ONF Encoded Data from NDBC Recording Buoys

This file will generate NDBC Weather Stations on your Nobeltec VNS Navigator. It will generate green icons where the conditions are low to moderate (wind lt 20 kts, gusts lt 25 kts, seas lt 6 ft), red icons for greater than moderate conditions, and a star icon for non reporting stations.

We query the following NDBC Reporting Buoys on the East Coast USA:

        44027, 44032, 44007, 44013, 44017, 44025
        41009, 41012, TPLM2, CHLV2, 44009, 44014
        DSLN7, FPSN7, 41004, 41008, SPGF1, LKWF1
       	41002, 41010, MLRF1, SANF1, DRYF1, CLKN7

Save the ONF file to a directory (e.g. Nobeltec Community) as a text file. While in Nobeltec, select from the menu File;Import from Text File then browse to the file you created. Then select Import All, then Done. Your weather icons will be loaded.

To get the weather conditions, right click on the icon, then select Properties. You will see a menu. Select Description and you will see the date, wind, gust, sea state, and wave period.

To access this page, go to:

http://www.jule-iii.com/saildocs/wx-all.txt (too big for saildocs)
http://www.jule-iii.com/saildocs/wx-north.txt (North of Hatteras)
http://www.jule-iii.com/saildocs/wx-south.txt (South of Hatteras)

Disclaimer: The data provided through this URL is derived from the NOAA NDBC reorting buoys. The Advanced Research Corporation nor the crew of the Jule III validate the data nor certify the derivation software. As a result, Advanced Research Corporation/Crew of the S/V Jule III are not responsible for the accuracy, suitability, or timeliness of the data. This data shall be accepted on an 'as is' basis. If you do not agree with this disclaimer or you do not understand it, DO NOT ACCESS THIS URL!

The crew of the S/V Jule III developed a simple weather interface that queries the NOAA NDBC reporting buoys off the East coast of the US. We are limited to these buoys so that the resulting report can be received by Sailmail via the Saildocs program. Sailmail limits email messages to 5,000 characters. Our report is encoded in Nobeltec's Open Navigiation Format (ONF) (because we use Nobeltec's Visual Navigation Series [VNS]). This format will not work on other chartplotters!

The figure below represents the importation of our data into VNS 6.5. The icons (we used what was available on VNS) represent the following:

• Red circles: Reporting buoy indicates winds exceeding 20 kts, and/or gusts exceeding 25 kts, and/or sea states exceeding 6 ft (e.g., Cape Lookout).

• Green circles: Reporting buoy indicates winds less than 21 kts, gusts less than 26 kts, and sea states less than 7 ft.

• Hollow circles (now hollow stars): The reporting buoy has not updated for more than six hours (e.g., Savannah).

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Q. Why didn't you use the weather data (Bronze) provided by Nobeltec?

A. We looked at the Bronze service provided by Nobeltec and decided on this approach because: (1) the Nobeltec file is 51,000 characters and therefore incompatible with Sailmail; (2) the Bronze file has to be re- downloaded from the Internet everytime VNS is started; and (3) the Bronze data is based on predicted averages while our approach uses near real-time observed data.

Q. How do I get this data from Saildocs?

A. Send an email messages to query@saildocs.com with the following in the body of the message:

       send >http://www.jule-iii.com/saildocs/wx-south.txt
       quit

Q. How do I insert the returned email into VNS?

A. Save the received message in C:\Nobeltec Community and name it <something>.txt. If you have already imported a text file, use a different name. Then go to VNS, click on Files, then click on Import from Text File. A popup box will appear. Click on Browse, select the name of the file you saved, click on Import, then click on Done. On our voyages, we have a seperate window to view the weather icons.

Q. Is this service free?

Q. Absolutely!. However, be sure to read our disclaimer above.