Two years after presenting at the Cruising Club of America (CCA) in the MITAGS Conference Center in Maryland, the same group is coming back with a new symposium, “Marine Weather and Sea State II: Analysis and Forecasting,” on Feb. 29, 2020, at the Seattle Yacht Club (SYC).
The new program, beginning at 8:30 am and ending at 5:30 pm, will focus on monitoring weather fundamentals, factors affecting sea states, and the complexity of weather forecasting for both racing and cruising, as well as all commercial maritime activities.
Subjects to be presented at this year’s SYC symposium will include a review of weather fundamentals, from Ken McKinley of Locus Weather, plus ocean and nearshore waves and currents, from Frank Bohlen of UCONN Marine Sciences.
Other notable presentations will include The Marine Forecast, from Joe Sienkiewicz at NWS Ocean Prediction Center; Evaluating a Marine Weather Forecast, from David Burch of the Starpath School; Atlantic vs. Pacific Systems: A Navigator’s Perspective, from Stan Honey of Honey Navigation; and Modern Satellite Communications, by Jeff Thomassen, from satellite firm OCENS.
Coming to the West Coast will provide an opportunity to compare Atlantic and Pacific oceans’ weather, extend CCA’s discussion of tides and tidal currents, discuss the probability of rogue waves, and take advantage of the unique topography of the Pacific Northwest Coast to detail the factors governing coastal weather.
In recognition of these differences, all attendees should prepare by viewing the first Symposium videos, particularly the Marine Weather Fundamentals, taped in 2018 that can be found at cruisingclub.org. The cost to attend is $175 per person, and space is limited at the SYC, so be sure to sign up early here: sas.cruisingclub.org/wx20.
