Speaking at the Platts Energy Podium, Bureau of Ocean Energy Management Director Tommy Beaudreau said the department is conducting an environmental review of the surveys and should release a draft of that review by next summer.

The seismic surveys “will play a tremendous part in informing future decisions about whether or not the resource potential in that area is such that leasing activity should go forward,” Beaudreau said.

The existing data on oil and gas resources in the Atlantic is “decades old,” he said.

Earlier this month, the Interior Department released a five-year blueprint for oil-drilling leases and said it would not open up any federal waters in the Atlantic until at least 2017. The department cited the lack of information about oil and gas in the region, as well as concerns about oil-spill response capabilities.

There are no active drilling leases in the Atlantic currently.

The administration’s decision to block access to the Atlantic drew criticism from the oil and gas industry, as well as Virginia lawmakers who support drilling off their coast. Sen. Jim Webb (D., Va.) urged the administration to reconsider its position and said drilling projects would boost the state’s economy.

On Tuesday, the American Petroleum Institute said the five-year lease plan should be expanded. It “limits what we could and should be doing to secure more domestic energy,” said API Director Erik Milito.

Beaudreau said the Obama administration does not plan “to take the mid and south Atlantic off the table in perpetuity for any potential exploration in the future.” Instead, he said the decision to block exploration for the near term was part of a “well-considered plan” to gather more information about the region’s resources and to examine potential conflicting uses.

The Defense Department has expressed concern about oil exploration in the Atlantic because of the existence of nearby naval bases, Beaudreau said.

The House Natural Resources Committee plans to hold a hearing on the new five-year plan on Wednesday.

-By Tennille Tracy, Dow Jones Newswires

image (c) LT John Jackson, Royal Navy

This is the South Atlantic (almost) at its most unforgiving as the “Fortress of the Sea” ploughed west for the Falklands from South Africa.

(ROYAL NAVY) The Portsmouth-based destroyer faced some mountainous seas on the 4,000-mile passage from Cape Town to Mare Harbour, her base for the next five or so months as she patrols Britain’s South Atlantic territories.

We’re told that all aboard the Type 42 suffered at the hands of Nature, but Lt John Jackson steadied his nerve to capture this wall of water seen through the bridge window.

It was a far cry from the rather benign weather the ship experienced in Cape Town where even in the depths of the austral winter, it’s typically in the mid-60s˚F by day.

Aside from giving her ship’s company a break after a lengthy sail down the West African seaboard, the chief reason for the visit to South Africa’s famous port was to support British defence firms at a trade and industry day.

The companies used the destroyer as the backdrop for their displays and demonstration of their products to members of the South African Armed Forces and government.

Meanwhile, one fifth of the ship’s company made the 20-mile trip to Simon’s Town, home of the South African Navy, who were holding their Navy Winter Sports Day.

Edinburgh’s sailors were invited to take part in six events, including basketball, rugby and netball.

Honours were even between the two nations as each was victorious in three of the disciplines.

There were also opportunities for Edinburgh’s sailors to explore the Western Cape, including climbing Table Mountain and the (strangely) popular winemaking region of Stellenbosch.

“Cape Town has a long history of supporting vessels on lengthy ocean passages and I was glad to see that the welcome is as warm as ever,” said Edinburgh’s Commanding Officer, Cdr Paul Russell.

“The Royal Navy also has an historic association with the South African Navy and it was great to be able to reaffirm those links as well.”

The ship’s now safely in the Falklands where temperatures are just above freezing and the wind is, as ever, relentless.

When her duties in the Falklands and South Georgia are done, Edinburgh will carry out a number of high-profile visits in South America, the Caribbean and the USA, before sailing home to Portsmouth in time for Christmas.

From The Boston Globe:

French oarsman Charlie Girard failed for a third time yesterday in his quixotic quest to row to France from Cape Cod. And US taxpayers are $80,000 poorer.

That’s the cost of dispatching a Coast Guard jet and helicopter to a 21-foot, custom-designed rowboat bobbing 150 miles off Cape Cod, where Girard called it quits 10 days into his latest aborted adventure.

Fearful and cold in a menacing fog, Girard used a satellite phone to place an 8:25 a.m. distress call to the Coast Guard in Boston.

“I can’t do anything,” Girard, 28, said in a weak, breaking voice. “I’m cold, and I don’t know what to do.”

It seems like exhaustion just 10 days into a 60 day trip is a poor excuse for failure.  Isn’t that the only factor you can train for?

His first attempt to row the Atlantic came in 2007 but was cut short just hours into his journney when water begain pouring into his boat.  He made another attempt days later, only to make it 50 miles into his journey. Now here’s some video

Charlie Girard’s send off on May 19, 2009:

Click here to view the embedded video.

Charlie Girard’s rescue performed on May 29, 2009:

Charlie Girards’s 2007 rescue:

Now it seems that Victor Mooney, a rower and AIDS activist from New York, has been granted permission to use the row boat for his own third attempt at a trans-atlantic trip, that is if he can retrieve it.

NOAA has announced today the issuance of a regulation that aims to protect the endangered North Atlantic right whales from collisions with large ships.  The regulation will require large vessels to slow to a speed of 10 knots or less when in designated areas along the east coast.  This measure is part of NOAA Fisheries Service’s ship strike reduction efforts that looks to protect this highly vulnerable and endangered species.  NOAA tells us:

With only 300 to 400 in existence, North Atlantic right whales are among the most endangered whales in the world. Slow moving right whales are highly vulnerable to ship collisions, since their migration route crosses major East Coast shipping lanes. Along with existing measures to prevent entanglement of right whales in fishing gear, the new ship strike reduction rule is the most comprehensive approach that NOAA has taken in its effort to help right whales recover.

The 10 knot speed restriction will go into effect in early December and will extend 20 nautical miles around major ports, where 83% of right whale sightings are reported.  The rule also states voluntary speed limits for vessels in areas where 3 or more right whales are known to be gathered. 

Along with reducing speeds, there are several other initiatives we can take to help protect this species.  We have outlined them in a previous article titled Protecting The World’s Rarest Whales.

Reporting;

• Steps to take to avoid collisions
• Ship Reporting System Fact Sheet
• Northeastern Reporting System Boundaries
• Southeastern Reporting System Boundaries
• Right Whale Sightings off the:
  Northeast U.S.
  Southeast U.S.

Links;

• Recommended Vessel Routes
• Ship Strike Reduction Homepage
• Office Of Protected Resources – NOAA
• Whale Disentanglement Team – NOAA
• The International Whaling Commission

Included in these numbers are the 5 named storms already formed this season.  In May, NOAA forecast just 12-16 named storms with 6-9 developing into hurricanes.  The Atlantic hurricane season runs from June 1 to November 30 and on average produces 11 named storms, 6 hurricanes and 2 major hurricanes.

Forecasters attribute this adjustment to atmospheric and oceanic conditions across the Atlantic Basin that favor storm development – combined with the strong early season activity including a very active July, the third most active since 1886.

A NOAA forecaster states:

“Leading indicators for an above-normal season during 2008 include the continuing multi-decadal signal – atmospheric and oceanic conditions that have spawned increased hurricane activity since 1995 – and the lingering effects of La Niña,” said Gerry Bell, Ph.D., lead seasonal hurricane forecaster at NOAA’s Climate Prediction Center. “Some of these conditions include reduced wind shear, weaker trade winds, an active West African monsoon system, the winds coming off of Africa and warmer-than-average water in the Atlantic Ocean.”

The full NOAA press release can be found HERE.

Also see the Weather Charts, Tools & More section of gCaptain’s Tools page for all your weather and tracking needs.

In a gCaptain exclusive we were able to discuss the May 2007 abandonment of the s/v Sean Seamour II with her captain Jean Pierre de Lutz. This story was first brought to us by Robin Storm, Marine Salvage Specialist and Maritime Severe Weather Spotter.

The Background Story

Here is a clip to bring you up to date on the Sean Seamour’s voyage but for the full story visit Robin’s coverage of the incident: LINK

On or around 7 May 2007 the s/v Sean Seamour II was struck by a what is believed to be a “freak wave”, during Subtropical Storm Andrea. The sailboat was broadsided by a wave that did an great deal of damage to the boat and sent the crew flying about the cabin doing 360′s and causing its Master to break his ribs. The wave caused the sailboat to immediately list starboard.

After a harrowing time riding the waves a EPIRB signal was received by the USCG and a C-130 over fight located the wave riding crew. A J-Hawk Helicopter was dispatched to the area and launched a rescue swimmer, who injured his back during the insertion into the water, when a wave dropped from beneath him and he dropped some 50 to 70 feet. All of this done in 50 to 70 foot seas, with winds estimated at 80 knots.

To continue here are the captain’s own words:

10 Lessons learned from the Incident

1. No two passages are alike, do not consider that setting sail at what is deemed the most appropriate time is reason for less vigilance. Weather routers are not only for racers, they add a level of security through objective analysis of far broader data than one can access on board within economically reasonable parameters.

2. All security equipment should all be grouped together in the most central, least vulnerable and most accessible area inside the vessel. Heavy weather requires as much crew as operationally possible to be secure inside the vessel where security equipment can be accessed in anticipation of catastrophic events. The most vulnerable element of a sailboat is the rig. Such was the case for Sean Seamour II with the exception of cold water protection suits that were in a rear port deck locker that ended up under the crushed rig. Had these been kept with all other security equipment in a compartment at the base of the companionway the crew would have been able to don these after the first knockdown and avoid hypothermia.

3. Pumps are never redundant: whale pumps are great, I had three installed on board, only the cockpit pump could have been used, the stern and bow units were not accessible due to debris or water levels. Again these should be centrally installed on the highest floor level within the vessel. 2000gph electric Rule pumps should be permanently installed in tandem to avoid debris plugging the pump. Ours had to be constantly monitored against floating paper and other debris.

4. Redundancy saved my crew but not my vessel. The second EPIRB I always considered a luxury, eleven years later it still tested operational, which it ended up being. Had I planned this redundancy with purpose it would also have been sent for recertification, would have been kept with the main unit inside for deployment, would have been initiated and efforts to save the vessel accomplished. Redundancy is a must, but making sure you are not carrying duds as a feel good notion of redundancy is almost as important.

5. Reliability of equipment, considering the above, both ACR 406 EPIRB units tested operational yet both performed below specifications. The ACR Globalifix died within thirty minutes after being sent for verification and recertification two weeks prior, the second old ACR self tested positive but battery life was only ten hours, had we been further out to sea its remaining ten hours of battery would have been insufficient to guide help our way.

6. Lashing is too often considered and applied to on deck equipment, openings, doors, etc. Within the vessel we generally secure for heavy weather thrashing forgetting what happens during knockdowns and 360′s. Start with floorboards – these are the first to pop under such circumstances either through simple gravitational action, let alone kinetic energy that can be created during a knockdown. Besides half of my floorboards that were not secured, the one most forgotten in my case was the salon table which detached and was probably the cause for half of my ten broken ribs. Had it knocked me unconscious or worse my crew would have likely perished.

7. Gulf Stream, staying away from the core is not sufficient when confronting opposing direction weather systems. I left the stream well before the storm but did not take into account the size of the eddies in that area. I had used the stream carefully avoiding the eddies in my 1996 crossing, but over the past five years I had noticed the eddies diminishing in strength in the North Atlantic. Had I tacked further east from the night of the 4th I would have probably been less punished by Andrea. New data seems to correlate this.

8. Stowing and backup usage of vital electronic equipment must be designed into contingency plans. Sean Seamour II had most everything but contingency plans did not take into account such catastrophic circumstances. VHF, a backup antennae was pre-wired to enable the DSC VHF to function, but the stowed antennae was unfindable after the 360 which crushed the rig. The SSB antennae used one of the backstays, gone with the rig, also the tuner was positioned too low and was shorted by water. The Iridium satfone should have been kept in a waterproof skin, it was soaked in the 360.

9. Securing the vessel at least for the short term must remain a priority. With the knowledge that the GPIRB had been initiated securing the vessel was to be my first objective by dumping the rig, 100 meters of chain and bow anchors and plugging the mast passage. These actions would have secured the vessel for at least extra hour or two, taking other actions could have put us under way with engine propulsion. Although for years I have prepared myself mentally for this type of situation, given the level of panic, physical trauma and the ensuing disorientation too much time was lost attempting to get electronic equipment to function — if it doesn’t work it is not going to, redundancy yes dependence no.

10. Although substantial time had been dedicated to briefing the crew prior to departure on the security equipment inventory, whereabouts and deployment, showing them how collision mats, rule pumps and other equipment should be sued, as well as other procedures such as rerouting whale pumps, effective drills are far better. Had I been incapacitated during these catastrophic events I am not sure the crew would have survived.

These lessons were written by Mayke & Jean Pierre de Lutz
Camp de la Suyère, 83680 La Garde Freinet, France

www.maykesassen.com

s/v Sean Seamour II – the final log entry