing?
Rule 41 of the Racing Rules of Sailing (RRS) state "A boat shall not receive help from any outside source, except ..." , and the exception 41 (C) which states "help in the form of information freely available to all boats;"
The interpretation given by the International Juries’ for the words “freely available” as used in RRS 41(c) for both the 2009 & 2010 Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Races was the ready availability of all competitor to access the same information, and does not mean” free of any cost”.
Please read the decision of the International Jury at:
This interpretation on the words “freely available” was different to the interpretation given in 2007 by the US Appeals Committee in US Appeals 93 where the words “freely available” in RRS 41 (c) were interpreted as meaning “been free of cost”.
Appeal 93 has not been adopted by ISAF in their Case Book.
Appeal 93 is binding on protest committees adjudicating sailing events in the USA that are conducted under the US version of the ISAF Racing Rules of Sailing 2009-2012. However this appeal is not an authoritative interpretation and explanation of the ISAF RRS.
The Notice of Race/Sailing Instructions for any particular event may impose more limitations on receiving weather information. It is therefore the competitor responsibility to check the rules for that event, to ensure they comply.
If you have any questions please contact us at support@predictwind.com We would welcome any feedback on this important issue!
Is it legal to use the Satellite Communicator whilst Racing?
The Satellite Communicator is a communication device and so therefore complies with rule 41 of the racing rules of sailing.
Does the weather routing have any human intervention?
The PredictWind Weather Routing algorithm runs on the PredictWind servers, with no human intervention. Therefore this cannot be interpreted as outside assistance, as it is no different to weather routing software installed on a competitor´s yacht.
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Support
What kind of support do you offer?
If you have technical issues or questions relating to the forecast or your account, simply use the Red Feedback menu from within your account. Your query will be tracked and answered by email as soon as possible.
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What are the Hardware/Software Requirements?
The PredictWind site can be viewed in the latest version of
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Internet Explorer 8/9
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Mozilla Firefox 3
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Safari 5
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Chrome 5
Earlier versions of these browsers are not supported
The minimum screen resolution is 1024*768. If you cannot see all of the maps on your screen, we recommend changing the browser into full screen mode by selecting the F11 key.
NOTE: With Windows 7 / 64bit please use Chrome/Firefox due to a bug with setting cookies in Internet Explorer 8 and 9
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