01 Jun The Musicians Seamounts
This is Clay’s May 31 blog entry.
M/V Starr is currently sailing through an area defined on nautical charts as the “Musicians Seamounts”. The average depth in this part of the Pacific is about 17,000 feet, but some of these seamounts rise to a depth of 5,200 feet. The field of seamounts runsg South to North along our course. Our position as of noon Thursday, May31 is 31-03N 160-03W and we are passing a bit East of Brahms Seamounts. The seas have appropriately calmed down. Fortunately we are well away from the Rachmaninoff Seamount and nowhere near the Wagner Seamount. Of course the sea state is for the most part related to our position relative to the North Pacific High, but one can get imaginative during the 0300-0600 watch. Actually, the seamounts do affect the sea state. Yesterday, Don noted at one point that our speed had decreased from an average of 8.2 knots to about 7.5 and suggested that perhaps we were fighting an ocean current that was accelerated by water being forced to flow over and around a seamount. I will watch our speed as we pass over the next seamount. Monitoring our position is a piece of cake on this vessel. Our estimate is that we have about 18 GPS units aboard, and there are probably a few more. Makes me wonder how electronic navigation will evolve and what we can expect. Seems to me that at sometime soon the chart plotter will have real-time satellite video looking down at our vessel moving over the ocean with chart data overlaid on the screen. I will zoom in to see myself looking at the chart plotter screen. Zooming in further shows the chart plotter screen, showing me looking at the screen. Hopefully we don’t evolve to virtual sailing.
Crossing the Pacific aboard Starr is a pure delight and very different from any sailing I have done before. Don and Sharry are gracious and caring hosts. We are moving into cooler water and air, but we are wearing shorts and T shirts and sleeping in dry bunks. Life is Goo!
M/V Starr is currently sailing through an area defined on nautical charts as the “Musicians Seamounts”. The average depth in this part of the Pacific is about 17,000 feet, but some of these seamounts rise to a depth of 5,200 feet. The field of seamounts runsg South to North along our course. Our position as of noon Thursday, May31 is 31-03N 160-03W and we are passing a bit East of Brahms Seamounts. The seas have appropriately calmed down. Fortunately we are well away from the Rachmaninoff Seamount and nowhere near the Wagner Seamount. Of course the sea state is for the most part related to our position relative to the North Pacific High, but one can get imaginative during the 0300-0600 watch. Actually, the seamounts do affect the sea state. Yesterday, Don noted at one point that our speed had decreased from an average of 8.2 knots to about 7.5 and suggested that perhaps we were fighting an ocean current that was accelerated by water being forced to flow over and around a seamount. I will watch our speed as we pass over the next seamount. Monitoring our position is a piece of cake on this vessel. Our estimate is that we have about 18 GPS units aboard, and there are probably a few more. Makes me wonder how electronic navigation will evolve and what we can expect. Seems to me that at sometime soon the chart plotter will have real-time satellite video looking down at our vessel moving over the ocean with chart data overlaid on the screen. I will zoom in to see myself looking at the chart plotter screen. Zooming in further shows the chart plotter screen, showing me looking at the screen. Hopefully we don’t evolve to virtual sailing.
Crossing the Pacific aboard Starr is a pure delight and very different from any sailing I have done before. Don and Sharry are gracious and caring hosts. We are moving into cooler water and air, but we are wearing shorts and T shirts and sleeping in dry bunks. Life is Goo!
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