How we actually use our Garmin and read marine weather (Rendezvous chapters)

[Submariner]

Here are two chapters from my presentation at the Rendezvous in Roche Harbor this year, posted ahead of the full presentation (due out later this year). Both come from 14,600+ miles on our R27, including Cape Caution, Dixon Entrance and the round trip to Glacier Bay/SE Alaska.

1. How we actually use our Garmin underway

No menus or setup. Just how we run one 12-inch Garmin on every trip.

• Why our radar stays on even on a sunny day, every day
• Reading AIS targets and trails, and why AIS lags behind the radar return
• When land on RADAR doesn't line up with the chart, and the sensor that needs calibration
• The six engine numbers we keep on every screen
• Splitting a run into sections around Deception Pass, Rosario Strait and Cattle Pass

How I actually use RADAR and AIS on a Garmin chartplotter

2. How we actually read marine weather. We misjudged the weather in Johnstone Strait and were punished for it.

This is how we read it now.

• Why we watch gusts and mostly ignore wind speed
• Wind against current, and why the water ends up worse than the forecast
• Our gust limits, from glassy water to staying at the dock
• Offshore swell height vs. period, and reading the Dixon and Cape Caution buoys
• ECMWF vs HRRR vs HRDPS: which model to trust, and for how long

How I actually read marine weather: gusts, swell and current

Happy to answer questions on either one here. Disclosure: Fluid Motion sponsors our channel.