An immersion in the world of weather

On Wednesday, 5 February, it was the turn of Clément Aubry, a pilot at the port of Monaco, where he maneuvers yachts and liners, to support students involved in preparing for the BIMer exam. Not least, the understanding of weather maps, essential tools to ensure the safety of ships at sea.

Students were particularly intrigued by the explanations of phenomena such as anticyclones, depressions and fronts. Aubry used maps to illustrate how these phenomena influence sailing conditions. ' The anticyclone, is a high pressure area, where the air is generally calm and dry so synonymous with good weather,' he explained, before detailing the impacts of depressions that bring more turbulent and changing conditions.

The pilot then detailed the characteristics of the cold and hot fronts but the students also had a detailed explanation of the more technical terms: notion of ridge, barometric marsh, relative depression and barometric neck, terms that may seem complex, but which, explained with concrete and visual examples, have become more accessible to curious young minds.

This trip allowed students to become aware of the importance of meteorology in the maritime world. Indeed, misinterpretation of weather maps can have dramatic consequences at sea. Beyond the purely technical aspect, this experiment also strengthened collaboration between students, who exchanged their observations and asked relevant questions.

This experience will certainly enrich the training of students, who will now be able to use weather maps with a more enlightened view, both for their examination, for their daily lives and who knows, perhaps also for their future missions at sea?