When?
12/01/2016 to 12/04/2016
Cruising Outpost Cruisers’ Party Saturday night at the Cocktail Barge. Come join Bob and Jody for another Bitchin Party. Free beer and Pizza while it lasts. The Eric Stone Band preforming and great raffle prizes through out the evening. Remember, you need to be in the show before the gates close on Saturday to attend the party.
Get a special Cruising Outpost discount on show tickets – click here!
We want to thank the folks who help us bring this great event to life!
Beta Marine, Copper Coat, Forespar, Fortress Marine Anchors, Handcraft Mattress, Kanberra Gel, Mack Sails, Murray Yacht Sales, Solar Stick, Sunsail
SEMINARS
LEE CHESNEAU’S MARINE WEATHER
Free Seminars
Introduction to the at Sea-Level Surface Pressure Chart
This free seminar begins with Lee Chesneau’s discussion of the hierarchy for marine weather prediction, vessel routing & decision making.
- This includes the VERY important discussion of the marine advisory, watch, & warning system used by the U.S. National Weather Service (NWS) marine program.
- The coverage area encompasses the coastal & overlapping offshore NAVTEX offshore waters of Gulf of Mexico, the north Atlantic coastal & forecast zones of the western North Atlantic Ocean, as well as the north Atlantic high seas (this also does include the north Pacific Ocean basin as well).
- The attendee will be further introduced to the key synoptic scale surface pressure weather systems (e.g. low & high pressure) & their associated depicted chart symbols, challenging boaters as to what they know versus what they not know about them.
- This seminar is for everyone who enjoys day sailing in the Tampa Bay, the coastal and offshore waters of the Gulf of Mexico, North Atlantic & Pacific Ocean Basins as well. This free seminar is a prerequisite to the prepaid combined “The at Sea-Level Surface Pressure Workshop” & “Tropical Cyclone Basics & the 1-2-3 Rule for Avoidance Workshop”. See St Pete Boat Show webpage & boat show magazine for free seminar & prepaid workshop schedule & detailed syllabus write-up.
An Introduction to the 500 Mb Chart
This free seminar will discuss what professional marine meteorologists who forecast & route vessels refer to as the “holy grail of weather forecasting & routing”, such as 500 mb is. Specifically:
- The breakdown components of the upper air 500 mb chart (L’s, & H’s, which also includes altitude contour lines, winds, & trough axes).
- Examples of upper-air 500 mb charts & their companion surface pressure charts revealing direct inter-relationship.
- Finally, there will be an important overview of why these upper air charts are such an important resource for boaters in terms of practical weather analysis & forecast applications at sea level via “Rules of Thumb”.
- This seminar is a critical prerequisite for the 3-hour prepaid “The 500 mb Chart Workshop” & “Understanding Weather & Cruise Decision Making Workshop”. See St Pete Boat Show webpage & boat show magazine for free seminar & prepaid workshop schedules & detailed syllabus write-ups.
Free Seminars
Wind & Wave Concepts & Charts
This important free seminar will discuss the basic 101 fundamentals involved with wind & swell wave development, propagation, & decay. Specifically:
- We will define & illustrate what an ocean wave is & its characteristics.
- We will discuss the dominant role that wind energy has in creating “wind waves” & what happens when “wind waves” leave their generating area as “swell waves”.
- We will further discuss the critical parameters of wind direction & speed, duration, & fetch as it impacts both “wind & swell waves”.
- A boater, whether cruising inside Tampa Bay, sailing coastal or blue water offshore cruising in the Gulf of Mexico, or any ocean basin (north Atlantic & Pacific Oceans needs to understand in how differing waves characteristics will impact their vessel for safe keeping.
- Finally, for offshore boaters, it is also important to differentiate between regional & full ocean wind & wave charts, depicted in “feet” versus “meters” when discussing & utilizing the U.S. Ocean Prediction Center wind & wave analyses & forecasts charts.
- This seminar is also a critical prerequisite for the prepaid “Understanding Weather & Cruise Decision Making Workshop”. See St Pete Boat Show webpage & boat show magazine for free seminar & prepaid workshop schedules & detailed syllabus write-ups.
St Pete Prepaid Workshops
“The at Sea-Level Surface Pressure Chart Workshop” & “Tropical Cyclone (Hurricane) Basics & the 1-2-3 Rule for Avoidance Workshop” (are combined, $125.00) ………………………………………………………………………………………………………….
The at Sea-Level Surface Pressure Chart Workshop
Saturday, Dec 3 – 1:30 pm – 4:30 pm
This 3-hour reinforcement workshop takes a closer look at & examines more in-depth the surface pressure charts introduced in the prerequisite free seminar “Introduction to the Surface Pressure Chart”. Specifically:
- Detailed discussion on the various symbols depicted on a surface pressure map not covered in the aforementioned free seminar, with a follow up chart symbol exercise.
- Determining true wind direction & speed wind barb exercise as similarly depicted on all surface pressure charts.
- Discussion & follow up exercise on being able to identify the specific weather conditions associated with the aforementioned map symbols (cloud types & visibility restricting weather conditions & winds (e.g. true direction & speed).
- Discussion & follow up exercise on the difference between “Issued” & “Valid” from the U.S. Ocean Prediction Center (OPC) & the National Hurricane Center (NHC) analyses & forecast charts.
- Finally, there will be a discussion & follow up exercise on the 24 -hour interval specific tracking & intensity trends of the surface map’s L’s & H’s pressure centers.
- Prerequisite: attend the free seminar “Introduction to the Surface Pressure Chart”. This workshop also is combined with the “Tropical Cyclone (Hurricane) Basics & the 1-2-3 Rule for Avoidance Workshop” which follows. See St Pete Boat Show webpage & boat show magazine for free seminar & prepaid workshop schedules & detailed syllabus write-ups.
Tropical Cyclone (Hurricane) Basics & the 1-2-3 Rule for Avoidance Workshop
This workshop will discuss the basics for tropical cyclones (hurricanes) & their impacts in the Gulf of Mexico, the North Atlantic & the Eastern North Pacific Oceans (from Mexico’s West Coast to Hawaii). Tropical cyclones are different in size & dynamics than middle latitude cyclones (both are low pressure systems). Both systems provide their challenges to all boaters, and thus we offer this unique phenomenon in this training session.
This workshop will specifically address the following topic points:
- An overview of tropical cyclone basics & their uniqueness as there are significantly different than middle latitude low pressure systems that clearly dominate the planet.
- These include size, shape & the sensitive environment necessary for them to form, intensify, & maintain themselves, literally day by day, if not hours at a time.
CLICK HERE TO REGISTER FOR THESE SEMINARS
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About Lee Chesneau
Lee Chesneau is a senior marine meteorologist, lecturer, & author. He is a graduate from the University of Wisconsin (Madison) where he earned a B.S. Degree in Meteorology. Lee had a distinguished & extensive career with NOAA’s National Weather Service (NWS) & Satellite Service. He also served as naval officer in the U.S. Navy, a “Route Analyst” for a commercial weather & ship routing company. Today, Lee is an accomplished U.S. Coast Guard certified instructor for basic and advanced meteorology at number of continuing training institutions for professional mariners. He offers the same curriculum to educate & train recreational boaters on becoming self-reliant in their own marine weather knowledge for application in marine weather forecasting & strategic vessel routing. See his webpage www.weatherbylee.com. He can be reached by e-mail: lee@weatherbylee.com.
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Building Your Cruising Confidence – You’ve Got This!
Saturday, Dec 3 – 4:45 pm – 6:45 pm
Presented by Capt. Bill Cullen
Most people have the ability and knowledge to go cruising, but often the difference between those who cruise and those who don’t is confidence. This seminar will either provide experienced sailors with a great refresher to reinforce what they already know or provide those new to cruising with a great foundation of knowledge and tips to use on their first cruising experience. Either way the goal is to build confidence so when you leave this seminar you can say to yourself … “I’ve got this!”
During the “Cruisers Confidence Building” seminar, we will touch on some of the more essential aspects of successful cruising. Among the subjects that we will discuss are:
- Tricky navigation
- Charts and chart plotters
- Bridge procedures and dangers
- Weather planning and sources
- Safety
- Anchoring and docking tips
- Comfort aboard
- Security
- Diesel engines basics
- Dinghies – big or small
- Food & cooking aboard
- Cruising etiquette
- We will also talk about the biggest mistakes that many new skippers make and how to avoid these.
Attending this seminar will build your self confidence, which may be all that’s needed to make your cruising more enjoyable and less unnerving for you, your partner and crew.
“I think most people have the ability and knowledge to go cruising, but they have doubts and fears that worry them. What I hope to do is give them knowledge which in turn will build their confidence out on the water. ” Capt Bill Cullen
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Outfitting for Blue Water Cruising
Friday, Dec 2 – 1:00 pm – 4:00 pm
What can I do to make my boat a blue water sailing yacht? Come and see Pam Wall’s educational seminar on “Outfitting for Blue Water Cruising.” Learn from Pam and her families’ experiences while sailing across the oceans. Her expert knowledge will help anyone learn the essentials of blue water cruising equipment. Along with the obvious little products that are so important, Pam al gives knowledgeable and practical ideas on how to make your boat, easier to handle, safer, and more fun to sail.
Cruising the Abacos in the Bahamas – Pam Wall
Sat, Dec 3 – 10:15 am – 1:15 pm
You don’t have to circle the globe to find Paradise! Pam Wall has sailed around the world, but her most favorite place of all is in her back yard! The Bahamas are Pam’s favorite cruising grounds, and she takes you there with a flair! Get to know and understand all the beauty of these magnificent islands, so near, yet so far.
The three hours will fly by as you learn when to go, how to get there, and where to sail once you arrive in these beautiful anchorages.
You will have a list of musts to have aboard while cruising in the Bahamas, and what you will be able to find once you are there.
Weather will be discussed for all seasons, and crossing the Gulfstream will be something everyone should carefully consider as Pam will explain to you.
This Cruising the Bahamas presentation will have you jumping into the clear water before you know it.
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SEE THE FULL SHOW SEMINAR SCHEDULE – CLICK HERE