MEDITERRANEAN WEATHER HANDBOOK FOR SAILORS
by Roberto Ritossa

Description

Mediterranean Weather Handbook for Sailors is the Essential Guide to Understanding Mediterranean Weather Patterns

Whether you’re planning a coastal cruise along the Côte d’Azur or preparing for a long offshore passage across the Aegean, the Mediterranean Weather Handbook for Sailors is your trusted companion for safe and informed navigation in the region’s uniquely complex climate.

Written by experienced sailor and meteorologist Roberto Ritossa, this comprehensive weather guide offers a practical approach to understanding the Mediterranean’s varied meteorological conditions—ideal for both novice and seasoned sailors alike.

Covering key topics such as prevailing winds (like the Mistral, Meltemi, and Sirocco), regional microclimates, pressure systems, and seasonal weather patterns, this handbook empowers sailors to make smarter, safer decisions at sea. It also provides guidance on interpreting forecasts, using GRIB files, and understanding the effects of land masses, sea breezes, and topography on local conditions.

Key Features:

• Region-by-region breakdown of Mediterranean weather systems

• Clear explanations of key winds, weather hazards, and seasonal variations

• Practical advice on forecasting tools and weather models

• Ideal for route planning and real-time decision-making

• A must-have for Mediterranean cruising and yacht chartering

Whether you’re sailing the Balearic Islands, navigating the Adriatic, or cruising the Turkish coast, the Mediterranean Weather Handbook for Sailors is an essential cockpit reference that helps you prepare, plan, and adapt.

Mediterranean Weather Handbook for Sailors is an indispensable reference providing a general understanding of the various phenomena concurring to determine weather in the Mediterranean as well as useful forecasting aids. It is written for sailors, not meteorologists- theory is kept to a minimum, while every effort is made to provide clear interpretative tools that are helpful in understanding actual weather and forecasting. Roberto Ritossa is a meteorology expert and this handbook is a result of many years research on Mediterranean weather patterns.

This second edition includes details of new and changed websites that offer meteorological services. Throughout the graphics have been improved and for some sections additional illustrations have been added.

“Roberto Ritossa has produced an excellent weather text book for those who choose to sail in the Mediterranean. Although it claims to be ‘written for sailors, not meteorologists’ there is more than enough essential theory to satisfy the keenest of amateur meteorologists. I would certainly buy a copy if I were to ever plan to return to the Mediterranean, as a sailor.” – IG, Cruising.

‘This little book contains a plethora of useful information, and should be on the book shelf of every Mediterranean sailor.’ Flying Fish, The Journal of the Ocean Cruising Club.