[PUP] Bluewater Noon Report July 4, 2007/In praise of professional weather routers

Thu Jul 5 01:17:30 EDT 2007

Have you fired the old flares?
Was that fun?

I keep watching you and will keep you informed about the weather when you
are near the Straights of Gibraltar.

Keep safe and dry.

Sonaia

On 7/4/07, Georgs Kolesnikovs <waterworld at rogers.com> wrote:
>
> Noon Report July 4, 2007
>
> Position 38-29.4 N 24-59.1 W as of 12:00 Azores time (GMT - 0 hrs)
> Wednesday, July 4
> Course 097 deg M
> Speed 7.0 kts @ 1850 RPM
> Distance to go: 968 NM to go to Gibraltar
> Distance made good past 24 hours:  161 NM (6.7 kts)
> Distance made good since Horta: 183 NM
> Total fuel consumed (26.3 engine hours) 1215 gals, average 4.0 GPH
> (incl. genset), fuel remaining 1375 gal.
> Conditions: Wind N 5 kts, seas N 3-4, partly cloudy, visibility excellent
> Barometer: 1034.9 and rising
> Sea water temp: 71 deg F, air temp 80 deg F.
> ETA Gibraltar: PM July 10
>
> Every day is a gift!  The weather gods have been kind during the Med
> Bound fleet's first full day out of Horta, offering up light winds
> and flat seas as we regain our sea legs, giving us an altogether
> comfortable ride for our three yachts as we eat up the miles between
> the island of Faial and Strait of Gibraltar. This morning we passed
> by the easternmost of the Azores Islands, Sao Miguel, so it's open
> ocean for us from here to the European mainland.
>
> Weather, of course, is everything when one is making a passage in a
> small boat, so we study the weather carefully, check many sources,
> and take our best shot.  Our own secret weapon is "Weather Bob" Jones
> of Ocean Marine Navigation Inc.  From his post in New Jersey, Bob
> provides telephone and e-mail weather routing advice and counsel to
> yachts around the world.  In return for what we consider a very
> reasonable fee, Bob-who is a trained meteorologist who has been doing
> professional weather routing for years-provides us a daily e-mail
> report: an overview of the weather systems interacting to provide our
> weather and his best estimate of what to expect in the days ahead.
> Based on Bob's advice, we are bound for a waypoint at 39 degrees
> north and 15 degrees west, north of the direct course to Gibraltar
> and about 250 miles off the coast of Portugal.  That will add a few
> miles to our trip, but Bob expects our winds to increase and move
> more to the north in a few days, and taking this route should give us
> an easier ride when that happens.
>
> The case for using a professional weather router for a yacht like
> ours is strong: Bob has access to far more information from his
> office ashore with full Internet capabilities than I do at sea with a
> very thin e-mail connection, and as a professional meteorologist he
> knows far better than I how to interpret the information he receives.
> As much as we like and rely on Bob, we also have a backup and
> counterpoint: Ocens WeatherNet.  The learning curve for WeatherNet is
> steep and it's not intuitive, but it's a rich weather resource with
> real depth and breadth.  It even offers real-time information on
> ocean currents based on satellite data, something I've not found
> elsewhere.
>
> Of course, none of this could happen without communications.  In the
> middle of an ocean, Internet connections and cell phone networks are
> nowhere to be found.  We employ an Iridium satellite phone as the
> link between low-earth-orbiting satellites and our computer, using a
> slow-as-molasses e-mail connection via an Ocens system specifically
> designed for cruisers.  It's painfully slow, operating at a fraction
> of the speed of a dialup modem, and interruptions are frequent.  At
> around a dollar a minute, it's also expensive.  All its disadvantages
> notwithstandng, it's by far the best solution we've found for sending
> and receiving text messages at sea.
>
> As compared with our Bermuda-Horta leg, Bluewater is riding more
> comfortably now and we're making slightly better speed at lower RPMs.
> That's because Med Bound chief engineer Bernue Francis and I
> discovered in Horta, troubleshooting Bluewater's stabilizer problem,
> that the boat had been "dragging" our port stabilizer fin through the
> water at an acute angle causing considerable drag.  That extra drag
> both slowed Bluewater down and caused us to burn more fuel on the
> last leg.  We could have waited in Horta for a repairman to fly in
> and fix the problem, but the truth is that we were ready to move on
> and our ride to Horta was so comfortable that the decision to move on
> was an easy one. Naiad promises to have a technician in Gibraltar
> with the parts needed to make the repairs, a job that will be done
> under warranty.  Last we heard, the Naiad tech would be "Naiad Phil"
> who spent time on many NAR yachts.
>
> Once upon a time, ships passing in the night depended on radar,
> navigation lights and radio to determine how to pass one another
> safely, but AIS adds a whole new dimension.  You've heard me sing the
> praises of AIS, and here I go again.  Last night on my 2100-2400
> watch our AIS picked up a Mexico-bound tanker named Ballad at about
> 24 miles dead ahead.   As the ship tracked towards us at 14 knots,
> the predicted CPA (closest point of approach) varied between one-half
> mile and 30 yards.  I spoke with the other two Med Bound yachts on
> our "private" radio channel and we agreed that I would negotiate the
> pass with Ballad.  Once we were within 10 miles, I called Ballad on
> VHF, noted that we showed a very close CPA, and proposed a
> port-to-port pass with a CPA of 2.0 miles, suggesting that Ballad
> change course to the right and that our three-vessel formation would
> do the same to increase the distance between us as we passed.  The
> watch officer aboard Ballad agreed to my proposal and we changed
> course, but I noted watching Ballad's course information that the
> tanker did not.  Minutes later, a woman's voice came on the radio
> from Ballad calling Bluewater.  She asked if our three vessels were
> fishing and if that's why we were requesting a two-mile CPA.  I told
> her we were not fishing, that we were three vessels traveling in
> company, and that a two-mile CPA in deep water offshore is our normal
> preference.  She rogered, and the ship began to change course.
> Clearly, the first watch officer had kicked the decision up to
> someone more senior and Ballad's female officer OK'd the course
> change.  The pass was actually at about 1.85 nautical miles, plenty
> safe.
>
> David proposes that we shoot off some old flares tonight as
> fireworks.  If we have no other ships nearby, we'll give it a try!
> Have a great Fourth of July!
>
> --Milt, Judy, George and Schipperke Katy
> --
> Milt Baker
> Bluewater
> Nordhavn 47 #32
> http://www.bluewaternav.com
>
> A compilation of reports from Med Bound 2007 may be viewed at
> <http://www.nordhavn.com>. Click on Med Bound 2007.
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