Sail Routing

Sail routing is the process of calculating the best course and timing for a sailing vessel using forecast wind, waves, currents, boat performance and navigation constraints. Unlike simple waypoint planning, it estimates how the boat will actually sail on each leg, including tacking, gybing, sail changes and speed made good.

Good sail routing helps skippers choose safer, faster passages, avoid heavy weather, and make best use of favourable breeze and tide. It supports decisions such as when to depart, whether to sail high or low of the rhumb line, and how to balance comfort against speed. It is closely linked to Weather Routing, Departure Planning and Sail Polar.

In PredictWind, sail routing combines leading forecast models, wave data and your boat’s performance profile to compare route options before and during a passage. The Offshore App can download updated GRIB data at sea, while AI Polars and logged data can improve route accuracy over time.