Ocean & Coastal Wave Forecasts On Your Phone Or Satellite Device

Precision Wave, Swell & Nearshore Wind Forecasting Built for Open Water

BoltWX delivers high-resolution coastal wind and wave forecasts directly to your satellite communicator (Garmin inReach®, ZOLEO®, Bivystick) or mobile device via satellite SMS. Whether you are navigating open coastal waters, offshore sailing, surf forecasting, or planning a multi-day ocean crossing, BoltWX provides 3-hourly peak wind direction, sustained speeds, peak gust vectors, significant wave heights, swell periods, and wave directions to keep you safe and ahead of changing seas. Works with Apple iPhone®, Google Pixel® and Samsung Galaxy® satellite services.

High-Resolution Wave Dynamics

Access nearshore wave models resolving significant wave height, primary wave period, and wave propagation across coastal waterways, sounds, and open ocean waters.

Peak Winds & Gust Vectors

Know the true extremes before you set out. BoltWX samples conditions across each window to report maximum sustained winds and peak gust velocity rather than misleading averages.

Global & Regional Coverage

Intelligent routing automatically pulls from high-resolution national coastal models (ECCC RDWPS, NOAA NWPS/HRRR, BOM) and global wave spectra (ECMWF).

Requesting a Wave Forecast

This feature is available to BoltWX Pro subscribers. Learn more about subscribing here

BoltWX provides dedicated coastal and ocean wave forecasts worldwide.

Disclaimer: Data is provided for situational awareness only and is not suitable for navigation. Always consult official marine forecasts, local charts, and marine VHF broadcasts before heading out on the water. You agree to use BoltWX forecasts at your own risk (see the BoltWX terms and conditions).

To request a wave and wind forecast, send an SMS message to BoltWX with your access code, the "WAVES" or "WAVES2DAY" keyword, and your GPS coordinates:

Keyword Description Sample Request
WAVES 24-hour condensed wave & coastal wind forecast in 3-hour intervals with peak wind, gusts, wave height, wave period, and swell direction. #ACCESSCODE# WAVES (53.4808, -131.8241)
WAVES2DAY 48-hour condensed wave & coastal wind forecast in 8-hour intervals with peak wind, gusts, wave height, wave period, and swell direction. #ACCESSCODE# WAVES2DAY (53.4808, -131.8241)
Looking for Tides Only?

Get standalone 72-hour high/low tide predictions from 1,500+ CHS stations, NOAA CO-OPS, and BOM.

View Tide Forecast Details →
Need All-in-One Paddle Weather?

Get atmospheric weather, 72-hour tide predictions, and wave forecasts in a single request with KAYAK or KAYAK2DAY.

View Kayaking Details →

Sample Wave & Wind Forecast and Translation Breakdown

Here is an example of an SMS wave & wind forecast and a detailed breakdown of each forecast block:

Sample SMS Response Detailed Line-by-Line Breakdown
WAVES (m)
Mo10p 2SW(2SW)~0.1N 3s
Tu1a 3NE(3NE)~0.1NW 4s
Tu4a 3N(3N)~0.1NW 4s
Tu7a 2N(2N)~0.1NW 5s
Tu10a 6SE(7SE)~0.1W 5s
Tu1p 9SE(12SE)~0.2SW 3s
Tu4p 15S(20S)~0.4SW 2s
Tu7p 22SW(22SW)~0.6W 3s

Header: WAVES (m) confirms the feature format and unit system (meters for (m) or feet for (ft)).

3-Hour Forecast Intervals: Each row represents a 3-hour window covering the next 24 hours (or 8-hour blocks covering 48 hours for WAVES2DAY):

  • Tu4p: Day of week and local starting time (Tuesday 4:00 PM).
  • 15S: Peak sustained wind speed and direction (15 km/h or mph from the South).
  • (20S): Peak gust speed and direction during that 3-hour window (gusting to 20 km/h or mph from the South).
  • ~0.4SW: Peak significant wave height and dominant wave direction (0.4 meters or feet from the Southwest). Note: The ~ symbol designates wave / sea state information.
  • 2s: Wave/swell period (2-second period).
  • If wave data is negligible or sheltered in narrow channels or inland fjords, ~N/A is displayed while full wind and gust vectors remain available.

Regional High-Resolution Wave & Weather Models

BoltWX routes your location dynamically to the highest-resolution wave and meteorological models available, ensuring accurate nearshore dynamics, shoaling, wave refraction, and wind-wave generation.

Canadian Coastal Waters

Canadian Coastal Waters & Great Lakes

Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC):


  • Wave Dynamics (RDWPS): Uses the Regional Deterministic Wave Prediction System (RDWPS) at 2.5 km to 5 km resolution to capture nearshore wave heights, shoaling, wave refraction, and wind-wave generation across BC fjords, the Salish Sea, Vancouver Island, and Atlantic Canada.
  • Atmosphere (GEM): High-resolution Global Environmental Multiscale (GEM) model resolving complex coastal topography, gap winds, and localized channel gusts.
American Coastal Waters

United States & Alaska Waters

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA / NWS):


  • Wave Dynamics (NWPS & GFS Wave): High-resolution Nearshore Wave Prediction System (NWPS) resolving coastal wave spectra, swell propagation, and wind-sea interaction across Puget Sound, the Pacific Northwest, California, Alaska, the Atlantic Seaboard, Gulf of Mexico, and Hawaii.
  • Atmosphere (HRRR / NWS): High-Resolution Rapid Refresh delivering precise 10-meter wind vectors and peak gust calculations.
Australian Coastal Waters

Australian Waters & Ocean Territory

Bureau of Meteorology (BOM):


  • Atmosphere & Coastal Waves: Coastal wind and wave modeling tuned for Australian marine conditions and surrounding ocean territories.
  • High-Resolution Mesoscale: Captures sea-breeze circulations, frontal squalls, and swell train interactions across Australian coastal waters.
Global Map Outline

Global Oceans, Caribbean, UK & Europe

Global Wave & Ocean Hydrodynamics Models:


  • Wave Spectra (ECMWF WAM / GWAM): Global Wave Model tracking open-ocean swells, significant wave heights, and wave periods across the Caribbean, Mediterranean, Atlantic, Pacific, and Indian Oceans.
  • Uptime Redundancy: Multi-tiered automated fallback ensuring unbroken reliability in remote offshore environments.

Wave & Coastal Wind Forecasts FAQ

WAVES provides a 24-hour forecast in 3-hour intervals with peak sustained winds, gusts, wave height, and wave period. WAVES2DAY extends the forecast to 48 hours using 8-hour intervals, specially formatted to fit within a single 160-character satellite SMS message.

For boaters, paddlers, and coastal mariners, safety depends on knowing the worst-case conditions they might encounter during an open crossing or exposed passage. Rather than averaging conditions, BoltWX samples every hour in the window and reports the peak sustained wind speed, maximum gust velocity, and highest wave height, giving you the critical margin of safety you need.

When in deeply sheltered inlets, narrow channels, or inland waterways where ocean wave models do not calculate open-water swell, wave data is displayed as ~N/A. Your wind speed, direction, and gust speed forecasts continue to display with full precision.

BoltWX automatically formats forecasts according to the unit preference set in your account profile (meters and km/h for Metric, feet and mph for Imperial). You can change your preferred units anytime by editing your profile here.

You can request KAYAK (24-hour) or KAYAK2DAY (48-hour) to automatically receive 3 consecutive SMS messages with a single inquiry: (1) atmospheric weather, (2) 72-hour tide predictions, and (3) wave & wind forecast. You can also request TIDES independently for dedicated tide reports. Learn more on the Kayaking page or explore the Tides page.