HAMBLE-based Marine Computing International has won a major contract to develop a European-wide weather forecasting service for sailors.

The MIDAS (Marine Information and Data Access Service) is a 1.5m euro project part-funded by the European Space Agency.

It aims to develop a commercial service to provide yachtsmen with a single source of integrated weather forecast and other marine information, whether they are surfing at home or in the middle of the ocean using a laptop.