Old Weather Forum

Welcome Hannah! Burton is a great ship! Have fun.

Hello Hannah, and welcome. I hope you find this project as engaging as I do!

Hi Hannah! Welcome aboard, hope you enjoy it. It can be addicting.

Hello,

I’m brand new to Old Weather and really excited about transcribing Whaling ship logbooks. This seems to light up much of what interests me - books, history, nature and the effects of climate change on marine environments. I’m also a big believer in the importance of citizen science.

I live in Ferndale, Washington, in the very corner of Washington state about 20 minutes from the British Columbia border, surrounded by the Salish Sea. I started out studying marine biology in college but life had other ideas and I landed instead on a career as a book buyer for an independent book store which allowed for its own kind of happiness - reading books for a living. I am currently working in the Ferndale Public Library with retirement just months away.

I have been digging around in the website and there is so much here to learn about and enjoy and I love the humor! And reading about all the folks who’ve been involved, the depth of content and commitment is amazing. It’s feels good to contribute in some small way.

Krista

Glad to have you, Krista!

Welcome, Krista!
I'm glad you are enjoying the forum

Hi Krista.
Please feel free to ask about anything you do not understand.
The "Oldies" on this project have developed many short cuts to entering the data and are willing to share them with you.

Pommystuart (Living in Australia)

Hi Krista,

I would be waving a big “Hello,” from my front porch in Victoria, except I’m in Menlo Park, CA, babysitting grandchildren. Welcome aboard the good ship “Old Weather!”

Thanks everyone. I will definitely be taking you “Oldies” up on the offers of help!

Welcome Krista! Glad you found us.

Hi Shipmates! I'm ronweil and recently came aboard your fine vessel to go whaling. I first washed ashore Sept. 6th, a long time ago. I'm a retired graphic artist and painter and was looking for a useful, voluntary, computer based activity. While surfing the net, I stumbled into the NOAA site and shortly found OW. I'm just getting started and will probably be a real pain to someone until I get my anchor out of the mud and the sails full. Until then, I'm looking forward to being part of your crew.

Ron

Welcome Ronweil.
Please feel free to ask as many questions as you need to.
You have jumped in at the deep end as the whaling logs are the hardest to do but usually give the greatest satisfaction when you crack the code. (I mean when you manage to read the writing )
The whaling logs are important as they visit places the "Conventional" ships do not, go so you are filling in the gaps in the weather patterns.

You may find a bit of fun in the "Dockside Gallery" forum found in the Dockside Cafe.

Stuart

Hey Pommy, good to hear from you! Thanks for responding. Are there any particular "boffins" that questions should be addressed to, because I have a lot of questions.I live in Oregon City, which is just SE of Portland, Oregon. I'm in my 80s and I love ships, the oceans, the whales and want to learn all I can about them and how the whalers lived. Thanks for tip on the Dockside Gallery.
Ron

Hi Ron.
Glad to have you onboard.
The first port of call for help is our trusty Randi.
What or Who she does not know is not worth knowing.
She will point you in the right direction (that's why she is so busy)

(Sorry Randi for giving you more work but I know you can manage it. )

Whilst my handle is Pommystuart I am now a naturalised Australian, Ex Merchant Navy, mechanical construction, steam train and catalina flying boat restoration used to keep me occupied. Now its Old Weather and Bar keeping at my retirement village.

Take care
Stuart.

Welcome aboard. I'm another retiree but mainly work on editing naval logs rather than extracting weather data. Do have a browse around the library which contains lots of geographic info and links as well as abbreviations, jargon etc. The various moderators collect 'finds' from OWers and add them to the databases. If you track down something new yourself then you can use the discussion sections to share it and the moderator will periodically add them to the reference database.

Handwriting is a perennial problem. The whalers have a bit more of an excuse but I mainly work on naval logs and I assure you that legible handwriting is NOT on the essential qualities list for the job of naval writer. You do get your eye in eventually - then they change the logkeeper!! I sometimes fantasize about a special circle of hell where the inhabitants have to spend their time in purgatory transcribing each other's logs.

Have fun

I love the idea of the circle of hell where the log writers have to transcribe each others logs!

I was a retired meteorologist, and I started this almost eleven years ago. I thought I might do it for a few months, but I found it so interesting that I haven't managed to quit yet.

You might like to check out Signs of OW addiction.

Thanks for the great PR, Stuart!!!

Hi Ron, and welcome on board!
We already met, but I'm glad to learn a bit about you.
I work primarily on the federal ships like USS Sacramento, so I can't help too much with the whalers although I'm willing to give it a try.

Sorry Randi

Ron.
Only the weather needs transcribing.
Interesting entries (say Meteor storm or unusual events like deaths) can be added if you want to.

This link may help you with place names.
viewforum.php?f=14
For Handwriting help go to here.
http://www.oldweatherforum.org/viewtopic.php?f=11&t=57

Hi everyone,

I began transcribing whaling logs for Old Weather a couple of years ago, under the tutelage of the great Joan ( ), with Belvedere (1897). With a deep background in the humanities, archaeology and anthropology; an urge to help understand climate change, and a career in technology, I find this work right up my alley.

I've also been sailing since I was a child, and my wife and I sail here on San Francisco Bay every week or two. A decade ago we quit our jobs and sailed down to Mexico, living aboard for almost a year and a half--a dream fulfilled and an appetite whetted for more. That experience gives me some insight, I think, into the minds of the captains as they made their navigational decisions, while enhancing my wonder at their appetite for bitter conditions, little sleep and bad food.



For me getting to spend time with these logbooks is another kind of dream fulfilled. Who doesn't--upon encountering such catalogs of mundane and extraordinary details from past people's lives--wish they could really dig into them, to take the time to read them and understand them? Okay, maybe lots of people don't, but for me this is the perfect excuse!

You prepared yourself well for this project

We are very happy to have you!