GULFSTREAM CROSSINGS An Ocean and Weather Briefing Dane

GULFSTREAM CROSSINGS An Ocean and Weather Briefing Dane and Jenifer Clark

Warm Eddy Formation, stable instabilities, rower stuck in eddy •

Cold Eddy formation, last up to 2 years, runaway barge •

OCEAN FEATURE MOVEMENTS OVER TIME

Miami WERA Surface Currents

ALTIMETRY ANOMALY ANALYSIS SHOWING EDDY SEA HEIGHT ABOVE AND BELOW MEAN

DELFT OCEAN CURRENT MODEL From Satellite Altimetry Data

UMASS/Harvard Model

UMASS/Harvard Model Vectors/SST’s

WEATHER DOMINATES OCEAN FOR 1982 NEWPORT RACE! • 1982 was a spectacular race that was postponed for 2 days due to weather

UNUSUALLY CLEAR IMAGERY FOR MARION RACE 1997

OCEAN FEATURES ANALYSIS FOR PREVIOUS IMAGE

MARION BERMUDA 1997 SUGGESTED ROUTES

Tori Murden’s victory row across Atlantic Ocean, first woman to solo Atlantic East to West, 1999 •

Hazardous Gulfstream Weather

Tropical Cyclone Formation Regions

Gulfstream Waterspouts

1998 WHITBREAD ROUTES, GALE FORCE WINDS OPPOSING CURRENT

Square wave pattern the result of wind opposing ocean current

GULFSTREAM HAZARD SCALE (SQUARE-WAVE CONDITIONS) CAT RISK* WN/OP/CUR 1 LOW 20 -25 KTS FETCH SIG WV HEIGHT EXWAVES 1 DAY 5 -10 FEET > 15 FEET 2 MODERATE 20 -25 KTS 2 -3+ DAYS 8 -15 FEET > 20 FEET 3 HIGH 25 -35 KTS 1 DAY 2 -3+ DAYS 13 -18 FEET 15 -25 FEET > 30 FEET > 40 FEET 4 VERY HIGH 35 -45 KTS 1 DAY 2 -3+ DAYS 20 -30 FEET 25 -35 FEET > 50 FEET > 60 FEET 5 EXTREME 1 DAY 2 -3+ DAYS 30 -45 FEET 35 -50 FEET >70 FEET >80 FEET 45 -60+ KTS RISK - PROBABILITY OF ENCOUNTERING AN EXTREME WAVE WITH A “SQUARE WAVE” OR STEEP-FACE STRUCTURE (A RECOGNIZED HAZARD TO NAVIGATION) WN/OP/CUR – WIND OPPOSING CURRENT (BOTH MAIN GULFSTREAM AND EDDIES) FETCH – DISTANCE AND DURATION OF THE WIND PATTERN SIG WV HEIGHT – SIGNIFICANT WAVE HEIGHT (INTERNATIONAL SCALE) EXWAVES – EXTREME WAVE POTENTIAL AFTER SEVERAL HOURS IN THESE CONDITIONS

Norwegian Dawn Apr 05– MIA to NY

GULFSTREAM HAZARD SCALE (SQUARE-WAVE CONDITIONS) CAT RISK* WN/OP/CUR 1 LOW 20 -25 KTS FETCH SIG WV HEIGHT EXWAVES 1 DAY 5 -10 FEET > 15 FEET 2 MODERATE 20 -25 KTS 2 -3+ DAYS 8 -15 FEET > 20 FEET 3 HIGH 25 -35 KTS 1 DAY 2 -3+ DAYS 13 -18 FEET 15 -25 FEET > 30 FEET > 40 FEET 4 VERY HIGH 35 -45 KTS 1 DAY 2 -3+ DAYS 20 -30 FEET 25 -35 FEET > 50 FEET > 60 FEET 5 EXTREME 1 DAY 2 -3+ DAYS 30 -45 FEET 35 -50 FEET >70 FEET >80 FEET 45 -60+ KTS RISK - PROBABILITY OF ENCOUNTERING AN EXTREME WAVE WITH A “SQUARE WAVE” OR STEEP-FACE STRUCTURE (A RECOGNIZED HAZARD TO NAVIGATION) WN/OP/CUR – WIND OPPOSING CURRENT (BOTH MAIN GULFSTREAM AND EDDIES) FETCH – DISTANCE AND DURATION OF THE WIND PATTERN SIG WV HEIGHT – SIGNIFICANT WAVE HEIGHT (INTERNATIONAL SCALE) EXWAVES – EXTREME WAVE POTENTIAL AFTER SEVERAL HOURS IN THESE CONDITIONS

April 07 - Storm – Sub. Trop Andrea 4 boats lost, 9 rescued, 4 died, 21 containers overboard

April 2007

Extreme Wave

Wrong Place – Wrong Time!!