Worldwide Winds vs Currents

[edokarura]

For planning bluewater passages I hear a lot about prevailing winds for different times of year but not so much about prevailing currents. Surely we need to take these into account - but information about them seems to be rather thin on the ground...er...in the water. Admiralty routing charts have the info but MSI pilot charts don't and the nav apps for my iPad seem laser-focused on coastal sailing done this afternoon instead of an ocean-crossing sometime next summer.

Or maybe I'm looking in the wrong places?

[PippaB]

MSI pilot charts have general current information as green arrows?

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[edokarura]

Oh, fer cryin' out loud! Not only am I a clueless newbie - I'm a blind one as well.

Thanks so much PippaB!

[PippaB]

there is a lot of information crammed onto those pages.

For a 'big picture' view, British chart 5310 - The World - General Surface Current Circulation - provides a nice overall view. There's an older version available on Wikipedia.



It is no longer in print but you may be able to find a copy of the more recent (1970s ) version around somewhere. (the 50-year Crown copyright will expire this year on the 1974 version of 5310 and 5308 so there may be uploads of them early next year).