How would you plan weather routing?

NOAA Marine Weather ...search departing city then use interactive map to follow route. Inner and outer waters forecast about five days out but changes from day to day updating. Good for USA.

Magic Seaweed ...search region for maps and forecast. Wind and swell charts. Good worldwide.

Both give wind speed/direction and swell size/spacing/direction.

Have some flexibility in your schedule. Run when it's nice. Stop when it's not. It's no fun having to get somewhere "no matter what."

If the weather is not so great you could add a stop in Monterey between San Fran and Morrow Bay. And a stop in Santa Barbara between Morrow Bay and Avalon.

I also use www.windfinder.com
I've used it globally, and it's very good for coastal forecasts

I also consider light data in my planning.

How many hours of day light will you have?

Any moonlight?

will you be entering unfamiliar complex ports in low light?

I prefer to plan arrival at least one hour before sunset and have at least one port that I can duck into if I have an unexpected mechanical or weather condition

I am not familiar with the left coast but for trips to the Exumas I rely on passageweather.com Their wind and wave height forecasts are pretty accurate and the colored graphics make it easier to detect patterns and shifts.

I also use the windfinder and WindAlert apps for wind data and forecasts

I thnk every one has its own limits based not just on boat and size, but who is on board as well as where the waves are coming from. The boat I run is not stabilized and with a skylounge, tender and jet ski up top... She s a roller! I try to avoid anything over 3' on the beam.

Typing this from the Tongue of the Ocean which as per the Passage weather forecast is like a lake today!

I use NOAA, Passage and Buoyweather, NOAA frequently changes the perdition the day before so the long range is not very accurate. I try to stay withing the small craft warnings as my no go requirement. I like period 2 times the height but will go out at 1.5 times the height for short periods of time. The predominant weather will be off your stern from the stbd quarter making for a better ride. The sea conditions will increase by a factor of two around Pt Arguello and Pt Conception. I like passing those Pt. at 3 miles, watch out for private/weather buoys. Two harbors on Catalina usually has moorings on the west end of Catalina. Should be a fun trip.

Like others we use passageweather, NOAA marine, and specific buoy data. If going well offshore to Eleuthera, the Exumas, or running offshore between FL and the Chesapeake, I track the weather for a full week in advance using passageweather. I also find it useful to have historical data from specific buoys to know detailed prevailing conditions. If more severe weather is brewing it is also very helpful to look at various models to get a higher probability of storm progression and better estimate uncertainty in the forecast.

I use several different sources but lately this has been my first check. https://www.windyty.com/?26.571,-77.157,8

Found it to be easy to use, its global, and pretty darn accurate.

Glad your trip went well. A viking hit a Whale and sustained a lot of damage. Count your lucky stars.

Could you explain a little more on how the weather service helped you understand the online predictions?

Thanks for the response, I tend to agree that the weather predictions are over stated.