1 nautical mile (nm) is best defined as 1 minute of latitude. It is also defined (though units vary w latitude) as 1.15 statute miles, or 1852 meters. A minute of latitude is the most accurate. Therefore, 60 nm = 1 degree of latitude.
1 fathom = 6 feet
1 cable =607.6 ft = .1 nm
1 meter = 3.28 ft =1.09 yards
Small Craft Advisories are Coastal Waters and Nearshore forecasts for sustained winds, frequent gusts, or ice/sea/wave conditions exceeding defined thresholds specific to geographic areas.
A Gale Warning is 34 to 47 kn
A Storm Warning is 48 kn +
A Hurricane Warning is 64 kn + winds and associated with a tropical cyclone.
Beaufort Scale http://www.spc.noaa.gov/faq/tornado/beaufort.html
Force 3 =7-10 kn
Force 4= 11-16 kn
Force 5=17-21 kn
Wind direction is referenced from where it comes
Current direction is referenced to where it is headed. Set is the direction you are taken when in a current. Drift is the speed of your motion while in a current.
Windward is the direction from which the wind is blowing. So that side of a ship toward the wind is the weather side. Leeward is the direction downwind from the point of reference. So the downwind side of a ship is the leeward or lee side.
Windward and Lee shores are described from the point of view of an approaching boat. So a lee shore is on the leeward downwind side of a boat, a lee shore has the wind blowing towards the shore. A windward shore, on the windward side of a boat, has the wind blowing away from the shore.
Upwind is windward of the point of reference (you). Downwind is leeward from the point of reference.
Law of the Sea is that body of international law dealing with countries navigational rights, bottom use and mineral rights, jurisdiction over coastal waters and relationships between nations
Admiralty law or maritime law is a body of private international law governing relationships between private entities which operate vessels on the oceans
1 millibar (mb) mercury = .02953 inches mercury
+_3 mb per hr change is significant
Fahrenheit = 1.8 times Celsius + 32 or F = 9/5 C + 32
Celsius = 5/9 F - 32
-40 is the same in F and C
1 knot(kt) = 1.15 mph = .51 meters/sec
Conversions For more info http://www.srh.noaa.gov/elp/wxcalc/windconvert.shtml
To convert between miles per hour (mph) and knots (kts):
Wind (kt) =0.8689762 x Wind (mph)
Wind (mph) = 1.1507794 x Wind (kts)
To convert between miles per hour (mph) and meters per second (m/s):
Wind (m/s) = 0.44704 X Wind (mph)
Wind (mph) = 2.23694 x Wind (m/s)
To convert between miles per hour (mph) and feet per second (ft/s):
Wind (ft/s) = 1.46667 x Wind (mph)
Wind (mph) = 0.681818 x Wind (ft/s)
To convert between miles per hours (mph) and kilometers per hour (km/h):
Wind (km/h) = 1.609344 x Wind (mph)
Wind (mph) = 0.621371 x Wind (km/h)
To convert between knots (kts) and meters per second (m/s):
Wind (m/s) = 0.5144444 x Wind (kts)
Wind (kts) = 1.9438445 x Wind (m/s)
To convert between knots (kts) and feet per second (ft/s):
Wind (ft/s) = 1.6878099 x Wind (kts)
Wind (kts) = 0.5924838 x Wind (ft/s)
To convert between knots (kts) and kilometers per hour (km/h):
Wind (km/h) = 1.852 x Wind (kts)
Wind (kts) = 0.5399568 x Wind (km/h)
To convert between meters per second (m/s) and feet per second (ft/s):
Wind (m/s) = 0.3048 x Wind (ft/s)
Wind (ft/s) = 3.28084 x Wind (m/s)
To convert between meters per second (m/s) and kilometers per hour (km/h):
Wind (km/h) = 3.6 x Wind (m/s)
Wind (m/s) = 0.277778 x Wind (km/h)
To convert between feet per second (ft/s) and kilometers per hours (km/h):
Wind (km/h) = 1.09728 x Wind (ft/s)
Wind (ft/s) = 0.911344 X Wind (km/h)
