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Virtual Cruise II
United States Training Ship Golden Bear
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Status August 6, 2002
En-route to Los Angeles, California from Nuku Hiva, French Marquesas
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Total Distance:
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2,933.7 nm
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Projected Time:
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11 Days 9 hours 30 min at 10.7 knots
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Time Remaining:
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8 Days 17 hours
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Comments:
Last night at about 2100 hours, the ship crossed from the southern hemisphere into the northern
hemisphere at 0˚ of latitude. The earth is divided in half between the north pole and the south pole and the line that separates the two parts is called the equator.
It is a significant change for a ship at sea. Weather patterns and currents move much
differently in the northern hemisphere than in the southern hemisphere. The days start to get longer as we move into the northern summer. In just a few more days, we will move
directly under the sun as it moves in it path toward the south and the southern summer.
On the equator the winds become light as much of the air movement is upward. The warm ocean
(today 80˚) causes the air above it to warm and rise. This area of convergence is called the inter-tropical convergence zone (ITCZ), where air from the northern tropics
and the southern tropics meet, having no where to go, the air ascends. This rising warm air creates large cumulus and cumulonimbus clouds. The sky can be very beautiful, but morning
and afternoon showers are frequent.
The equator is a pleasant experience after many days in the windy trades. It is nice on a
motor ship, but back in the days of sail, ships could be in a calm for weeks around the equator or the doldrums. We will soon change our climate again and enter the north east
trades.
Vessel Data
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Time Zone:
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+9 (9 hours behind Greenwich Mean Time)
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Length of Day:
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24 hours
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Local Time of Position:
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1200
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Latitude:
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02-25.5' N
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Longitude:
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133°-59.0' W
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Total Distance Gone:
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1583.3 nm
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Distance Gone Today:
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272.8 nm
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Distance to Go:
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2150.6 nm
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Current Speed:
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11.5 kts
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Course:
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027°
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Engine Setting:
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Port - 72 rpm.
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Weather Data
Observations:
We are Keeping a close eye on Tropical Depression Seven-E which is
approximately 1000 nm SW of Baja California. It is currently moving to the NW at 11 kts and is expected to briefly intensify to Tropical Storm
category before dissipating over cooler water sometime on the 8th. Currently, Seven-E will pass several hundred miles ahead of us and
posses no threat, just an interesting project for the day meteorologist.
Forecast:
Tomorrow we should see winds out of the SE at 15 kts. Over the next
few days they will ease to around 10 kts as they veer to S. Seas will be out of the SE at 5-7 ft. As we approach the ITCZ we are expecting
scattered towering cumulus and cumulonimbus clouds, so expect to work for those celestial observations for the next few days. Just as
the side note, the GPS has been turned off, so happy navi-guessing. There is also a tropical depression to the NE, however we expect to pass well clear of its path.
Meteorologists Freeman Stamp & Robin Llewellyn
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Air Temperature:
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89° F
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Barometer:
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1009.0 mb
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Humidity:
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66%
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Wind:
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SE 17 kts.
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Clouds:
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Cumulus
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Seas:
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E 5 ft.
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Sea Temperature:
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80° F
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Water Depth:
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4198 M
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Sunrise:
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0547
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Sunset:
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1809
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Aboard The T.S.G.B. Day: 46
  
The routine of life at sea continues. The Golden Bear needs continual
maintenance to keep equipment and decks in good repair. Day workers are taking advantage of the fair weather to chip paint from the anchor
windlass and aft decks. An equilibrium must be struck between rain and sun when on a ship. Too many days of sun (good for painting) and
corrosive salt begins adhering to every exterior surface. Too much rain and we can't attend to the corrosion that has occurred due to the salt,
but it does wash the salt off so we can paint... on and on.
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Our lifeboats need constant cleaning, inventory and maintenance to ensure
they are ready in case we ever need them.
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The cadet meteorologist and radio officer take a
moment from their weather observation to say...
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Visiting students from CSUMB, involved in the Study at Sea program,
are sending email over amateur radio from the Golden Bear's communications room. This is done using a transceiver, a pactor
modem, and a computer to control the setup. The amateur radio program has been going to sea with the Golden Bear for four years.
The program covers simple communications such as Morse code and voice as well as digital communications such as pactor and PSK31.
Students have successfully made phone calls over radio, sent pictures, multitudes of email, and even talked with a 767 flying into Anchorage
while off the coast of Australia. The program is aimed at preparing students to take the amateur licensing exam. WB6IWB has been the
ham radio call for the Golden Bear and it Amateur radio club for over 40 years.
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