{"id":49213,"date":"2022-10-04T15:17:13","date_gmt":"2022-10-04T19:17:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.cruisingworld.com\/?p=49213"},"modified":"2023-05-06T18:20:16","modified_gmt":"2023-05-06T22:20:16","slug":"sailing-totem-adding-tools-to-the-weather-toolbox","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.cruisingworld.com\/how-to\/sailing-totem-adding-tools-to-the-weather-toolbox\/","title":{"rendered":"Sailing Totem: Adding Tools to the Weather Toolbox"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\n\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\"GMDSS <\/div>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n
\n GMDSS information overlay. You can see Hurricane Ian off the Florida coast, and the dashed line for a trough.<\/span>\n Behan Gifford<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\t <\/figcaption>\n <\/section>\n\t\t\n\n\n\n\n

It figures that a hurricane\u2019s projected track aimed right at our Stevens 47, Totem<\/em>, while we were an ocean away from it, having traveled by jet from Mexico to Europe and South Africa. That was Hurricane Kay, in early September. Last week brought Hurricane Ian, which we watched approach Florida<\/a>, glued to updates, fearing for the boats and livelihoods of friends along Florida\u2019s west coast. \u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Actively tracking weather is one of the most consistent features of life on a cruising boat. You don\u2019t just feel the elements more directly; your immediate security is weather-driven. Looking at GRIBs through PredictWind remains our mainstay weather tool. And, we love the new GMDSS addition<\/a>: graphical display of GMDSS text forecast details (lows, highs, tropical depressions, fronts) over a GRIB. Anyone in my husband Jamie\u2019s classes at Cruisers University<\/a> in Annapolis from October 10-16 will see a bunch of these.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Other specialty tools provide input to keep informed and make decisions about our everyday comfort and safety. Writing recently about chubascos<\/a>, a weather phenomenon in the Sea of Cortez, we focused on how valuable the GOES band 11 viewer<\/a> is for anticipating these weather bombs. Here are other tools that may be less commonly tapped, but helpful for those of us living at weather level.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\"Orlene\" <\/div>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n
\n Hurricane Orlene approaches. This is the GOES 11 satellite view.<\/span>\n Behan Gifford<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\t <\/figcaption>\n <\/section>\n\t\t\n\n\n

Weather Radar<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Radar is an excellent tool when it\u2019s available. Radar on a boat is a fine way to get squall size, location and tracking to mitigate the conditions (Squall tracking, more than avoiding hazards at the night or in fog, is the #1 use of Totem<\/em>\u2019s radar, in fact<\/a>). Weather service radar, accessed via the internet, offers a dynamic wider-region view. This requires internet bandwidth. \u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A weather radar source with a time loop helps visualize movement and the squall or front\u2019s increasing or decreasing footprint, to preemptively adjust course and or speed. You may not be able to bypass the weather, but even reducing the duration of your exposure to volatile weather is useful.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\"Cape <\/div>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n
\n We were tucked into a cozy cottage near Cape Town, South Africa, as we watched this beast arrive.<\/span>\n Behan Gifford<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\t <\/figcaption>\n <\/section>\n\t\t\n\n\n

On our last days in South Africa, we actually had more wind than Puerto Pe\u00f1ascohad, Mexico, from Hurricane Kay\u2019s attempted swipe\u2014this front line brought 50-plus knots. It was wild to watch (from inside a cozy beach house), but for locals, was \u201cjust another Sunday.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\"GOES <\/div>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n
\n Using GOES band 11 and radar for a hurricane discussion in our coaching community.<\/span>\n Behan Gifford<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\t <\/figcaption>\n <\/section>\n\t\t\n\n\n

Real-Time Lighting<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Real-Time lighting strike maps show where the sky is more or less electric. Like radar, this tool provides a visual for a storm\u2019s size, intensity and track. For folks on boats, the devastating power of lightning can be even more daunting than wind and rain.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\"Blitzortung\" <\/div>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n
\n Blitzortung screenshot. Summer thunderstorms bump up against the mountains.<\/span>\n Behan Gifford<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\t <\/figcaption>\n <\/section>\n\t\t\n\n\n

We like the display on the website Blitzortung<\/a> for this, and there are a range of real-time lightning map mobile apps as well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Satellite Imagery<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Another satellite imagery resource is Zoom.earth<\/a>. It\u2019s instructive, but not targeted. Still, for sharing satellite-informed views of your location without freaking out your kids or in-laws, try giving them this view. The red areas show heat detected by satellites. This tool influenced our driving route to avoid hot-season wildfires.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\"Hurricane <\/div>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n
\n Zoom Earth\u2019s view of Hurricane Kay on September 9.<\/span>\n Behan Gifford<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\t <\/figcaption>\n <\/section>\n\t\t\n\n\n

Surge Estimators<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Hurricane Kay ended up tracking outside of Baja, California, a much lower risk to Totem<\/em> than it might have been if it tracked up the Sea of Cortez. But it was late when we considered that, even though the system was relatively distant, there might be a surge effect near our boat\u2019s location. And, as Murphy\u2019s Law would dictate, of course it would coincide with peak tidal swings in an area notorious for extremes (22 feet isn\u2019t unusual). We watched CERA, a collaboration between the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and Louisiana State University, for modeling surge. It indicated that water might not just rise above the level of the slipway, but also spill further into the yard. Not so good for boats in sand or gravel, and not good news for things on the ground. Like our new-in-the-box engine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\"CERA <\/div>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n
\n A screenshot from CERA<\/span>\n Behan Gifford<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\t <\/figcaption>\n <\/section>\n\t\t\n\n\n

Water level exceeding the slipway would have been a first at the boatyard. (We still, by the way, feel this is the best possible option for hurricane season on the Pacific side of Mexico.) From South Africa, we watched and waited for updates.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\"Cabrales <\/div>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n
\n Most yard managers wouldn\u2019t be sending water-level pics at 2 a.m., but Salvador Cabrales did. Pictured here is the slipway at Cabrales Boatyard in Puerto Pe\u00f1asco.<\/span>\n Salvador Cabrales<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\t <\/figcaption>\n <\/section>\n\t\t\n\n\n

And recently, we watched as the surge forecast from Hurricane Ian developed for Florida\u2014especially Southwest Florida, where folks we care about in Punta Gorda have their catamaran. It was tough to see the surge increase and consider the havoc it caused. NOAA\u2019s estimate was 12 to 18 feet. There\u2019s not much good that comes from an 18-foot surge (or even \u201cjust\u201d 12 feet) when you\u2019re tied to a fixed dock. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\"storm <\/div>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n
\n Surge estimate, NOAA<\/span>\n Behan Gifford<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\t <\/figcaption>\n <\/section>\n\t\t\n\n\n

Wave And Swell<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Boaters tend to focus on the wind forecast, the sea state tends to be a much bigger influence for real feel on a boat. And yet, wave and swell forecasts have long been the least accurate reflection of real feel in the weather toolkit. GRIB Wave forecasts only display one wave forecast at a time. Secondary or tertiary waves and swell, such as a swell from a far-off gale, can really increase the motion of the ocean. The information is often available, but clunky to view and interpret. PredictWind has a new tool set that uses all wave and swell data, and then models roll, pitching and slamming based on specific dimensions of a given boat. Its new Automatic Wave Routing<\/a> feature is a big step toward interpreting a real-feel to make go or no-go decisions.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\"automatic <\/div>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n
\n Factors accounted for in PredictWind\u2019s new automatic wave routing<\/span>\n Behan Gifford<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\t <\/figcaption>\n <\/section>\n\t\t\n\n\n

If we\u2019re near a surfing region, we also sometimes use surfer websites such as Magic Seaweed<\/a> to understand the magnitude of local swells. Farther offshore, there might be a weather buoy near a planned route. Looking at real-time data, such as NOAA\u2019s National Data Buoy Center<\/a> site, can help determine the accuracy of forecast information. \u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tsunami Danger<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

This isn\u2019t something we really thought about a lot before cruising, but we\u2019ve ended up needing to track tsunamis a few times when we were potentially in risk zones. It\u2019s no joke, and we know enough people who have had truly dangerous tsunami events while cruising.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\"after <\/div>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n
\n Boat aground in the channel, due to a tsunami.<\/span>\n Behan Gifford<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\t <\/figcaption>\n <\/section>\n\t\t\n\n\n

While our first tsunami was a nonevent, the second warranted more attention: We watched as the depth changed 6 feet up then 6 feet down in 15-minute intervals. One boat missed a swing and ran aground in a channel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What are your tools for this? A U.S. Geological Survey website details earthquakes<\/a> worldwide, and a global scattering of tsunami monitoring stations are on this UNESCO-funded site<\/a>. \u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\"monitoring <\/div>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n
\n Sample scatterplot of a monitoring station in Puerto Vallarta: each map dot is a station.<\/span>\n Behan Gifford<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\t <\/figcaption>\n <\/section>\n\t\t\n\n\n

The 2022 hurricane season finally did get spicy, as promised. While Hurricane Ian left a trail of heartbreak in Florida, we received news that our friends\u2019 boat in Punta Gorda came through nearly unscathed. So many others did not. Neighboring boats were found sunk, or on top of the dock, or in the adjacent yard. And now, on the Pacific side, we watch Orlene. The tropical depression is expected to become a hurricane, and is tracking toward Mazatlan and the Sea of Cortez, where we lie at the northern tip.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

When big storms are in play, there\u2019s no such thing as too much information to keep yourself and your boat safe.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":11,"featured_media":49214,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"BS_author_type":"BS_author_is_guest","BS_guest_author_name":"Behan Gifford","BS_guest_author_url":"","hydra_display_date":"","hydra_display_updated":false,"_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":"164","_yoast_wpseo_metadesc":"Actively tracking weather is one of the most consistent features of life on a cruising boat. Your immediate security is weather-driven.","_yoast_wpseo_title":"","_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":"","arc_story_id":"","arc_website_url":"","custom_permalink":"","arc_subtype":"","arc_exclude_from_feeds":false,"sponsored":false,"sponsored_label":"Sponsored Content","sponsored_display_label":false,"sponsored_image":false,"post_right_rail":true,"post_right_rail_ad_1":true,"post_right_rail_ad_2":true,"post_right_rail_ad_3":false,"post_right_rail_ad_4":false,"post_right_rail_recirc":true,"fixed_anchor_ad":true,"post_top_ad":true,"post_off_ramp":true,"post_taboola":false,"labels":true,"apple_news_api_created_at":"","apple_news_api_id":"","apple_news_api_modified_at":"","apple_news_api_revision":"","apple_news_api_share_url":"","apple_news_coverimage":0,"apple_news_coverimage_caption":"","apple_news_is_hidden":false,"apple_news_is_paid":false,"apple_news_is_preview":false,"apple_news_is_sponsored":false,"apple_news_maturity_rating":"","apple_news_metadata":"\"\"","apple_news_pullquote":"","apple_news_pullquote_position":"","apple_news_slug":"","apple_news_sections":"\"\"","apple_news_suppress_video_url":false,"apple_news_use_image_component":false,"footnotes":"","ad_settings_ads_on_this_page":true,"ad_settings_automatic_ad_injection_into_the_content":true,"ad_targeting":"","sponsored_url":"","social_share":true},"categories":[164],"tags":[183,533,182,454,351],"acf":[],"apple_news_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cruisingworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49213"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cruisingworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cruisingworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cruisingworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/11"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cruisingworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=49213"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.cruisingworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49213\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cruisingworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/49214"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cruisingworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=49213"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cruisingworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=49213"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cruisingworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=49213"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}