Chris Parker

with the Caribbean Weather Center

Chris Parker provides customized weather forecasts for sponsoring vessels every morning from 6:30 o'clock EST, covering the entire Atlantic and the Caribbean basin. Sundays he is of. He usually starts with a 10 minute general synopsis and then answers special questions of vessels underway followed by cruisers waiting for the right window. He is very patient and always willing to answer all your questions. He also provides an e-mail service sending you a weather report for your area everyday. He emphasizes on specific relevant parameters as wind speed, direction, precipitation, squalls, sea state and currents. He prepares your forecast in real time, and sometimes identifies subtleties as you talk which can add important cautions to an otherwise good outlook. Times vary through the season as propagation changes and people move, schedule at Marine Weather and Communications

On our way through the Bahamas we ran across his turquoise vintage 34 ft Morgan sloop „Belami“ in George Town, Great Exuma. An opportunity not to be missed. Chris, his partner Mike and cat Wizard are full time liveaboards and have been cruising extensively along the snowbird route for almost 12 years now. He is operating from his boat and because he has a lot of sailing experience, he knows exactly what you need. And is able to give you very heplful advice. His primary sources of information are sophisticated satellite systems like Ocens Weather Net, using a Global Star satphone, and Xaxero's SkyEyePro with an hf radio backup. text

Schedule ( April 4, 2005)
8137 USB 6:30am EDT/ 10:30 UTC (all areas covered)
12359 USB 7:30 am EDT/ 11:30 UTC (all areas covered)
4045 USB 8:00 am EDT/ 12:00 UTC (concentration on Florida and Western Bahamas, within 300mi of "Bel Ami's" current location
8104 USB 8:30 am EDT/ 12:30 UTC ( all areas covered)
12359 USB 9:00 am EDT/ 13:00 UTC (all areas covered)
16359 USB 9:30 am EDT/ 13:30 UTC ( for vessels more than 2000 mi from "Bel Ammi")
In the event of Tropical or other severe weather an evening update will occure at 7pm. Time and frequency will be announced in the morning.

We checked in with Chris Parker and are very happy with his service. He is very caring once you get into really bad weather and will almost always tell you about the squall half an hour away from you.