72ft Sail drone, not what I'd like to encounter in a middle of a storm..

[Franziska]

Hi,

just saw a video of a NOAA Saildrone in Hurricane Sam and was wondering what happens when you are fighting a less dangerous storm (you would perhaps always try to avoid a storm like Sam!) and behind the next wave this beast shows up:

https://youtu.be/gJ-uYy9Ap8A

Here is the video of one of them in Sam.

https://youtu.be/TzgdSSb0T98

Not sure if that was the large scale one though.

Amazing technology though that it stays in one piece under those conditions & surely a great scientific data collection device.

[Pelagic]

Amazing, thanks for sharing

[Sos]

Those breaking waves look terrifying

[gonesail]

looks like that thing would cut right thru a fiberglass hull.

[Pelagic]

Originally Posted by gonesail

looks like that thing would cut right thru a fiberglass hull.

Yes....steel has it'd advantages

[clakiep]

I think that if You survive encountering such an uncrewed monster in international waters,
at least You can board it, switch of all systems and tow it to Your home - it is legally Yours !

Capt. Claus - ocean tramp of the eighties

[Jenta]

I would hazard a guess that the piloting skills of the drone are actually quite good and in fact it will most likely avoid you better than a vessel that doesn't like you sailing through their fishing grounds.

[disputin]

While this seems like new technology, I had a long discussion with a highly qualified delivery captain who spent 8 years recently on a Federal Board (I don't remember which one) working on marine policy. She said the majority of her work was about developing policies for marine drones. A lot of travel to Washington, DC to talk about drones.


She also said she has spotted a couple during her work and they were never a problem.


Take care,


Sean

[ArmyDaveNY]

The first video is interesting and particularly if you look at the keel. It seems that there are four or five water turbines on the aft end of the keel. If that is indeed what they are, it makes sense since the drone can't always count on the sun. Thanks for posting these videos.

[Chotu]

Not a fan of these AT ALL.

But I’d sure like to use that rig. Looks almost exactly like the one I designed for my boat but realized I would ruin the resale value with.

[SeanPatrick]

At around 1m25s in the video below, they say that the drones can "seek and find a dead in the water target of interest". Apparently, they can also maintain formation and monitor AIS (and whether it has been turned off). Some are also equipped with radar and supposedly all are constantly monitored.

I would hope they've been designed to avoid any detected vessels.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=orUAGLRA6Vg

[seandepagnier]

Originally Posted by clakiep

I think that if You survive encountering such an uncrewed monster in international waters,
at least You can board it, switch of all systems and tow it to Your home - it is legally Yours !

Capt. Claus - ocean tramp of the eighties

Absolutely true. Any unmanned vessel is subject to "law of salvage" and you can legally claim it.

[Pelagic]

[QUOTE=SeanPatrick;3494056]

I would hope they've been designed to avoid any detected vessels.
/QUOTE]

CNET VIDEO said they were fitted with Artificial Intelligence , which I guess is an improvement over some of the COLREG deficient skippers out there

[Pelagic]

Originally Posted by seandepagnier

Absolutely true. Any unmanned vessel is subject to "law of salvage" and you can legally claim it.

Not true, this vessel is not abandoned, not in any distress and is commanded autonomously

[kryg]

Thanks for sharing - Your concerns are real, just like hitting a container, though more visual. I would not like to be the one to discover the results of being hit or hitting one.
We don't have them yet in Australia, I hope not to see them here. Yet, we do have fishing pirates from ASIA that need to be stopped. I hope these drones would Have AIS, but it would defeat the purpose of the monitoring capabilities. There is no getting around it, you're right to ask what if. Clearly It is another navigational problem that will be uncharted, with no AIS Signal presents of the drone. Another object to look out for, especially when they malfunction, as in time all mechanical objects do.

Originally Posted by Franziska

Hi,

just saw a video of a NOAA Saildrone in Hurricane Sam and was wondering what happens when you are fighting a less dangerous storm (you would perhaps always try to avoid a storm like Sam!) and behind the next wave this beast shows up:

https://youtu.be/gJ-uYy9Ap8A

Here is the video of one of them in Sam.

https://youtu.be/TzgdSSb0T98

Not sure if that was the large scale one though.

Amazing technology though that it stays in one piece under those conditions & surely a great scientific data collection device.