Chatter - Ocean Navigator

Flexibility Enhances Solar Panels

Gavin Johnson was walking the aisles at the Vancouver Boat show when he came across an intriguing display. The owner of Ocean Performance, a yacht refit and repair company in Victoria, B.C., stopped in the Open Waters Solar booth to take a closer look at the company’s solar panels. “We got to chatting and I think I had three projects that we were working on with other solar panel manufacturers,” said Johnson. “The thing that really stood out was that no one else was making composite laminated solar panels.” Ocean Performance was working on a cabin top for a catamaran…

New Website Provides Sea Level Data

The U.S. Interagency Task Force on Sea Level Change and the U.S. Global Change Research Program have launched the U.S. Sea Level Change website. The new platform represents the first government-based resource for coastal residents and decision-makers on sea-level rise projections. The site provides research on sea-level change with educational content on how and why ocean levels are rising its impacts and actions that can be taken. “This resource puts the latest federal science on sea-level rise at people’s fingertips and helps identify, understand and address risks,” said Dr. Jane Lubchenco, Ph.D., deputy director for climate and environment at the…

PredictWind Unveils New Weather Forecasting Feature

Every potential new cruising destination has preferred times of the year that make it more appealing for visiting. Wind strengths differ, chances of storms are higher or lower and the overall climate can be more or less inviting. PredictWind, a wellknown marine weather forecasting service in Auckland, New Zealand, has introduced a new Climate Data feature that it says can provide sailors and mariners the information to make smarter decisions about the best times to travel to a given location. Climate Data offers month-to-month insights into average, wind, wave and weather conditions for any location worldwide. Tom Tursi, president of…

Real-Time Ocean Data Enhances Hurricane Forecasting Accuracy

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s National Hurricane Center has partnered with a new technology provider to improve early warning systems for extreme weather events. Sofar Ocean makes ocean-data capturing sensors and has partnered with the National Mesonet Program, KBR and Synoptic Data PBC to supply real-time ocean sensor data to the NHC. The collaboration provides the center with ocean temperatures and atmospheric data, improving early warning systems for extreme weather events. Deployed in oceans around the world, Sofar’s spotter buoys deliver data on wave activity, wind sea surface temperature and atmospheric pressure. The buoys are airdropped into the paths…

Ocean Navigator Contributor Alan Littell Dies

Alan Littell, a longtime contributor to Ocean Navigator, died Oct. 12 at the age of 95. For more than 40 years, Littell wrote travel articles for publications ranging from The New York Times to Travel & Leisure magazine to Ocean Navigator. His work regularly appeared in The Buffalo News, The Rochester Democrat and Chronicle and the Olean Times Herald. For 10 years, Littell was travel editor of The Hornell Sunday Spectator. He also wrote essays and opinion columns for The Ocean and Hornell newspapers and his hometown weekly, The Alfred Sun. Littell began his newspaper career as a reporter for…

Lessons learned from first Global Solo Challenge

The inaugural 2023-2024 Global Solo Challenge race ended with second place finisher Cole Brauer becoming the first American woman to sail solo, nonstop, unassisted around the world via the capes. As the organizers gear up for the second race in 2027-2028, it’s worth looking at the format and lessons learned, especially at what the organizers have done to address issues that plagued the first run. Out of 16 starting boats, only seven finished the course, taking from four months to 277 days. GSC handicaps are applied at the beginning of the race, there are no classes and the first boat…

Jolly Harbour Marina Adds High-Capacity Travelift

Hoping to bring in service work for the growing large catamaran market, Jolly Harbour Marina & Boatyard in Antigua and Barbuda has added a new haul-out facility and a new 85FFMII mobile hoist from Marine Travelift. The vehicle has a capacity of approximately 187,392 pounds. The facility was built in 1992 and has grown over the years with ownership changing hands twice. Current management says it is maintaining its dedication to investing in up-to-date equipment and having well-trained personnel, many of whom have been with the marina for more than a decade. “The recently purchased boat hoist was also part…

Investigation into Superyacht Sinking Ongoing

At about 5 a.m. local time on August 19, the 184-foot superyacht, The Bayesian, sank in bad weather off the coast of Palermo, Italy. It’s estimated that the sailing yacht was at anchor or idling when it was hit by a microburst or water spout. Seven people on board were killed including British tech magnate Mike Lynch and his daughter, according to the National Public Radio website. In the days following the incident, Italian prosecutors revealed they had opened an investigation into culpable shipwreck and multiple manslaughter, but added that no suspect has been identified. “We are only in the…

New HP Watermaker Unveiled at Cannes

HP Watermakers launched a new series of compact watermakers at the Cannes Yachting Festival. The HP SCA Double series ranges from 63 gallons per hour to 1,200 gph. “A great technical innovation, the new HP SCA Double series, which greatly reduces the size of the desalination units in the engine room and two important new entries in the “Together We Boat’ strategic alliance,” said Gianni Zucco, co-founder of HP Watermakers, in a statement. “These two strategic partners, Mapei Marine and Feit Pompe, will complete the range of our offer.” HP Watermakers says its RP Tronic system eliminates the need for…

BoatUS to Remove Derelict Boats

The BoatUS Foundation for Boating Safety and Clean Water is seeking a panel of volunteers who will serve as peer reviewers to evaluate applications for Abandoned and Derelict Vessel removal grants between December 2024 and July 2025. The foundation has been awarded a four-year, $10 million grant from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Marine Debris Program with funding provided by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to clean up and improve safety along coastal areas by removing abandoned and damaged boats from the nation’s waterways including the Great Lakes. Reviewers will be part of the effort to improve the environment and…