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IMOCA 60 BPVIII : foil lessons


In the IMOCA class, the transition to foils was a logical evolution.

The first change was to tilt the keel axis (keel rotation axis angled with respect to the water plane of the boat, typically angles between 4 and 9° with the new one design keel IMOCA) to create an angle attack on the keel and thus sustain the boat. The direct consequence of this angle of tilt is the lose of righting moment because the force is applied windward.
The continuity of this philosophy was to work on the foils to regain the righting moment lost by the keel (the faster geos the boat, the more vertical forces are created by the keel and foil and then even faster goes the boat).
All the VPLP-Verdier 60 foot signed in 2015 will all be equipped with foils.
Each team has a specific brief for these foils, so that each pair of foil will be specific.
The six new IMOCA fleet will be very rich for this new page in the offshore racing monohull story.
We already know that there will be a significant gain in speed; the foils could win two days on a Vendée Globe.
The real gains will be for reaching and downwind sailing.
Upwind, it will be more complicated, but it's only represent 10% on a Vendée Globe.

And what next?
What developments could result from the emergence of these new appendages ? ...
The foils "enlarge virtually" from a significant amount the hull beam.
Why not reduce the beams of the boats? ...
To be continued ... "


Posted by geogarage at 1:15 AM No comments: Links to this post 

Australia AHS update in the Marine GeoGarage Australia AHS layer coverage

2 charts have been added and 54 charts have been updated in the Marine GeoGarage
(AHS update NtM 25/2014 19/12/2014)

Today 466 AHS raster charts (789 including sub-charts) are included in the Marine GeoGarage viewer.

Note : AHS updates their nautical charts with corrections published in:
Australian Notices to Mariners
Posted by geogarage at 5:59 PM No comments: Links to this post 
HMS Enterprise spots underwater mountains These stunning images of what appears to be two large mountains are actually underwater scans of the seabed off the coast of Northern Africa.

From RoyalNavy

Captured by one of the Royal Navy’s survey ships HMS Enterprise, the larger of the two seamounts, the technical name for underwater mountains, was measured at 1100m which is taller than Mount Snowden. They have been spotted previously with the ship’s specialist equipment,
but they are now firmly on the map.
(Able Seaman Stephen Martin)

The second, which is just a fraction shorter at 930m, is tall enough to find a place inside England’s top ten peaks.

Though intriguing, the two seamounts pose very real dangers to shipping.
It is really special to know that you’re helping merchant vessels safely navigate around the world.

Using a hydrographic multi-beam echo sounder to send out multiple beams simultaneously, the ship’s expert team can create this incredibly detailed result.

Able Seaman Stephen Martin, one of the ship’s hydrographic trainees, said: “It was amazing to see such massive natural features under what looks like a flat calm and peaceful ocean.
“For me, it is really special to know that you’re helping merchant vessels safely navigate around the world.”

The hydrographic survey ship, which is usually based in Plymouth, gathers and processes hydrographic and oceanographic data for planning and operational purposes.

In addition this data will be dispatched to the UK Hydrographic Office for analysis and inclusion into navigational charts and other navigational safety publications.

Since she left the United Kingdom in June 2014, HMS Enterprise has been busy mapping some of the busiest shipping lanes and maritime choke-points in world, including the Suez Canal, the Bab el Mandeb Straits and the Strait of Hormuz.

After a minor refit in Bahrain, home to the United Kingdom’s Maritime Component Commander in the Middle East, the survey ship returned to sea to continue with important oceanographic work, helping scientists from around the world conduct climate modeling tests and making navigation safer for seafarers. 

UK & misc. update in the Marine GeoGarage Today 952 charts (1816 including sub-charts) from UKHO
are available in the 'UK & misc.' chart layer
regrouping charts for different countries :
1 chart has been added (3764) 634 charts for UK 24 charts for Argentina : 27 charts for Belgium & Nederlands : 13 charts for Croatia : 7 charts for Oman : 126 charts for Spain & Portugal :
(1 chart added, 3764) 14 charts for Iceland : 48 charts for South Africa : 5 charts for Malta : 55 international charts from NGA

Don't forget to visit the UKHO Notices to Mariners : NTM for 2015

UKHO chart catalogue availability

So today, for a cost of 9.9 € / month ('Premium Charts' subscription), you can have access to 2589 additional updated charts (4333 including sub-charts) coming from 3 international Hydrographic Services (UKHO, CHS, AHS and France).

Posted by geogarage at 2:25 PM No comments: Links to this post 
S@iLink, stay connected at sea ! Official launch of the 4G system for Internet access in coastal areas
Datasheet / Doc
Price : 923 EUR (ext VAT)

S@iLink (update : now called NeptuLink) aims to satisfy the broadband IP communication needs of users on board ships and various vessels in coastal areas (fishing boats, yachts, research vessels, wind farms, coast guard & sea rescue vessels…,) as well as in port areas.
It brings to your ship super fast internet access up to 100 Mbits/s, with ship-to-shore communication in a radius of approximately 20 nautical miles (37 km).

S@iLink is comprised of a transmitter-receiver with two antennas.
Installed on a boat, the terminals connect to 4G networks (frequency bands 1, 3, 7, 8 and 20), thus allowing communications at over 100 Mbits/s for distances up to 20 nautical miles.
If the terminal is not in an area with 4G coverage, it is able to fall back on less advanced technology (UMTS and then GSM) to stay connected.

The system lets you connect a PC transparently via its Ethernet connection so that it can directly access a high-bandwidth IP network.
The same Ethernet connection can also be connected directly to a Wi-Fi router, which will provide access to a wireless broadband network for everyone on board. A good way at sea to stay tuned to the Marine GeoGarage

With its reinforced mechanics, the S@iLink is made for the maritime environment, and is designed to withstand humidity and salt spray.
Depending on sea conditions, the vessel may be subject to pitching and rolling motions.
In order to maintain optimal communication, regardless of the movement of the boat on which the system is installed, the antenna radiation pattern needed to be optimized.

S@iLink is a result of two years of research in MVG in partnership with Thales Communications & Security, Alcatel-Lucent, Déti, Telecom Bretagne, supported by the two innovation hubs, "Images & Réseaux" and "Mer Bretagne Atlantique" (project TMS).
Posted by geogarage at 1:31 AM 1 comment: Links to this post 
Prototype maritime autonomy system completes first self-guided voyage

2014 ACTUV Leidos Video from Leidos Inc
Anti-Submarine Warfare (ASW) Continuous Trail Unmanned Vessel (ACTUV)
"Sea Hunter",  an unmanned vessel equipped with a prototype maritime autonomy system has been developed to counter the threat of potential asymmetric attacks.

From Leidos

Leidos, a national security, health, and engineering solutions company, announced today that its prototype maritime autonomy system for the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA)'s Anti-Submarine Warfare Continuous Trail Unmanned Vessel (ACTUV) program recently completed its first self-guided voyage between Gulfport and Pascagoula, Mississippi. The prototype maritime autonomy system was installed on a 42-foot work boat that served as a surrogate vessel to test sensor, maneuvering, and mission functions of the prototype ACTUV vessel. ACTUV seeks to develop an independently deployed, unmanned naval vessel that would operate under sparse remote supervisory control and safely follow the collision avoidance "rules of the sea" known as COLREGS. A command station allows one operator to monitor the activities of multiple ACTUVs simultaneously

Controlled only by the autonomy system, and with only a navigational chart of the area loaded into its memory and inputs from its commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) radars, the surrogate vessel successfully sailed the complicated inshore environment of the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway.

Once close to the target, focused sonar takes an acoustic image of the submarine so ACTUV's sophisticated logic can classify it

During its voyage of 35 nautical miles, the maritime autonomy system functioned as designed.
The boat avoided all obstacles, buoys, land, shoal water, and other vessels in the area – all without any preplanned waypoints or human intervention.

While Leidos continues to use the surrogate vessel to test ACTUV software and sensors, the company is continuing construction of Sea Hunter, the first ACTUV prototype vessel, in Clackamas, Oregon.
Sea Hunter is scheduled to launch in late fall 2015 and begin testing in the Columbia River shortly thereafter.
Posted by geogarage at 1:24 AM 1 comment: Links to this post 

A floating artificial reef would let you walk down into the ocean deep

Biodivercity, Ocean Awareness Zoo
Bustler for more about BIODIVER[CITY].

From Gizmodo by Kelsey Campbell-Dollaghan

This month, a grim study in the journal Science reported what we've feared for decades: That the ocean may "be sitting on a precipice of a major extinction event," in the words of one author.
There's a colossal amount of work to be done if we want to turn it around—including reclaiming habitats, which is the goal of this ambitious proposal by three young architects.
Of course, one of the best ways we can do this is by reducing carbon emissions and ocean acidification, a horrifying phenomenon in which CO2 is actually changing the chemistry of our oceans to make them toxic to sea life.
But there are plenty of smaller measures that can help, like the reclamation of habitats for ecosystems that once thrived naturally.
Artificial reefs have been around for centuries, of course, but in this case we're talking about a kind of reef that's built not as a defensive measure for cities or ports, but as a proactive way to help life flourish anew in areas that were once natural habitats.

These reefs can take a huge range of forms, which is what makes them so cool.
Sea life, like all life, really, is incredibly adaptable and resilient.

Disposing of old subway cars in the ocean creates habitats for marine life and supports recreational fishing.
New York City Transit has provided more than 2,500 retired subway cars to several states along the east coast of the U.S.A. Before the cars are 'buried' at sea, they are stripped of potential environmental contaminants and then steam-cleaned.

Most artificial reefs take the form of sunken industrial remains or old ships, but there are also fascinating aberrations, like Florida's Neptune Reef—which is both a mausoleum for cremated remains and a thriving eco-habitat, as our sister site io9 reported last year—or the artificial reefs created by dumping decommissioned subway cars into the ocean.

And then there's this proposal, from a trio of French and Romanian architects named Quentin Perchet, Thomas Yvon and Zarko Uzlac, who won one of the Jacques Rougerie Foundation's International Architecture Competition laureate awards this week.
Ignore the name—BIODIVER[CITY]—and focus on the renderings, which show a huge floating platform that's accessed via boat on the surface.
Below it, hundreds of tubular struts hand down into the ocean, serving as a place to cling for the coral and other microorganisms that thrive on reefs. According to the architects, the idea is to allow visitors to this natural "zoo" to descend deeper into the reef to observe how the ecosystem changes as you move further away from the surface.
At the top, you might see larger mammals like dolphins and small fish, but as you descend into the circular tunnels that hang from the floating mega-structure, you'll see less common species, which the architects describe as "creatures of another time." Of course, this is just a concept.
It's easy to imagine that such a structure could have a negative environmental impact—hey, is that a cruise ship in one rendering?!—but it's still an interesting (and beautiful) take on an idea that needs as much public support as it can get. Another more realistic new development in this fight comes from a group of marine biologists who argue that the mega-structures that can promote habitat reclamation already exist in the ocean—in the form of our aging oil rigs.
In some cases, they argue, rich ecosystems already exist beneath the surface of these hulking steel machines, and they ought to be left standing in place to benefit the sea life that's already sprung up around them.

Posted by geogarage at 1:31 AM No comments: Links to this post 

How the fishermen of a tiny Irish island tackled the EU's big bureaucracy

Fishing for a future (Euronews)
Will Europe manage to save its fish stocks?
And what will happen to the fishermen?
Do Irish fishermen have a future?

From Worldcrunch by Eric Albert

The battle is not totally over, and total victory remains uncertain.
But the fishermen from Arranmore have managed to make Brussels sway.
This handful of diehard Irish fishermen is slowly managing to lift Europe’s fishing ban, which has been stifling the economy of this remote island for the past seven years.
Arranmore is located off the coast of northwestern Ireland.
The wind here is merciless, and a good many boats have been crushed on the reefs surrounding it. Fishing has traditionally been the main source of work here, and it is the heart of life on this 22-square-kilometer island.
Things changed dramatically when in 2006, following a directive from the Brussels-based European Commission, Dublin decided to ban salmon fishing in a bid to stop the decline of fish stocks.
Another bill two years later outlawed all net fishing around the country, in a zone nicknamed “VIa.” The ban affected numerous species, including cod and whiting, allowing only the fishing of crabs and lobsters. Arranmore island aerial view

The sea as a unique resource

The Irish government was offering fishermen all over the country financial compensation. Most of them accepted, but not on Arranmore.
Along with its neighbors of the islands of Tory and Inisbofin, Arranmore rebelled against the authorities, refusing to sign a declaration stating they would stop fishing salmon forever.
The proposed government deal was unacceptable for the strapping Neily Kavenagh.
Despite his short and snappy sentences, the 48-year-old fisherman struggles to find words that are strong enough to condemn this attempt to “buy [him] off.”
“They offered me 40,000 euros ($54,000). It’s a lot of money. But my dad got this salmon fishing license in the 1950s. I wanted to pass it on to my own child,” he says.
The fishermen came together in 2007.
Hugh Rodgers, one of the group’s leaders, remembers it as if it were yesterday.
“We managed to convince everybody save one not to accept the compensation,” he recalls.
“For us, it was self-evident. We have no factories, and tourists come only in summer. The sea is our own resource. It should be for the locals, and we should have the right to reap our own harvest.” Arranmore fishing boat
In 7 years, the number of operating boats dropped 40% on Arranmore

An “attack” on Arranmore’s life

The Arranmore fishermen use traditional methods and say they have nothing to do with the drop in fish populations.
Because their boats are scarcely over 15 meters long (50 feet), they hardly venture into the open sea.
On the other hand, they saw an armada of factory boats — mainly from Spain, Holland and France — coming just a few kilometers from their coast after they had bought Irish fishing rights.
“These guys can keep working the way they do far from the coast, even today,” Kavenagh says angrily.
“As for us, we have nothing left.”
For him, the fishing ban is an “attack” on the very life of Arranmore.
The island inhabitants have asked for a protection similar to that of an oppressed minority. Arranmore island with the Marine GeoGarage (UKHO chart)

On the small island, the ban’s impact was rapidly felt.
In seven years, as the few rusty wrecks in the harbor show, the number of operating boats dropped 40%.
The population fell from 768 to 487.
A hotel, a pub and three shops have closed.
One of the two primary schools only has 12 pupils left and its days are probably numbered.
“If it goes on like this, there will be nothing on Arranmore in 10 years,” says a worried Loïc Jourdain. The French director has been filming the island’s revolt from the beginning and is working on a documentary expected to be released in 2014.
Having followed the fishermen for so long, he remembers their face-to-face meetings with politicians and lobbyists.
“A lot of them went to Brussels and Dublin to pressure the authorities. Even the priest, a very influential man, went along with them.”
Little by little, they were joined in their fight by other European islands, and the balance started to shift in their favor. “I will violate the law before I give up on fishing”

In the last few months, the fishermen have won their first victories.
In May, the European reform of the common fisheries policy recognized the importance of protecting local communities as well as the fish.
The new directive supports small-scale fishing less than 12 nautical miles from the coast.
The Irish government has also agreed to loosen bans on the “VIa” zone.
By November, new licenses are to be given to boats under 15 meters long (50 feet).
But no changes are afoot for salmon fishing, even though it is the most economically constraining ban.
Though Deputy Prime Minister Eamon Gilmore had indicated support for the fishermen when he was in the opposition, since he entered the government in 2011 he has been silent on this issue.
On Arranmore, the fishermen keep saying they won’t give up.
They have vowed to keep the pressure up, as they believe it’s their only chance for the island and its residents to survive.
In a cold and determined voice, Neily Kavenagh warns, “I will violate the law before I give up on fishing.”
 

US NOAA update in the Marine GeoGarage NOAA raster chart coverage

41 charts have been updated in the Marine GeoGarage
(NOAA update January 2015, released January 20th 2015)

Please visit the NOAA's chart update service for more info or the online chart catalog
Posted by geogarage at 4:48 PM No comments: Links to this post 
The secrets of the shelf seas – one of Earth’s most important ecosystems

Children of the Tide - Microscopic life in the ocean
This science/art video presents the rarely-filmed embryo and larval development of common marine invertebrates during the first few weeks of their lives as "Children of the Tide".
Mostly filmed under a microscope using a "dark field" lighting technique.
This 8 minute version is cut down from the original 24 minute version that was distributed to marine science centers and schools.
Filmed at Friday Harbor Laboratories (Washington, USA) and Vancouver Island, Canada.

From The Guardian by Rebecca Bell

The sea off our coasts teems with microscopic life that breaks down the carbon dioxide we pump into the air.
Now a series of expeditions aims to find out more

Our coastal seas play a much bigger role in our lives than simply providing a nice backdrop to a fish and chip supper on the beach and the occasional paddle when the weather allows.
The sea close to the coastline is known as the shelf sea and it extends out until the seabed reaches a depth of 200 metres.
In the UK our widest shelf sea reaches 300km from the mainland.
These shallow shelf seas make up only 5% of the world’s oceans but 15-20% of all life in the ocean lives here.
They remain mysterious.
“We are not entirely sure how the shelf seas can sustain quite so much biological growth,” says Professor Jonathan Sharples from the University of Liverpool.
“They must receive nutrients from the deep ocean to fuel this growth, but we don’t know how this happens.”
Whatever the reason, these shallow seas sustain 90% of the world’s fisheries and are one of the most important ecosystems on Earth.

As well as helping to supply our national dish, these shelf seas play an important but not completely understood role in controlling the levels of CO2 in the atmosphere.
In the same way as trees and vegetation on land, shelf seas can suck out CO2 from the atmosphere like a pump.
There are two parts to the shelf sea CO2-zapping machine.
“First, CO2 dissolves in the surface of the ocean if the concentration of CO2 in the sea is less than in the atmosphere,” says Dr Joanne Hopkins from the National Oceanography Centre.
“You could think of this as the reverse of bubbles escaping when you open a fizzy drinks bottle – because the concentration of CO2 in the air is less than in the bottle.”
The other important part of the system is the micro-organisms themselves, which the shelf seas are teeming with.

Plankton from Parafilms
New videography techniques have opened up the oceans' microscopic ecosystem, revealing it to be both mesmerizingly beautiful and astoundingly complex.
Marine biologist Tierney Thys teamed with Christian Sardet (CNRS/Tara Oceans), Noé Sardet and Sharif Mirshak to use footage from the Plankton Chronicles project to create a film designed to ignite wonder and curiosity about this hidden world that underpins our own food chain.

If you were to take a swim in the sea and accidentally gulp some water you would swallow thousands of micro-organisms called plankton, which amazingly, given their minute size, are a crucial food source for whales.
There are two types of plankton: phytoplankton (tiny marine plants) and zooplankton (tiny marine animals).
One thousand of the smallest phytoplankton would measure 1mm, while typical zooplankton are 1-5mm in length.
Plankton make sea water look murky and this biological material is rather romantically known as “marine snow”.
As phytoplankton grow they take up CO2 and convert it to organic carbon and oxygen, in the same way as a leaf does by photosynthesis.
“Half of the oxygen we breathe comes from forests, the other half from these tiny marine plants,” says Sharples.
“The zooplankton then eat the organic carbon that the phytoplankton are made of."

“The oceans remove about one-third of the total carbon we put into the atmosphere each year by burning fossil fuels, and shelf seas play a disproportionately high role because of their high biological activity,” says Dr Louise Darroch from the British Oceanographic Data Centre. “We want to understand how plankton extract CO2 from the atmosphere and how their ability to remove CO2 may be sensitive to changes in our climate.” In order to tackle this important question, the Natural Environment Research Council and the Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs have funded a project called Shelf Sea Biogeochemistry which will take measurements throughout shelf seas in a number of expeditions over the next year.
Sharples, Hopkins and Darroch returned from one of these surveys just before Christmas.
“Our research expedition took us to the Celtic Sea aboard the UK’s newest research vessel, the RRS Discovery,” says Sharples.
“The expedition was 25 days long with no sight of land. The ship carries 50 people, roughly half of them scientists and half crew. At 100 metres long, the ship is capable of working in most weathers, though seasickness can be a bit of a problem for the first few days as we all get used to the motion.”

The research involved measuring the concentration of nutrients and organic material in the water, collection of sediment from the seafloor and monitoring changes in the temperature and saltiness of the water.
A range of instruments was used – including autonomous gliders that measure temperature and water turbulence, and are controlled remotely by someone sitting comfortably onshore – as well as “snowcatchers”.

“Snowcatchers are huge plastic tubes, as tall as a room and one metre in diameter, that are lowered beneath the sea surface to a particular depth where they are closed, capturing the water around them along with all the marine snow floating in it,” says Hopkins.
Once up on deck, scientists can investigate how plankton – and importantly, zooplankton faeces – can settle.

Plankton of the French Riviera from Parafilms

“Particles in the ocean sink, taking with them lots of carbon that was removed from the atmosphere. It’s what happens to these particles and the carbon they carry that forms the basis of a large component of our work,” says Darroch.
If organic material sinks quickly, the carbon reaches the seabed before dissolving, and under the right conditions it can be locked up long-term in the deep marine realm.
If undisturbed it will remain there, and this is how fossil fuels form – if the right conditions prevail over millions of years.

Studies like this will provide a better understanding of how much CO2 is removed from the atmosphere in shelf seas today.
Once we know this we can more effectively model how future changes in climate will affect this ecosystem, and the waters that we rely on so heavily for energy, food and recreation.
