Press Release

Date: April 24, 2009 Contact: 808-535-3230

U.S. Coast Guard buoy tender deployment of NOAA buoys to improve surf and weather forecasts in Hawaii, April 24, 2009

HONOLULU — Wave and weather forecasters in Hawaii will be able to gather more information from three new buoys deployed this week by the crew of the U.S. Coast Guard cutter Kukui, possibly improving surf reports for North-facing shores in the islands. Crew members aboard the Honolulu-based buoy tender finished deploying three new weather buoys for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Thursday, April 23. The buoys will provide better wind and wave analysis for NOAA and should be available to the public as early as Sunday, April 26, at NOAA's National Data Buoy Center, www.ndbc.noaa.gov. The buoys specifically help aid in forecasting incoming surf and weather in the Main Hawaiian Islands. The buoy tender's crew this week established buoy 51001, 270 miles northwest of Oahu, and buoys 51000 and 51100, both 250 miles northeast of Oahu. Buoys 51001, 51000, and 51100 will benefit a broad spectrum of islanders and businesses; including avid surfers, weekend beach goers, inter-island shipping companies utilizing Kahului Harbor, and small businesses operating on north facing shores. According to James Waymen, meteorologist in charge at the National Weather Service Honolulu forecast office, the addition of buoys 51001, 51000, and 51100 significantly amplifies the NWS ability to forecast weather, predict high surf, and monitor large storm systems. "There was a gap to the northeast," says Waymen. "These buoys will allow us to not only track weather but also monitor the wave height, wave period, and wave direction of incoming swell from the north." Previously there were only four NOAA buoys positioned around the islands. As a result of their addition, the accuracy of forecasting for the north facing shores of the Hawaiian Islands will significantly improve, says NOAA scientists. Along with the standard weather systems that measure wind speed, wind direction, temperature, and barometric pressure, buoys 51001, 51000, and 51100 are equipped with sensors that measure wave height, period, and direction. The relationship between accurate forecasting, safety of life at sea, and the economy, is critical, says Jeff Jenner, a manager at the National Data Buoy Center. "Accurate wave and surf forecasts are critical to Hawaii's economy and to the safety of residents and tourists involved in surfing and other activities in the waters around the islands," Jenner said. "Surfing alone draws tens of thousands of people to Oahu's North Shore each year and accounts for more than $10 million in direct benefit to the state's economy." Data from the buoys will be available for viewing on the National Data Buoy Center's Web site, www.ndbc.noaa.gov, as early as Sunday. Funding for the three new buoys came from special Congressional appropriation in 2008.  The Kukui is a 225-foot buoy tender with a crew of approximately 55. In addition to servicing aids to navigation throughout Hawaii and the Pacific, the crew also performs law enforcement, marine pollution response, and search and rescue missions. NOTE: Video and still imagery is available at www.uscghawaii.com. For more information about this news release, contact the Coast Guard at 808-535-3230 or NOAA's Delores Clark at 808-532-6411.

### </div> Saving Lives and Guarding the Coast Since 1790. The United States Coast Guard -- Proud History. Powerful Future.

Yikes, how do I edit that!! I can no longer see the edit button!!

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yeah-I did that and still can't fix it - oh well-just look between the lines!

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Or we could just leave it there as kind of a memorial...

What - a memorial to my technically challenged self!!??? LOL

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No, to the evil of pasting HTML into the forum!

Don't let this happen to you!

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Last Edited : 4/25/2009 7:02:00 PM GMT

LOL - Never again - I promise....

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Laurie just demonstrated why you should not hit 'RETURN' at the end of every line like it was a typewriter...

Laurie-I agree - there are lots of jobs in the CG that don't seem glamorous but are necessary. My daughter is in FS and many have said that FS (Food Specialist) is not the REAL CG. She passed the same boot camp everyone else did and is working her patootie off!! Might not be flying and saving people but important to keep the units in readiness mode. Here in HI-we have Tsunami alerts quite often and if you don't think the buoys are necessary - just look at Malaysia/thailand etc where thousands of people died. Because we have the buoys, we can know what's coming and get to higher ground.

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I don't know what kind of idiot would say that cooks are not an essential part of the military, but as someone who appreciates eating at least once a day, if you do find someone who says that, I will hold them down while you kick them.

Jan,

What the heck did you do? I go away for a couple of days and you post a great article with a load of gobble-dee-gook in the middle! LOL Silly girl! It's that Hawaiian sun, isn't it?? LOL

Bouy tenders, cooks fly boys, MST's, YN's... they are all part of a bigger picture and I don't know what any one of them would do without the other there making sure each little piece gets handled! And anyone that says cooks aren't important... let them go to sea without an FS on board... they'll be crying to ditch the old man and bring back 10 cooks!!!!!

My mom always says the president of the company can be out a month, no one notices, let the mailman, garbage man or the guy that sets up the coffee be gone and people are panicking in less than a day!!! God Bless the kids that go for FS... I can barely cook for me & Scott, can't imagine cooking for a whole boat!

Here is a great story... One night Colin wanted an omelet. Well ok, I'll give it a whirl. So I start making the omelet. Colin is standing alongside of me, watching. He said he was thinking "Hey, she's doing it. This is a "mom" thing and look at her go, Mrs. Cleaver in the making..." Then I went to flip the omelet over onto itself and it folded all up and crumbled like a house of cards I just said "Oh f^^^!" and Colin actually said "And that's my mom, mother of the year!" Can you believe I missed that kid? LOL

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Yeah-I don't cook either!! LOL that is probably why Heather wants to cook. I am more the yard work person, the fix the plumbing and the car person!! My husband does the cooking.

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Yeah, Bill, I did go alittle nuts with the enter button, didn't I? lol Sorry about that. I don't know, though....kinda adds alittle extra character to the thread, don't ya think???? And speaking of cooking, my daughter has a really good friend who is an FS2 on the Ahi out of Honolulu. They were shipmates up in Alaska for a long time before my girlie went to A school and her friend transferred to Hawaii. Anyway, I've heard stories about how hard our FS's work. It's a tough job....I'm sure about that....and they deserve a great amount of respect for what they do.

Laurie

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