SOLAR FLARE, DON’T TRUST YOUR GPS TODAY

A massive solar storm is due to arrive at Earth early Thursday, and is expected to shake the globe’s magnetic field while expanding the Northern Lights.

A giant blast of plasma spat from the sun at as much as 4 million miles per hour Tuesday — by some measures the largest solar event since late 2006 — and it could lead to serious issues on Earth, forcing some planes to reroute, knocking out power grids, and blacking out radios.

The sun unleashed the cosmic double whammy late March 6, erupting with two major flares to cap a busy day of powerful solar storms, Space.com reported. One of the flares is the most powerful solar eruption so far this year.

“Super Tuesday? You bet!” joked Joseph Kunches, a space weather scientist with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

The storm grew as it raced outward from the sun, expanding like a giant soap bubble, scientists said.

“It’s hitting us right in the nose,” said Kunches.

Both of the huge flares ranked as X-class storms, the strongest type of solar flares the sun can have. They followed several weaker, but still powerful, sun storms on Tuesday and came just days after another major solar flare on Sunday night.

“By some measures this is the strongest one since December of 2006,” Kunches explained. Solar activity has already led to an R3 level radio blackout on NOAA’s space weather scale, he explained, a midstrength event on a scale that reaches to R5. Such effects are caused by X-ray emissions from the sun.

The bigger effects will hit the planet over the next 24 hours.

 

“Power grid operators have all been alerted.”

– Joseph Kunches, NOAA space weather scientist

 

For one thing, geomagnetic storms — disturbances in the geomagnetic field that surrounds the planet — should hit the G3 level, midway up the scale. That could lead to surges in power lines (a major problem for power companies) and issues with satellites.

“Power grid operators have all been alerted, as well as the regulatory agencies that all pay attention to this,” Kunches said.

GPS users will also be affected because of the highly charged atmosphere; it’s very possible that certain types of applications will be interrupted, specifically highly precise calculations and the high-frequency communications that airplanes rely upon.

Indeed, some polar flights have already been affected, he said.

“Some have already taken action to reroute to ensure their [high-frequency communication],” Kunches said.

Solar radiation storms could reach as high as S4, he noted, which could cause astronauts on the International Space Station to seek shelter from the heightened radiation levels associated with such a storm.

These effects should last about 24 hours, probably lingering overnight into the early morning hours on Friday, pending another eruption — “and we think there will be more coming,” Kunches said.

The upside? Some areas may experience a wonderful display of the Northern Lights.

“It’s the treat that we get when the sun erupts,” he said.

Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/scitech/2012/03/07/sun-fires-off-2-huge-solar-flares-could-impact-weather-on-earth/#ixzz1oWYBLXqN

NEWPORT, WATCH OUT

Last night, Like many of the sailing population of Newport, I sat and listened to Brad Read speak about the America’s Cup World Tour visit to Newport in June-July. The Bermuda Race will be done and dusted, but preparation for the event will be well underway even before the Bermuda Race leaves Newport.

The Ship which brings the traveling “circus” will dock at Quonset and 90 containers will be trucked to Ft. Adams.

Big efforts are being made to move the expected crowds in other than cars. Anyone who has ever driven in Newport, particularly in the summer recognizes the potential problem.  The Sailing will be best seen from land based on the description by Brad. And while I am excited to see the boats, the event itself sounds like everything I try to avoid.

I added the photo of Ft. Adams taken a few days ago which shows the trees which provided a buffer between those living in housing there and the public parking removed. I hope it proves to be a wise decision.

DREAMS DO COME TRUE

We have all been wondering who had won the power ball. Especially since the ticket had been sold in Newport. There have been many rumors. Now that the winner has been revealed, for the first time in my life I can say I know a winner. Mrs. White’s granddaughter was in school with my youngest child.

I hope the win brings them what they hoped for.

CRANSTON, R.I. (AP) — An 81-year-old woman from Newport won last month’s $336.4 million Powerball jackpot, sleeping with the winning ticket in her Bible until coming forward to claim the sixth-largest U.S. prize on Tuesday, a family representative said.

At a news conference at state lottery headquarters in Cranston, Louise White said little, calling herself “very happy” and “very proud.”

Her attorneys said she was a regular lottery player who bought the winning ticket at a Stop & Shop supermarket in Newport where she had stopped for rainbow sherbet. The ticket is being claimed in the name of the Rainbow Sherbet Trust.

White kept the winning ticket in a Bible after she realized she won.

The winning ticket was among three tickets with random numbers purchased on a $9 wager, officials said.

“It was unbelievable,” White said in a statement released Tuesday by her attorneys. “None of us can believe it yet. We’re excited, very blessed and will determine in the coming months how we’ll spend the money but we know we’ll always have rainbow sherbet.”

White said she wrote down the numbers when they were read on television after the drawing, but missed a few — so she waited 10 minutes to hear them again. She didn’t check her ticket immediately.

When she did, each of the numbers was the same. “Is anybody awake — I want you to come look at something,” she yelled.

Not believing she was the winner, she said, she checked the numbers online. Still the same.

“We still didn’t believe it, so we turned off the computer and turned it back on and went back to the website and my numbers were still there,” White said in the statement. “We hugged each other and jumped up and down screaming!! … We hid the ticket in the Bible and went for breakfast on Sunday since we couldn’t do anything with it.”

White will take a lump sum payment of $210 million, the highest ever for Powerball, officials said. The jackpot was the third largest in Powerball history and the largest ever won in Rhode Island, officials said.

The top lottery jackpot in U.S. history was a $390 million Mega Millions prize won in March 2007.

The Powerball jackpot win is the first since the ticket price increased from $1 to $2 in January. Rising sales nearly doubled the jackpot from $173.5 million on Feb. 1.

There is no bonus for the supermarket for selling the winning ticket, officials said. Instead of paying out a bonus, Powerball retailers in Rhode Island get eight cents on the dollar for every ticket sold.

Rhode Island will get about $14.7 million in taxes on the prize in a lump-sum payment, lottery officials said Tuesday.

Powerball is played in 42 states, Washington, D.C., and the U.S. Virgin Islands. The chance of matching all five numbers and the Powerball number is about 1 in 175 million.

NEW WORLD RECORD

This is a story that can to light yesterday, while we were congregated at Indian Harbor Yacht Club for the Carina evening.( see yesterday’s post) A few crewmates felt it merited being included in the blog. We have all folded paper airplanes and even tried to see how far we could make them fly. I honestly had never considered a record setting flight, but there are records for things I have never heard of, so why not?

 

 

John Collins, a producer at KRON-TV in San Francisco, is now an official part of history as one of his paper creations glided 226 feet and ten inches through the air to set the new world record for distance. And you teachers with large classrooms thought you were safe from getting pelted by students.

Joe Ayoob

A paper airplane fanatic since a child, Collins has written two books on the subject and has toured the world showing off his creations. Having studied countless designs as well as origami over the years, he felt like he had a shot to create an aircraft that could break the previous world distance record of 207 feet, 4 inches held by Stephen Kreiger. The only thing he was lacking was the arm strength to actually be able to propel a plane that full distance. Enter former Cal quarter back Joe Ayoob, the man who took over for Aaron Rodgers after his ascension to the NFL.

Ayoob and Collins were introduced to each other when Collins first two choices to throw for the record had to bow out due to injury and work pressures. Ayoob had worked with the Vern Glenn, sportscaster at KRON announcing arena football games. Glenn introduced the two after he heard that Collins needed someone with a powerful throwing arm to reach his goal. Looks like he picked the right guy.

On February 26th, Ayoob threw a Collins-made paper airplane ten straight times for the record after 40 or so practice flights. On his fourth attempt is when he nailed the throw, propelling him and Collins into the record books. The event took place at McClellan Air Force Base located near Sacramento. A fitting locale for the record breaking flight.

As of press time, Collins’ site, thepaperairplaneguy.com has been taken offline for too much traffic (not surprising). When it comes back up we should be able to get an idea of the plane’s design so that you can try to replicate it, perhaps one day you will be able to challenge for the title! I have already contacted Tom Brady about a collaboration so go find your own QB.

“NEVER SAY NEVER, SAY NYE”

Tenacity is an important part of almost any endeavor in life. It is an essential ingredient of Ocean Racing. I thought Peter Millard’s words this evening summed up the Carina Story: “Never say never, say Nye”

This evening at Indian Harbor Yacht Club as many of the old crew re-united to celebrate the publishing of a book of the Nye family love affair with the sea.”Home is the Sailor” by Richard Nye, published by Bruce Farr. A bond which had drawn us together. I keep fond memories of my brief years on “Carina” and the friends and shipmates created.

I should add that the trophies won by the various “Carinas” over the years have been given to the Indian Harbor Yacht Club, where they belong; to remind us of the boat, the people, and the stories.

Dick probably got overtired by the event, but I am certain that in his heart he was glad to be there and see many familiar faces of those with whom he had shared events that only those inducted into the fraternity of Ocean Racing could truly comprehend.

FIREFLY

 

I could not miss this opportunity to write about these hot moulded boats. Above is a photo of my Firefly built in 1948 by Fairey Marine in Hamble, UK. I had visited Fairey Marine many years later in the early 70’s. They still had the autoclaves originally used to build these boats. Some of you may be aware the Wilson Trophy is sailed in fireflies.

The following link shows how these boats were built. Click Here. Another proof of how wonderful the digital age is.

SAVING US FROM OURSELVES

Every sunrise brings a new set of problems for everyday life. Rush Limbaugh’s shocking remarks, which will soon be displaced by another story.But there are fundamental issues that we tend not to ponder, because we are facing gas prices are eroding our disposable income. We should be grateful that someone is looking out for us.
I did not wake up this morning pondering our future as a civilization, but rather something rather self centered. Apparently I felt thoughts like this trumped me. After all there is always tomorrow.

YACHTING IN THE OLD KINGDOM

‘Egypt Model of Khufu’s graceful solar barque’    .

A Japanese University has provided a $10million grant to help see the reconstruction of one of the oldest known boats in the world, and the process has begun this week in Egypt, near the Giza Pyramid.

With the help of the grant from Waseda University archaeologists on Monday began restoration on the 4,500-year-old almost 140ft (43 metre) so-called ‘solar barque’, which has shown signs of being used during the life of its owner Khufu(King Cheops) but was apparently also meant to carry him into the afterlife.

Archeologists begin the excavation to retrieve the barque –  .. .

Its ‘sister’ boat has already been restored and is housed in a specially built museum at the Giza pyramid complex since 1982. Its discovery was described as one of the greatest Ancient Egyptian discoveries in Zahi Hawass’s documentary ‘Egypt’s Ten Greatest Discoveries’.

The boat was sealed into a pit in the Giza pyramid complex at the foot of the Great Pyramid of Giza around 2500 BC. The ship was almost certainly built for King Cheops, the second pharaoh of the Fourth Dynasty of the Old Kingdom of Egypt.

King Cheops is credited with building the Great Pyramid of Giza, the largest of the pyramids. Son of Snefru, he was the second ruler of the fourth Dynasty around 2680 B.C. and ruled Egypt for 23 years.

Both barques, made from Lebanese cedar and Egyptian acacia trees, were originally discovered in 1954.

The head of Egypt’s Supreme Council of Antiquities, Mustafa Amin, said Egyptologists began taking samples of the wood for restoration on Monday.

‘The boat was found in a complete shape, intact and in place,’ he said, adding that the focus now is on taking samples of the wood.

Previously, experts had initially thought the vessel would be safer left underground than exposed to pollution, but evidence showed that pollution, water and insects had invaded the boat’s chamber.

Now they said restoration would likely take about four years and that at its completion, the boat would be placed on display at the Solar Boat Museum near the pyramids, which routinely attract millions of tourists and boost one of Egypt’s most important industries.

I find it interesting how similar this boat is to a gondola Trade had been established between Venice and Egypt, so ideas were inevitably shared.