I will admit to having mixed feelings about assigning names to winter storms. Hurricanes are momentous enough to be worthy of names, but most winter storms, nasty and dangerous though they may indeed be, don’t seem worth naming. I will … Continue reading
Category Archives: Current
OK, this is odd. A few days after New Years, a fisherman spotted a small dog treading water several miles from shore in Tampa Bay, on the west coast of Florida. The dog, which was wearing a red collar and a pink … Continue reading
We have recently posted about Slocum gliders, autonomous underwater vehicles, capable of extended voyages and used by oceanographers to map ocean conditions. Saildrone, a company in California, has recently launched a 19′ long by 7′ wide autonomous trimaran sailing drone capable … Continue reading
The USCGC Polar Star is on its way to attempt to break free two ice-bound ship off Antarctica. So far, three icebreakers have attempted to free the the MV Akademik Shokalskiy, which has been stuck in Antarctic ice south of Tasmania … Continue reading
The New York Times has a wonderful account of the rescue of John Aldridge, a commercial fisherman who fell off a lobsterboat in the middle of the night last July, over forty miles off Montauk, Long Island, NY. Aldridge spent … Continue reading
Every year I go to the New York Boat Show. In recent years, it has been a sad pilgrimage. Where once a wide range of boat types were represented, for the past decade or so most of the boats on … Continue reading
The Australian icebreaker Aurora Australis, currently carrying passengers rescued from a stricken Antarctic expedition cruise ship, has been told to stand by to assist the Chinese icebreaker, Snow Dragon, as necessary. The icebreaker Xue Long, or Snow Dragon, notified rescue authorities … Continue reading
I am surprised that the Vikings didn’t discover this first. The Vikings did, after all, develop a sun compass for use on sunny days and used sunstones to find the direction of the sun when it was overcast. One might … Continue reading
Disturbing video of the Giant Yellow Duck exploding shortly before a New Year’s Day celebration in the northern Taiwan port city of Keeling. it is unclear what caused the duck to explode though some are speculating that it was attacked … Continue reading
Happy New Year! The New Year 2014 begins with both a new moon and a supermoon. The month also ends with a both a new moon and and a supermoon on the 30th. A supermoon is the term applied when … Continue reading
Fortunately, the stranded scientists and tourists appear to be bearing up well under the strain on the MV Akademik Shokalskiy. New Year’s festivities on the ship, courtesy of the Guardian. New year on board the Akademik Shokalskiy – video … Continue reading
In the list of the world’s 25 largest operating offshore wind farms, 11 are based off the United Kingdom. Denmark has five; China three; Belgium and the Netherlands each have two, while Germany and Sweden each have one. Don’t look for … Continue reading
We posted recently about the Chinese icebreaker, Xue Long, or Snow Dragon, which came within about 6 miles of the expedition cruise ship, MV Akademik Shokalskiy, before being forced to turn back. MV Akademik Shokalskiy has been trapped in pack ice off Antarctica south … Continue reading
MSC Monterey, a 4,892 TEU container ship, was bound from the Belgium port of Antwerp to Newark, NJ, but diverted to Newfoundland after cracks in her hull were discovered. The ship is now at anchor south of Newfoundland, near Trepassey … Continue reading
Two recent items on sharks in the news — a photobombing shark off the coast of California and Australian sharks posting warnings on Twitter. Off Manhattan Beach, California, June Emerson took a photograph of her son and a friend playing in … Continue reading
The Chinese icebreaker Xue Long, or Snow Dragon, has gotten to within around 6-7 miles of the expedition cruise ship, MV Akademik Shokalskiy, before it too was stopped by thick ice off the coast of Antarctica, south of Tasmania. Three icebreakers … Continue reading
Did you catch GliderPaloosa 2013? No? Neither did I. It was easy to miss as it was almost entirely underwater. GliderPaloosa 2013 was an event held in September and October, sponsored by NOAA in cooperation with Dalhousie University, the University of Maine, … Continue reading
The brochure for for the cruise liner Lakonia promised “A MARVELOUS CHRISTMAS CRUISE TO SUNNY MADEIRA AND THE CANARY ISLANDS…HAVE YOUR HOLIDAY WITH ALL RISK ELIMINATED. ENJOY A HOLIDAY YOU WILL REMEMBER FOR THE REST OF YOUR LIFE.” Now fifty years later, … Continue reading
There was a recent story in the press about the wreckage of a German World War I submarine beached of mudflats on the banks of the River Medway in Hoo, Kent. The sub is, believed to be the UB-122, one … Continue reading
President Obama recently nominated Vice Admiral Michelle Howard to serve as vice chief of naval operations, the service’s No. 2 uniformed officer. If confirmed, she will be the first black and the first woman to hold the job and the first … Continue reading