Webinars
21
April
WEBINAR 1: Meteorology & Environment
In preparation for Earth Day we will release our first of 8 drifter and 2 ARGO buoys from the ship. We will introduce at this time the fact that we will be uploading daily weather readings from the ship’s navigational equipment: Wind (direction/speed,) Air Temperature & Humidity, Water temp, Barometric Pressure and sky observations. Students will be will be able to correlate the data found on the JCOMM [Joint Commission for Oceanography and Marine Meteorology]website to the ship’s position that will also be made available through the SailX website. Data Buoys will be released every 7 days or so and students can sign up to be notified of the releases if they wish. (we will release 1 between Rochefort, France and the Canary Islands, 3 between the Canary Islands and the US, and we hope to get 4 more to release along the US East Coast and the north Atlantic.
Our oceans sustain us, but we are asking more and more of them…We will introduce the sampling of surface water to measure dissolved plastics in the ocean…we will be taking 10 samples during the crossing that will be sent to a lab in Maine [Adventurers and Scientists for Conservation] after the Voyage to be analyzed…this will add to the growing database that now tells us that 20% of the plastic we discard inappropriately ends up in the ocean, threatening life there and eventually our own.
5
May
WEBINAR 2: Navigation then and now
Old school vs New…how did 18th century vessel know where they were and where they were heading…how has that changed today…what can we learn from the way things use to be done that still applies today…use of a sextant explained and will be compared to the use of satellite GPS positioning….importance of “dead reckoning” especially in coastal maneuvering…the connection to the weather (steering around it!)
12
May
WEBINAR 3: Life Aboard
How is life aboard organized for the crew…what is the meaning of the quarters bell, how to read the chimes…What are some of the responsibilities of the crew during their quarter…how are meals handled…how is food prepared and served…how does the crew recharge physically and emotionally.
19
May
WEBINAR 4: Propulsion....Sails to Engines
What do the different sails on the ship do relative to the direction the ship is heading...how are they trimmed...how are they maintained while sailing...what is the physics of sailing a ship this size with this rig...what are her limitations/ her strengths while sailing...when the wind dies what does an 21st century replica have over an 18th century frigate? Her auxiliaries, which in this case are twin propulsion pods driven by two 300kW generators. The pod designs give the frigate ultimate maneuverability as they can be rotated through 360 degrees independent of one another. How are these maintained, how are they more efficient than standard diesel engines and what can they teach us about the limits of this kind of propulsion.