46) TransPac 2011 delivery e/m's 26 : tsunami

Add another item to research for the delivery and Transpac.

Just heard there is now an issue of the flotsam drifting to the west coast and how to deal with it.  I am going to do research next week and try to figure out the drift rates.  I really don't think it is an issue for the delivery because it would have to make it across the Pac high and then down the coast and the time-frame does not seem to be favorable for it to be happen. 

But, July is another issue. 

4/11/11

Dave,
Damn, that’s bad.
Thank you for your last check.  You are now 100%.  THANK YOU!
Looking forward to sailing with you again.
Is Tina going to be in Long Beach?  Hawaii? Would she like to get involved  with Jackie with any of the parties?

Aloha,
    gib

The good news is that the debris will not effect CA this year.  The bad news is that it will affect the 2013 Transpac.  And then, HI will most likely be hit after the debris drifts away from CA.  Bummer.


Tina will drive me to Long Beach and hang around.  She will also be in HI and I think it is the law that she has to party.


dammitDave 

What? Did somebody say party?!  

Tina

Dave,

Rhonda will meet us as we discussed.  Do you want her to take some shore clothes down to Long Beach for you?  She can hold onto them if you get them to us by next sunday.  Let me know.

Also, as you're taking your laptop, is it OK if I access email on it before we depart?

Cheers,

Clive 

Probably radioactive, too!


I've attached a very interesting article about things drifting around the Pacific.  It's page two of the North Pacific pilot charts.


I double checked with Gib tonight.  We definitely have a spare rudder which is independent from the main rudder.


Bill

4/11/11

Dad,

I have a special request.  This link is to a weather site that graphically shows the wind/wave/water temp conditions in real-time as we transit the area.  I would really like to have a record of the pics but can not get them at sea.  After the trip I want to see if I can overlay the GPS track on some of the images.

http://passageweather.com/

What I need is for you to save a copy of each image with its date tag everyday.  I specifically want surface wind; surface pressure; wave height; sea temp (F).

I think it would be easier to open a Word doc, date it at the top and past each pic to that page.  I can then extract the images in Paint and do what I want with them.

Let me know if you can do this.  It should only take a few minutes a day.

The benefit is that you will see in real-time what we are sailing thru and experiencing. 

Here's the quick lesson:

Surface wind: the arrow points the direction the wind is blowing; the long feather equals 10kts; the short feather equals 5kts; 1kt equals 1.15mph.

Surface pressure: the center of the high is the highest pressure and the least amount of wind; wind generally travels parallel to the isobar lines; we need to stay away from the center of the high otherwise we have to motor.  high-pressure spins clockwise/low-pressure spins counter-clockwise.

Wave height: we must consider wind and wave direction and that dictates heading.  If the wind and waves diverge then we generally experience sloppy seas.  We try to head into the waves at a 45 degree angle so as not to break the boat when it drops off the other side of the wave.  But, sloppy seas create sneaker waves that hit the side of the boat with massive force and that is one reason why we tether.

Sea temp: hurricanes cannot survive in water temp below approx 78 degrees and it is not that season.  But, low-pressure systems are still spinning out of the Gulf of Alaska.  If a system passes us we will get sloppy seas as the waves still exist but there is a new wind angle.  Sea temp is critical to survival times if you fall off. 

http://www.ndbc.noaa.gov/

Here's the link for buoys that give real-time weather at sea.  The critical detail I look for is if the significant wave height is the same as the dominant wave period.

If this occurs it is called squared.

A 10' wave in a 10 second period is very hard to sail in.

A big big wave in a long period is no problem whatsoever.

The game changes dramatically when the waves are the size of half the length of the vessel and are breaking.

Our focus will be on 25' breaking waves if they occur.  The potential is that if they hit the cabin top broadside they can knock the boat down. 

If this boat knocks down and the mast hits the water it will most likely right itself quickly.  If the mast goes under water and the sails are up it will take a long time to right itself.

Overall, the keel outweighs the mast and by design it should right itself in 2 minutes.

David  

4/12/11

Bill,


Thanks for the pdf.  There is no doubt it will reach the West coast.  The currents appear and act like Hadley cells.  The consensus is that it will take 2 yrs to get here.  From 2013 on, the Pac Cup's and Transpac's will be greatly affected.  When the pile gets to CA I'm going beach-combing.


Pay particular attention to the emergency rudder when you take your first look.  Assemble and install it and check the range of motion.  Gib assured me that it has been "fixed".


In '07 in LB prior to the start we assembled it at the dock and slid it down the track.  The hole in the sugar scoop was not big enough or the rudder blade was too high or it just was not correctly designed.  The rudder would not have been effective as it could not turn, literally.  

Dave