• Sailing is all about the Weather.

    Big into the exploration of Atlantic Hurricanes since Katrina came uninvited into his world, James (Jim) Gurley (JamesG161) has followed every Tropical Storm birthed in Atlantic, Gulf and Caribbean waters since. Being a boater, he knows that we often need more time to prepare than we get from the TV weather folk. Jim relies on the science of storm development to share early warning info with friends and fellow boaters.

    Early in 2018, Jim and John Shepard, (JSSailem) started to chat about the weather data available. John asked Jim to help forecast Pacific NW storms, and this morphed into discussions on weather forecasting.

    For John, sailing in the PNW is sometimes hit and miss. One day is ugly, then a string of beautiful days but no wind, followed by a series of blue-sky days and 12 knot breezes. Being ready for those great sailing days means you need to look to the Pacific Ocean and what is brewing. John has been into Pacific NW Weather since the 1970’s when his first PNW November storm hit bringing more than 40 days and 40 nights of continual rain.

    Together we want to share information, new APPs, safety, and thoughts about letting the weather help you. Identify some of the resources for sailors and help prepare you for your next sailboat outing.

    It is far better to go out on the water knowing what to expect in weather terms, than to be out on the water and see dark ominous clouds suddenly appear, unprepared.

New technology : Lightening Protection System

JamesG161

JamesG161

SBO Weather and Forecasting Forum Jim & John
Feb 14, 2014
7,812
Hunter 430 Waveland, MS
colemj said:
Those things are just cheaper snake oil than the one earlier in the thread
Click to expand
I was trained by experts in lightning protection.

Short version of the reasons for the Fuzzy thing on the high point of your mast.

1) Depends on where the Electrons flow from, the Sky or Earth [water]
2) if Sky, the dissipater will try to flow electrons down your mast to the water to ground them
3) if Earth , no help at all

Jim...

PS: Please read the full thread my post 20, above
 
C

colemj

.
Jul 13, 2004
675
Dolphin Catamaran Dolphin 460 Mystic, CT
JamesG161 said:
I was trained by experts in lightning protection.

Short version of the reasons for the Fuzzy thing on the high point of your mast.

1) Depends on where the Electrons flow from, the Sky or Earth [water]
2) if Sky, the dissipater will try to flow electrons down your mast to the water to ground them
3) if Earth , no help at all

Jim...

PS: Please read the full thread my post 20, above
Click to expand
I have. I disagree with your assessment of its effectiveness in any conditions.

Ewen Thompson and others, who are actual lightning experts, also disagree with it, as do all controlled experiments of their effectiveness (scroll down to the section on dissipators): Air terminals information

Here is the article from which your picture was taken. They also explain why it doesn't work in practice. Lightning Protection: The Truth About Dissipators - Practical Sailor

Mark
 
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