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Virtual Cruise II
United States Training Ship Golden Bear
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Status July 1, 2002 En-route to Suva, Fiji from Honolulu, Hawaii
Total Distance: |
2,792.5 nm |
Projected Time: |
9 Days 18 Hours 30 Minutes |
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Comments: The day greeted us with a horizon interrupted by numerous small islands and rain squalls. We are now
in Fijian waters, more specifically the Nanuku Passage in the Koro Sea. The larger of the Fijian islands, Vanua Levu, has been to our starboard for most of the day. For the past couple of days, we have been preparing ourselves for Arrival: Suva. We have double and triple
checked the coastal and harbor charts for the correct courses and we have calculated the tides and currents we will encounter in Suva Harbor. The Suva Harbormaster and other Fijian officials have been notified of our
arrival, and all of our customs and immigration documents have been prepared so that the vessel may be 'cleared' as soon as possible after our arrival. We have also read the Sailing Directions (en route) which describes
in great detail the characteristics of the harbor, the docks, weather, and navigational aids in the area. And finally, we have dusted off the Fijian flag, which we will fly on our halyard as a courtesy when we are in
Suva.
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Vessel Data |
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Time Zone:
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-12 (12 hours ahead of Greenwich Mean Time)
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Local Time of Position:
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1200
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Latitude:
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16°-49.3'S
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Longitude:
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179°-16.0'W
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Total Distance Gone:
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2,615.8 nm
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24 Hr. Distance:
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234.1.0 nm
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Distance to Go:
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180.3 nm
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Current Speed:
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9.1 kts.
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Engine Speed:
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55 rpm. Starboard Engine
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Weather |
Observation: Overcast with light rain. Mammatus clouds, which are associated with waterspout or tornado development, were briefly sighted late this
morning. |
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Air Temperature:
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Humidity:
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Wind:
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Clouds:
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Seas:
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Sea Temperature:
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Water Depth:
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Sunrise:
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Sunset:
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80° F
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85%
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East'ly 8 kts.
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Nimbostratus
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calm
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80° F
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3000 M
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0624
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1827
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Forecast: Folks we are in Fijian waters, but the weather is not looking so good. As stated yesterday we are sliding past a cold front to our East. It is
to be expected that we will see continuing squally weather throughout the day on into the night. This cold front and it associated low-pressure zone are slowly heading eastward but are still providing us with a high probability of rain
during our stint in port. This same system may also provide us with increasing seas and swells from the South as we head for port. Even though this may be true we are to expect rather mild temperatures with a high in the
low 80’s and a low in the lower 70’s. From previous experience last cruise rain was also predicted for this relatively dry season in Fiji, but we lucked-out and received perfect weather. In other words, don’t let this
report get your hopes down, for this front may pass us with vary little precipitation. Meteorologist Joshua Ellis
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