Shapefiles for qtVlm

A powerful function of qtVlm is its ability to show shapefiles in a very convenient manner. They can even be configured to include links to live data. One example is the UK shipping forecasts that we made for qtVlm some time ago, which we put here at the top of the list.  But we need a list because there are many of these floating around that can be very useful for navigation, and I am beginning to loose as many as I find. Just found a couple neat ones for the Gulf Stream, which motivated setting up this index.

(1) UK Shipping forecasts
Note this is a special type of shapefile in that Starpath has made code that lets you get live forecasts at each zone. Normally shapefiles load static data. If we want overlays that update automatically we need to have links to images or KML files.

(2) Add elevation contours to an ENC

(3) Add north and south walls to the Gulf Stream plus Add eddies with ID 

The above Navy data were typically updated every 36 hrs, but at present (4/30/25) it is nearly a month old. So we need to keep an eye on this.  There is a lot of chaos in ocean and weather data delivery these days. A sample below:

These shape files (two are loaded here) are to be overlaid onto either the RUCOOL SST images or one of the model forecasts for the current, or overlay onto the Navy Gulf Stream Analysis to annotate what they show. These eddies will coincide exactly with what are on the Analysis maps.  Note too that these shapefiles have to be downloaded  each time they are new, which is typically every 36 hr. They are identified by day of the year, ODate, ie in 2025, 90 = Mar 31.... however, as of May 4, 2025 we are seeing only erratic updating on Navy GS products, so their fate is uncertain.

(4) Up dated US Forecast zones