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Navagear points us to “Rite in the Rain”:

The folks from “Rite in the Rain” were at the Pacific Marine Expo, and I picked up a brochure, an all-weather pen, and another pocket-sized spiral notebook…thanks guys!

See, I use these products every day. Into my pockets each morning go my keys, wallet, coin purse, cell phone, and my little Weems & Plath-branded Rite in the Rain 3″ x 5″ all-weather spiral notebook.

I have been using these products for many years in fairly harsh environments aboard ship and highly recommend them for use on deck.

“Rite in the Rain” Product Links;

• All Weather Pen
• Adventure Travel Journal All Weather Writing
• All-Weather Pocket Journal
• All Rite in the Rain Products

Also be sure to check out another gCaptain favorite;

• Fisher Bullet Space Pen

Looking at the piracy chart for 2008 got me reminiscing about recommending routes through the eastern Arabian Sea , Somalia coast, and Gulf of Aden.

Our directive was to work with the Captain to assure a safe voyage. However, like the Captain, we had no way of knowing whether a pirate attack would occur during a voyage. The coast of Somalia has been a high risk area for piracy as long as I can remember. So, even without a weather-related reason, we often would acknowledge a Master’s intended route which remained well off the coast and added sometimes hundreds of miles. Many times, these routes would travel east and north of the island of Socotra.

There was an exception — the summer months and the Southwest Monsoon. During projected gale and storm sw-lies in the western and central Arabian Sea, recommended routes going westbound from the Indian Ocean toward the Suez Canal would remain south of the monsoon core and the highest waves in the central Arabian Sea. However, this route presents a navigational issue (mostly piracy-related) once the route nears the coast of Somalia.

Captain’s choice during the summer: Do I want to avoid the coast of Somalia (potential pirates) and face more rolling on a more northern route? Another problem… If the vessel passes east of Socotra, will the Captain be able to safely steer the vessel west-bound into the Gulf of Aden during a monsoon event?

In this case, strange as it may sound, heavy weather might be working in the Captain’s favor. Are the pirates desparate enough to try and board a moving merchant vessel during gale or storm conditions?

Many Captains chose the improved weather to the south during the summer, passed near the eastern coast of Somalia, then adjusting heading to sail well off the nothern coast of Somalia after passing Cape Guadafui.

Have any gCaptain readers out there has faced similar choices?

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This Post was written by Brad Snook, Meteorologist. Brad spent 13 years recommending routes and forecasting seas and swells for merchant ships around the world. He know lives with his family near gCaptain Headquarters in Morro Bay California. You can read his previous articles HERE.

CNN sends news of a tragic ferry capsize in the Phillipines. They write:

Rescuers have found at least 33 survivors and at least six dead among the nearly 750 aboard a ferry that capsized in  Typhoon Fengshen that battered the southern Philippines, a Red Cross official said Monday.

A U.S. Navy ship equipped with helicopters will soon join the search and rescue effort, said Richard Gordon, the head of the Philippines Red Cross and a member of the country’s Senate.

Fishermen found 30 survivors from the ferry Princess of Stars, which rolled over early Saturday morning, Gordon said. One person died after being picked up, and another was lost during rescue efforts, he said, but the remaining 28 have been delivered to police.

Filipino troops have found five more survivors and five dead, Gordon said, bringing the known toll from the accident to six.

“There’s quite a few people out there that are still missing,” he said. “We are trying our best to find them, and I hope we could get some help.” Read More…

Watch images of the ferry sinking » |  Watch a report on the disaster »

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UPDATE:
GMA News of the Phillipines has this report:
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UPDATE 2:
Bloomburg Tells Us:

June 24 (Bloomberg) — Philippine divers found “many bodies” after entering a ferry that capsized in a typhoon three days ago with at least 849 passengers and crew on board, the Navy said today.

Divers can’t tell how many bodies are in the vessel because “it’s dark and they don’t have search lights,” said Coast Guard Commodore Luis Tuason, adding the chances of rescuers finding survivors are “slim.’

Only the tip of the bow of the 24,000-ton MV Princess of the Stars is above water off the central island of Sibuyan, where it sank June 21 in what may be the country’s worst ferry disaster in two decades.

Authorities have identified 48 survivors who made it to various islands, a revision from the figure of 57 reported earlier today, Coast Guard Lieutenant Commander Rogelio Villanueva told reporters at a briefing in Manila. The additional survivors were from separate sea and land incidents, he said.

The number of dead climbed to 70 after 55 bodies were reported in Claveria, a seaside town east of Sibuyan, he said. The dead include three bodies taken by divers from the ship.

There may have been as many as 862 passengers and crew on board, Salvacion Buaron, vice president of ship owner Sulpicio Lines Inc., said at the briefing. Continue Reading…

gCaptain reader and Meteorologist Brad Snook writes:

I spent 13 years as a Meteorologist, recommending routes and forecasting seas and swells for merchant ships around the world. During those years, I witnessed incredible changes in technologies, in changes to Communications (cable to sitor to fax, telex, e-mail), in the coming of GPS and position polling, in the rising prices of bunkers and daily charters, and in changes to the way shore-based operators coordinate their efforts with ship captains over the entire globe. I also witnessed changes to the way our weather routing product could be delivered to the client and captain.

Over all those years, however, one thing remained the same: Most of our clients were operating large vessels on long, mostly east to west (or visa-versa), routes. So, a great majority of ship captains never had the benefit of fully exploring the weather forecast differences, anticipated ship motions, or ship routing options.

So, for all the Masters and Skippers alike, how do you see weather forecasting technology benefiting you in the future?

If you have an answer for Brad post it as a comment below. If you would like to ask our community a question head over to our forum… an excellent rescource that’s really been impressing us lately with the quality of responses from all corners of the maritime community.

The National Weather Service (NWS) Ocean Prediction Center (OPC) is requesting comments relating to the importance of accurate and timely marine weather analyses to shipboard operations. Staffers at the center are especially interested in how this information is used to avoid damage, injury or loss of life. Equally important are comments associated with the use of this information to enhance vessel efficiencies (timely ETAs, reduced fuel consumption, etc.). It would also be helpful if comments include how the situation today has improved in these areas, as compared with a decade ago (1990s).

All comments should be submitted to David Feit, Chief of the Ocean Forecast Branch, via e-mail at David.Feit@noaa.gov. Comments may also be mailed to David Feit, Ocean Prediction Center; National Weather Service; 5200 Auth Road, Room 410; Camp Springs, MD 20746

by Øystein Ellingsen

Shipspotter VOX tells us: The Norwegian car ferry Bergensfjord was enroute Bergen - Hanstholm early last week when she enouctered 8 meter waves. 2 trailers were overturned.

Robin Storm points us to this photo of this spectacular waterspout off New Zealand’s Kapiti Coast. Be sure to check out the photo slideshow and article and stay tuned for Robin’s upcoming Severe Weather segment on our podcast.

Here is video via Stuff.nz:

 

 Waterspout - Twister At Sea [1:45m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

During a January 4 storm, two 47-foot Motor Life Boats from Station Golden Gate responded to calls and assisted four boaters in distress, towing one of the vessels to shore after it broke away from its anchor. At the height of the storm, the crews battled high winds and rain to toss a heaving line to the boater. Attempts were successful and the boater was towed about one mile to a local pier. (Video by Petty Officer Erik J. Swanson)

Physics World points us to an article from the most respected journal in science; Nature. They tell us;

Every so often mariners report the sighting of a huge wave towering up to 30 m above the regular swells of the ocean surface. No-one is sure why these rogue waves form, but now physicists in the US and Germany have managed to produce equivalent optical rogue waves by launching laser pulses into photonic-crystal fibres. Having performed computer simulations of the optical system, the researchers suggest that optical rogue waves, and therefore oceanic rogue waves, are seeded by noise.

A photonic-crystal fibre is a transparent strand containing hundreds of regularly-spaced air holes running throughout its length. The alternating refractive index produced by this structure has a non-linear effect on light waves, shifting their frequency depending on the wave intensity.

When a wave pulse — which comprises many waves with a bell-shaped distribution of frequencies — enters a photonic crystal fibre, its frequency spectrum is broadened. Rogue waves are examples of wave pulses, but their short, sharp nature requires too broad a frequency spectrum to be produced by this process alone.

Ok this isn’t the easiest article to read but is well worth the effort. You can find the entire article HERE.

A harrowing weather story from the Pacific Northwest. Washington State Department of Ecology’s Website tells us;

The Kauai, a 720-foot container ship operated by Matson Lines, was sailing near Cape Flattery when it was smashed by a large ocean swell. The waves broke out the wheelhouse windows, damaged electronic systems and knocked out the ship’s primary steering system.

The Crowley Maritime-operated Gladiator met the container ship at the mouth of the Strait of Juan de Fuca and escorted her into Port Angeles. There, the Gladiator’s crew handed the ship off to another tug so the Gladiator could return to keep watch at Neah Bay. The Kauai is currently heading to Seattle for repairs.

“We dodged a bullet with today’s assist,” said Dale Jensen, manager in charge of Ecology’s Spills program. “With the incredibly stormy weather here on land, one can only imagine how tough the conditions are at sea.”

He said, “Having the rescue tug stationed at Neah Bay during the winter means we can assist ships in distress and prevent catastrophic damage to our valuable marine resources.”

The state has contracted to station a rescue tug at Neah Bay since spring of 1999. The tug has stood by or assisted 34 ships that were disabled or had reduced maneuvering or propulsion capability while transporting oil and other cargo along the coast and through the Strait of Juan de Fuca. The actions helped ensure the ships didn’t drift onto rocks and spill oil.