Chris Bedford, Sailing Weather Service, Massachusetts

ABSTRACT:

There are many surprising applications of meteorology. When contemplating a career in the field of applied meteorology, it’s important to keep a wide view on where you may end up in the future as technology, needs, and scientific knowledge expand. To be successful, it’s best to actively embrace opportunities to apply what you’ve learned in school to a real world problem.

Chris Bedford will describe his work as a meteorological consultant to the world’s best competitive sailors.  He will recall his path from launching PIBALs on Michigan’s North Campus to providing design, weather, and optimum route advice to Olympic gold medal winners, around the world race champions, America’s Cup teams, and crews sailing high performance yachts capable of more than 900 nautical miles per day. A healthy dose of applied meteorology will be presented along with extreme sailing stories and imagery.