Up-to-the-minute weather forecasts for where you are headed on a given day are not available from the NOAA radio broadcasts. C-Map’s C-Forecast system is designed to fill the information void with forecasts of wind speed and direction, plus wave height, for any given time within a 24-hour period.
C-Forecast uses a C-MapNT-based charting system and the C-Com GSM cellular Connection Box to create the forecasts. Users also need a subscription to the C-Forecast service.
Forecasts come from data gathered by Nowcasting International Ltd. They are entered into a powerful weather model. To get an updated forecast, the user presses “a button or two and the new forecast appears overlaid on a C-Map chart. Range rings show where your boat will be at a given time. C-Map expects the forecast service to be available this summer.
Also new from C-Map is NT+, software that offers new graphic presentation, enhanced performance, greater coverage areas and a reduction in price.
New features include a variety of color schemes/palettes and fonts that enhance the display for use at night or in cloudy conditions; built-in layering modes to simplify selection; and search functions that let the user find the 10 nearest categories of objects.
The charts are available in Wide and SuperWide coverage at $199 and $299, respectively.
C-Map/USA, (800) 424-2627; www.c-map.com.
