The objective of this paper is to illustrate a methodology for
the enhancement of
meteorological marine forecasts tailored to the needs of navigation. The
study consists
of two parts: (1) Theoretical background. Introduction to numerical models
for weather
forecasting used by meteorological centres. A review of the most reliable
equations for
prediction of intensity and direction of wind and sea state. In particular,
reference is made
to the tables for wind forecasting developed by R. Mayençon and A. Pezzoli
and the
equations for prediction of sea state obtained by K. Haselman and D. J.
T. Carter in light
of the JONSWAP experiment. (2) Practical application. Application of the
methodology to
a real-world example: a weather forecast elaborated by the Meteohydrological
Laboratory
at Dipartimento d'Idraulica Trasporti ed Infrastrutture Civili (DITIC)
of the Polytechnic of
Turin. The forecast was requested by the Consorzio Prada Challenge 2000
as a
meteorological support for the training they held in the Tyrrhenian Sea
for the next
America's Cup series.