Author: Jimmy Cornell
Jimmy Cornell, experienced sailor and bestselling author, has teamed up with his son Ivan to produce a third edition of Cornells’ Ocean Atlas aimed at navigators planning an offshore voyage.
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Pilot charts have been the most important passage planning tools since the middle of the nineteenth century. In spite of all the advances in electronics and aids to navigation, any prudent navigator planning a longer voyage should continue to refer to pilot charts as valuable sources of information on weather conditions, tropical storm seasons and critical areas, as well as prevailing winds and currents.
In the 12 years since the first edition of this atlas was published there has been a marked intensification of the effects of global warming on weather conditions throughout the world. In this fully revised and updated edition the main focus is on all changes that may affect offshore voyages.
One of the most noticeable phenomenon is the decrease in the regularity and reliability of trade winds, as witnessed by sailors on some of the frequently travelled ocean routes. However, the most significant and visible change has been the increased intensity and extent of tropical cyclones, both in the duration of the critical seasons and the areas affected. As this phenomenon has such a major impact on voyage planning, and safety generally, in order to provide a full perspective on the current situation, this new edition contains all relevant facts for every area of the world that is affected by tropical cyclones.
To present an accurate picture of the actual weather conditions that prevail in the world’s oceans, the pilot charts featured in this atlas are based on the data collected by a network of meteorological satellites, augmented by observations obtained from meteorological buoys and other sources, during the last twenty-five years.