Updated kmz files for Deepwater Horizon

From The Maritime Executive Magazine

Security zone established around Deepwater Horizon wreckage site

In response to a motion by the U.S. DOJ Department of Justice (Environment and Natural Resources Division), the U.S. District Court in New Orleans has ordered the establishment of a security zone extending 750 feet in all directions from the mobile offshore drilling unit Deepwater Horizon wreckage site and its debris field.

The security zone extends from the center of the wreckage site, which is located at the precise coordinates N28°54.91/W088°22.0293 (in the area known as the Mississippi Canyon 252) from the sea floor of the Gulf of Mexico to the sea surface.

The court found it in the interest of the public to protect the search area and any evidence located in the area against intentional or unintentional loss, the order said.
It ordered the United States to inform the public and advise all known parties capable of intruding into the security zone.

In accordance with the order, the Department of Justice has informed those companies known to have the means and equipment to do so not to enter the security zone.

The order will be enforced by the United States using the full range of security assets available, including vessels, aircraft or other appropriate means and equipment.

The security zone will remain in place until Oct. 8, 2011 unless renewed for good cause, the court ordered.

Download the kmz files created by Marine GeoGarage to display the following NOAA charts with Google Earth :

• ENC.kmz (103.4 MB) : with rasterized ENC US2GC12M, US2GC14M, US2GC15M, US2GC16M and US1GC09M
• RNC.kmz (150.5 MB) : with RNC 11006, 11360, 11340, and 411

Learn to use nautical charts and compass for navigation

Demo for Coastal & Offshore skipper from NauticaLive
Sailing Lessons

From NewsPress

A nautical chart is a "road map" to waterways where you take your boat.
It has a compass rose to give you a true bearing in which to steer your boat.

We plot or read our charts in true north.
However, our compass on board will always point to magnetic north.
This is the magnetic pull of the earth.

The difference between true north and magnetic north is called variation.
Variation alternates depending on your geographic location.
To determine the variation, look at the rose on your chart.
It will show the degree of variation and indicate if it is east or west.

The formula for converting magnetic north to true north is T-V-M-D-C.
T is for true course, V for variation, M for magnetic course, D is for deviation (this is the effect of the magnetic pull of your vessel) and C for compass course.

Deviation can be affected by something as simple as a screwdriver or a set of keys laying alongside your compass.
The compass course is the course you steer.

For example:

• True: 75 degrees
• Variation: 15 degrees west
• Magnetic: +15 degrees equals 90 degrees
• Deviation: -3 degrees east
• Course: 87 degrees. This is the course you will steer.

As you work down the equation, add west and subtract east on both variation and deviation.

An easy way to remember this: east is least, or minus; west is best, or plus.

Most of us cruising on the Caloosahatchee, Pine Island Sound, Matlacha Pass or the Gulf of Mexico use landmarks, bridges, markers or buoys to come and go to our destination.

However, you could get caught in fog, rain or darkness, resulting in limited visibility.
Then, you will have to depend on your charts and compass to navigate.
If you steer a compass course without correcting true north from magnetic north in our example, you would have been 13 degrees off course.

This would put you in trouble anywhere in this area, except way out in the Gulf.

Learning to navigate can be challenging.
It can seem like there is a lot to learn, but with practice, mastering the art of navigation is very rewarding.

Learn the ins and outs of seamanship by taking the courses given by the Cape Coral Power Squadron, located at 917 SE 47th Terrace. For more information, call 549-9754.

Links : Sailing & Boating Lessons (videos) from NauticaLive

• Application of variations : 2 / 3 / 4
• Applying distance : 1
• Cardinal marks : 2 / 3
• Doubling angle : 1
• Chart symbols : 1
• Measuring distance : 1
• Natural features : 1
• Navigation terms : 1
• Reviewing the marks : 1
• Running fix : introduction / plotting
• Safer water marks : 1
• Sound signals : 1 / 2
• Special marks : 1
• Vessel fishing : 1
• Vessel mine clearing : 1
• Anchoring one anchor : 1

Chart number on the coverage layer

Raster charts coverage with map number for Australia

Right now, each nautical maps layer proposes a new feature to display the reference (number) for all the raster charts issued from each international Hydrographic Service.
To activate this feature, select the map layer and click on the 'coverage' button to see the different geographical areas.

This feature is available whatever you are logged in or not.

For 'private' layers depending on royalties to Hydrographic Services (UK & misc., Canada, Australia...), this allows the user to know exactly what he buys, subscribing to a 'Premium Charts' account.

Breath of the ocean

Have a look to this surface temperature animation from Mercator Ocean new hourly frequency model. This incredibly figures out two cycles : tide movement in the Atlantic Ocean and the diurnal cycle. This animation represents the sea surface temperature with a 2km grid ocean model during the two weeks (spring 2010).

From MercatorOcean (MyOcean project)

Gibraltar Strait is of major importance, oceanographically, strategically...
There colder Atlantic Ocean waters enter the warmer Mediterranean Sea. Sea Surface Temperature shows all the wealth of marine features that can be seen in this area.

The "entry" to the Mediterranean is the Gibraltar Strait.
There, cold water Atlantic waters enter the warmer Mediterranean Sea.
Depending on the season, in the Alboran Sea just East of Gibraltar, one or two gyre(s) (semi-permanent eddies) can be seen; in Summer, a warm (anticyclonic) one at the very beginning of the Alboran Sea, and another one just after, also anticyclonic but slightly less warm.
Further East, there is a zone of intense activity along the Algerian coast.
Eddies and meanders in the Algerian Current are among the most turbulent features of the Mediterranean-but some are more stable.

The Sea Surface Temperature is one of the important physical quantities proposed by MyOcean, from observations as well as from models.
It is sensitive to the difference between night and day (the Sun warming the upper layer of the ocean). With an hourly frequency, the pulse of those daily variations can be seen.

The Sea Surface Temperature is of foremost use in meteorology and climate forecasts (e.g. the Mediterranean Coast of France know every beginning of Autumn heavy rainfalls linked to the Sea temperature; seasonal forecasts won't be possible without ocean temperature...).
Life in the water is also driven by temperature, with phytoplankton more abundant where the temperature is low, etc.

Ever since ancient times, the Mediterranean Sea has occupied a vital place in the lives of the peoples on its shores.
It is also a sea of mystery.
According to the myths of Ulysses and Jason, the Greeks' voyages of adventure took them to the four corners of the Mediterranean, from the Pillars of Hercules in the west (Gibraltar) to Hellespont in the east (Dardanelles).
In later years the Mediterranean linked the various parts of the vast Roman Empire.
Indeed, such was the Romans' dominance on all sides of the Mediterranean basin that they called it "our sea" (Mare Nostrum).
And it was here that Orient met Occident as Islam and Christianity fought to wrest this strategic prize from each other's grasp.
Today, it is one of the world's main commercial routes.
Oceanography programs have been set up to study its movements and its fragile ecosystem.
These programs rely on satellite and in situ observations, and on ocean models, merging a wealth data to piece together the Mediterranean puzzle.

Michel Desjoyeaux’s new challenge

Get on board !

As soon as the boat was launched, Michel Desjoyeaux and Dassault Systèmes found a way

to invite the largest audience possible to visit their boat in 3D.

From Dassault Systems

Michel Desjoyeaux, France's most successful solo yachtsman, is impassioned not only by sailing and competition but also by technology and innovation.

At the beginning of 2010, Michel Desjoyeaux set a new challenge for himself: construct a new 60 ft monohull in order to vie for victory in the Route du Rhum (a transatlantic solo yacht race that begins next Sunday, October 31, 2010) and the Barcelona World Race (two-handed, non-stop, round the world race starting December 31, 2010).
Although it normally takes 10 months to design this type of boat, Michel Desjoyeaux has less than 6 months to construct his new monohull and develop the technical innovations that will permit him to distance himself from his competitors.
In other words, a never-before-seen in such a short time!

Trained by Dassault Systèmes engineers, the team at Michel Desjoyeaux's engineering and design studio, Mer Forte, was able to conceive and realize numerous innovations during the design phases and the construction of the sailboat.
This particularly allowed them to fine tune and perfect the kinematics of the keel/jack assembly.
The CATIA software feature that calculates the finished elements of complex composite parts made the quick optimization and validation of major parts such as the rudder housings, the tiller system and even the boom (saving a significant amount of weight) much easier.

His love for sailing is matched by his desire to conceive and develop the boats that he sails.

Sharing this passion with the general public is a part of the challenge he has set for himself.
Click here for a 3D tour of the boat in real time

Links :

Quite real the background animated image of the Rivages2012 website
(shipyard building the new IMOCA 60' for Bernard Stamm)