Storm season monitoring by Watkins Superyachts

Watkins Superyachts Ltd in the Atlantic basin reports on the storm season, analysing extreme meteorological conditions.  The company has ceased monitoring and daily reporting for the 2012 season, their fourth year of reporting, and registration for inclusion for the 2013 season has opened.

Watkins’ daily report began in 2009, when the company was still a fully owned Munich Re group company and gave energy underwriters, whose interests were mainly in a medium to long term forecast, a simple outlook on windstorm development in the Gulf of Mexico during the hurricane season.

The circulation list of seven people soon widened and over the four years of reporting, has become a widely respected annual resource for the marine-insurance industry and represents one of the only remaining formal connections between the Watkins Syndicate - underwriters at Lloyds and the now independent Watkins Superyachts Ltd.  This now annual Atlantic basin/Gulf of Mexico/Caribbean storm season monitoring project produces a daily monitoring bulletin to several hundred underwriters, insurance brokers, yacht captains, fleet management and offshore energy interests.

A number of offshore contractors use this report to assist in their decision-making process for early initiation of their hurricane response procedures.  In June 2012, office workers in Fort Lauderdale began registering for these daily updates, which provide a short and readable daily analysis from a human rather than an excessively technical viewpoint.

This year, for the first time, a flotilla of large yachts travelling in convoy across the Atlantic in the closing weeks of the season were including the Watkins reports in their daily passage reviews and allowed for early evasive action to be taken to avoid the effects of tropical storm RAFAEL.

Regular readers take comfort from knowing that these reports are compiled by ex-seafarers who avoid long range forecasts as far as possible.

At some time during the winter months, the Watkins team makes a very reluctant long range forecast based on expected sea temperatures and the trend of El Nino/La Nina, and daily forecasts are expected to resume in May depending on the arrival of the first viable tropical disturbance. The first report was issued on May 15th this year.

The company explains, new addresses are always welcome.  There is no catch or fee, and addresses are not used for selling or passed on to third parties. To register for this, visit this form on our website.

For further information contact Vicki Le’fleur [email protected] +44 20 7469 4136.