Norfolk’s Harborfest, Slavery & Remembrance

Posted on by June 9, 2018

Norfolk’s forty-second annual Harborfest is now underway. It is described as the “largest, longest-running, free maritime festival in the nation.” This year there are seven traditional sailing vessels from Virginia and Maryland participating, including the Godspeed of Jamestown, Alliance of Yorktown, the Sultana of Chestertown, the Schooner Virginia of Norfolk, and Bonny Rover of Newport News.

Some, however, particularly African Americans in Norfolk, have long boycotted the festival based on the decades-old rumors that the nautical festival tacitly celebrates the slave trade. Festival organizers dismiss the rumors as an “urban legend.” Harborfest started 42 years ago when the Norwegian tall ship Christian Radich docked three blocks from Town Point in Norfolk and has grown since then.

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Project Natick — Microsoft Tests an Underwater Data-Center

Posted on by June 8, 2018

Although we speak of the internet as being in “the cloud,” an estimated 95 percent of internet communication is carried on cables on the bottom of the sea. Now Microsoft is exploring moving computer data centers beneath the sea, as well. Microsoft has recently dropped a 40-foot long data-center pod about 100 ft below the surface onto the seafloor off the coast from the European Marine Energy Centre in Orkney, north of Scotland. The pod is phase 2 of Project Natick. Microsoft previously dropped a slightly smaller 30-foot Natick pod off the coast of California in 2016 

Quartz reports: The logic is sound: Bringing data centers close to hubs of computing power benefits customers, enabling smoother web surfing or game playing by cutting down the back-and-forth between users and servers. Microsoft says nearly half the world’s population lives within 150 km (120 miles) of the ocean. And because oceans are uniformly cool below a certain depth, keeping the machines under the sea would cut down the cooling costs that make up a large chunk of the operating budget of data centers.

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Ben Lecomte Begins Attempt to Swim Across the Pacific

Posted on by June 7, 2018

French-born swimmer Ben Lecomte has set off on a 5,500-mile record attempt to swim across the Pacific Ocean from Japan to California. The 51-year-old professional distance swimmer will swim for eight hours a day for more than six months as he heads towards the US west coast. If he succeeds in his attempt, Lecomte will be the first person to swim across the Pacific.

The BBC reports: Preparations for the trip have taken more than six years, but Mr. Lecomte has been targeting the challenge for much longer.

In 1998, he made the first known solo trans-Atlantic swim covering 6,400km (4,000 miles) in 73 days. When he finally reached dry land in France, his first words were “never again”, but he was soon looking for a new challenge. Continue reading →

Remembering Andrew Jackson Higgins and the Higgins Boat on D-Day

Posted on by June 6, 2018

I am aware of only one man who was praised by both Eisenhower and Hitler. A repost on the anniversary of D-Day.

General Dwight David Eisenhower said that “Andrew Higgins … is the man who won the war for us. … If Higgins had not designed and built those LCVPs, we never could have landed over an open beach. The whole strategy of the war would have been different.”  Adolph Hitler referred to Andrew Higgins as the “new Noah,” though his admiration was more begrudging. On the 74th anniversary of the Normandy landings, better known as D-Day, it seems worthwhile to remember Andrew Higgins and the amazing Higgins boat.

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Waves of Rubbish Wash Up on Australian Beaches After 83 Containers Lost Overboard

Posted on by June 5, 2018

Last week, the YM Efficiency, a 4250 TEU container ship bound from Taiwan to Sydney, Australia lost 83 containers in heavy seas while 30km off the coast of Port Stephens. In addition to the containers lost overboard, 30 other containers were damaged. Now waves of rubbish are washing ashore on the pristine beaches of New South Wales. 

“There has been mountains and mountains of rubbish and debris washing in,” one volunteer involved in the clean-up, Julie Simms, told Nine News. “It is plastic, car parts, lolly wrappers, drink bottles – just plastic and more plastic.”

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USS Arizona Memorial At Pearl Harbor Closes Indefinitely

Posted on by June 4, 2018

The USS Arizona Memorial at Pearl Harbor has been closed indefinitely after serious structural cracks were discovered.  The memorial was built in 1962 and is positioned athwartship over the wreckage of the sunken battleship USS Arizona. The monument is only accessible by shuttle boats and averages over one million visitors per year. The National Park Service issued a statement:

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Missing Gongs and Bells Off Maine, USCG Asks Public for Help

Posted on by June 3, 2018

A certain number of brass bells and gongs from bell and gong buoys off the coast of Maine have turned up missing and the US Coast Guard has recently issued a press release asking the public’s help in identifying the thieves. The statement is a bit cryptic. It does not identify how many of what they describe as “brass sound signaling devices” have been stolen or from which buoys. (There is, however, a reward for information leading to the conviction of the thieves.) The press release goes on to say:

The brass gongs and bells were attached to buoys to help mariners navigate safely during times of reduced visibility. They play a vital role in the safe passage of ships and mariners.

It is thought the high-dollar devices are being stolen and sold to nautical novelty shops or scrap metal yards. Federal officials are working closely with local law enforcement, shops, and scrap yards to identify perpetrators and reclaim the missing property. Continue reading →

Almost Six Years After Superstorm Sandy, Sign from New Jersey Washes up on French Beach

Posted on by June 2, 2018

Recently, Hannes Frank was walking along Plage du Pin Sec, near Bordeaux and found a portion of a real estate sign which had washed ashore on the beach. The sign was worn and part of it was ripped away, but “Diane Turton Realtors 732-292-1400″ was still readable. Mr. Frank, a semi-retired software consultant who lives in Brussels, emailed Diane Turton Realtors, in New Jersey, saying “Hi, Just wanted to let you know that I found part of one of your signposts washed up on the beach near Bordeaux France pictures available if wanted. Not in the best shape after that crossing.”

It turns out that when Superstorm Sandy made landfall in October 2012, Diane Turton Realtors had one sign go missing. According to the New York Times, the missing sign was from a house for sale on Cedarcrest Drive, facing a narrow inlet called Debbie’s Creek in the Jersey Shore town of Brielle. The sign was 18 by 24 inches and about an inch thick and made of plastic composite. It disappeared along with the post it was mounted to and was never seen again. Until around May 14, 2018. On a beach in France, 3,595 miles away.

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On National Donut Day — Captain Gregory & the Birth of the Modern Donut

Posted on by June 1, 2018
Captain Hansen Gregory

Captain Hansen Gregory

Today is National Donut Day. I was not aware that such a day existed until I bought a cup of coffee at Dunkin Donuts this morning and was offered a free donut in honor of the day. (I did not refuse the offer.) 

Tangential events often remind me of sea stories and my free donut brought to mind Hansen Crockett Gregory, 1832-1921, a ship’s captain from Rockport, Maine, who is often said to be the inventor of the modern donut. Here is the “hole story.” (An updated repost from 2015.)

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Navy Observes 50th Anniversary of the Mysterious Loss of the Sub USS Scorpion

Posted on by May 31, 2018

Last week, the Navy marked the 50th anniversary of the loss of the Skipjack-class nuclear submarine USS Scorpion (SSN 589) in a private observance at the Scorpion Memorial on Norfolk Naval Station.  99 officers and crew died when the submarine sank on May 22, 1968, over 400 miles southwest of the Azores in more than 10,000 feet of water. Exactly how and why the Scorpion sank remains a mystery. 

After an extensive search, the wreckage of the submarine was located on Oct. 31, 1968, in more than 10,000 feet of water. Among the various hypotheses for why the submarine sank were a hydrogen explosion while charging batteries, the accidental activation or explosion of a torpedo, an attack by the Soviets, and even the malfunction of a trash disposal unit. A seven-panel naval board of inquiry concluded that “the certain cause of the loss of the Scorpion cannot be ascertained.”

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50 Million Years of Whale Animation in One Minute

Posted on by May 30, 2018

Slate recently featured an animation of 50 million years of whale evolution represented in one minute. The animation is the work of Jordan Collver, an illustrator and science communicator in the U.K. Collver used a series of illustrations to show the slow-changing morphology of the ancient quadruped Pakicetus, as millions of years of aquatic adaptation shapes the land mammal into the modern sperm whale. If you would like to slow things down a bit, a ten minute version of the animation is also available here.

Replica Stern-Wheeler MV Oliver Cromwell Sinks in Irish Sea

Posted on by May 29, 2018

The replica stern-wheeler MV Oliver Cromwell sank in the Irish Sea while under tow from Gloucester to Northern Ireland. The vessel was reported to have started taking on water 10 miles west of South Stack near Holyhead, Anglesey, on Friday, sinking within three hours after the Coast Guard was called. No one was aboard the vessel when she sank and there was no marine pollution reported. 

The Mississippi-style riverboat was built as a Dutch barge in 1922 and was converted to a riverboat hotel in 1993, traveling between Gloucester and Worcester. In a statement, the previous owners said, that “after many years of sailing the Severn as a hotel boat she was moored up as a static venue in the docks from 2009, primarily because the costs involved in renewing her passenger license were prohibitive.”  

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On Memorial Day — Remembering the US Merchant Mariners of WWII

Posted on by May 28, 2018

A post from several years ago that is well worth reposting.

What was the most dangerous service in World War II? The Army, the Navy, the Marines?  In fact, it was the Merchant Marine. 1 in 26 mariners serving aboard merchant ships in World WW II died in the line of duty, suffering a greater percentage of war-related deaths on average than all other U.S. services. Officially, a total of 1,554 ships were sunk due to war conditions, including 733 ships of over 1,000 gross tons.  An estimated 243,000 sailors served in the Merchant Marine during the war and roughly 9,500 died either at sea, as the result of wounds ashore or as POWs. During the early years of the war, the loss of merchant ships and sailors to submarine attacks was so great there was a real concern that Germany might succeed in winning the war by starving the Allies of supplies. The mass production of merchant ships in the United States and the parallel rapid training of hundreds of thousands of merchant sailors kept the necessary supplies flowing across the Atlantic.

Despite the importance of the merchant marine to the war effort and extreme dangers, merchant sailors were civilians who did not receive military benefits. Merchant mariners from World War II finally received full benefits only in 1988.

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Hidden Harbor Tour — Brooklyn Waterfront Past & Present

Posted on by May 27, 2018

Photo © Mitch Waxman

On June 7th, The Working Harbor Committee (WHC) is sponsoring a Hidden Harbour Tour® — Brooklyn Waterfront Past & Present — featuring guest speakers Capt. Maggie Flanagan, WHC & Waterfront Alliance, and Bill Miller, renowned maritime historian & author, www.billmilleratsea.com. From the WHC announcement:

Join Working Harbor Committee for a tour of Brooklyn waterfront industry, past and present.  From Newtown Creek through Sunset Park, the 8 miles of Brooklyn shore facing the Harbor’s Upper Bay were once filled with manufacturing, shipping, and commerce. Though apartment towers and landscaped parks now capture attention, Brooklyn still retains active trade and maritime business.

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Bones From Whydah Gally Shipwreck Not “Black Sam” Bellamy’s, After All

Posted on by May 26, 2018

Captain “Black Sam” Bellamy

Last February, we posted about human bone fragments found near the wreck of the pirate ship Whydah Gally on Cape Cod, Massachusetts.  The bones were located close to where a pistol, which possibly belonged to the ship’ captain, “Black Sam” Bellamy, had been recovered.  Forensic scientists from the University of New Haven in Connecticut compared the DNA from the bones to a DNA sample given by one of Bellamy’s living descendants in the United Kingdom. The question was “were these the bones of Black Sam Bellamy?” 

The answer is apparently, “No.” WBUR reports that the Whydah Pirate Museum in Yarmouth announced on Thursday that DNA testing determined the bone was from a male with general ties to the Eastern Mediterranean area but was not Bellamy. 

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Celebrating New Jersey’s Tall Ship A.J. Meerwald’s 90th Birthday!

Posted on by May 25, 2018

We recently posted about Portside NewYork’s tanker Mary A. Whalen‘s 80th birthday. We also posted about the ex-USCG lighthouse tender Lilac‘s 90th birthday, which is tomorrow. (Stop by for cake.) And coming up next weekend, June 2, is the oyster sloop, A.J. Meerwald‘s 90th birthday. Hosted by Discover Delaware Bay, there will be a celebration with birthday cake, food, music, and birthday sails beginning at 11 a.m. June 2, at the Bayshore Center at Bivalve, in Port Norris, NJ. Sails on the schooner will be available at 12 PM, 3:45 PM, 5:30 PM, and 7:30 PM. The celebration will continue with a Boat Parade at dusk followed by fireworks. 

The Bayshore Center is also celebrating the 20th anniversary of the Meerwald being officially designated the Tall Ship of New Jersey.

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The REMUS 6000 & the Galleon San José, the Holy Grail of Shipwrecks

Posted on by May 24, 2018

On Monday, the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) announced in a press release, that they “recently obtained authorization by Maritime Archaeology Consultants (MAC), Switzerland AG, and the Colombian government to release new details from the successful search for the three-century-old San José —a 62-gun, three-masted Spanish galleon ship that sank with a cargo believed to be worth billions of dollars. The ship, which is often called the “holy grail of shipwrecks,” went down with a treasure of gold, silver, and emeralds in 1708 during a battle with British ships in the War of Spanish Succession.”

The discovery was made over two years ago as announced by Colombia’s President Juan Manuel Santos. At the time little information on the discovery was made available. The recent press release by WHOI provides many missing details, including the use of an Underwater Autonomous Robot (AUV), the REMUS 6000. 

“The legendary wreck was discovered off the coast of Cartagena, Colombia, on Nov. 27, 2015, by a team of international scientists and engineers during an expedition aboard the Colombian Navy research ship ARC Malpelo led by MAC’s Chief Project Archaeologist Roger Dooley. It was found more than 600 meters below the surface during a search initiated by MAC and approved by The Colombian Ministry of Culture. The search was supervised by Instituto Colombiano de Antropología e Historia (ICANH) and Dirección General Marítima (DIMAR). Continue reading →

Where is Fat Leonard? Long-running Navy Purchasing Scandal Gets Stranger

Posted on by August 18, 2018

Where is Fat Leonard?  Fat Leonard, as Leonard Glenn Francis is known, was supposed to testify in Norfolk next week about his crooked dealings with dozens of Navy officers.  Except that apparently, he won’t. Fat Leonard was arrested in 2013 in the worst corruption scandal in Navy history.  He entered into a plea deal in 2015 and has been awaiting sentencing while in the custody of U.S. Marshals Service.

Except that he is no longer in their custody.  No one is saying where he is, although, it is rumored that last March, the 53-year-old 350-pound defense contractor’s health was failing and that he was released from federal detention to seek urgent medical care at a San Diego hospital.

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Ex-USCG Lighthouse Tender Lilac Turns 85 with Free Birthday Cake!

Posted on by May 22, 2018

We recently posted about the tanker Mary A. Whalen‘s 80th birthday. The historic lighthouse tender Lilac is also celebrating her 85th birthday. 

2018 Season Opening — 85th Birthday with Cake 
The ex-USCG Cutter Lilac, originally built for the U.S. Lighthouse Service, was launched on May 26, 1933. To celebrate her 85th birthday, birthday cake will be available for all visitors when the ship opens for her 2018 season next Saturday, May 26th on Hudson River Park’s Pier 25 in Manhattan.

In addition to cake, there will be tours of the ship, the opportunity to view the current exhibition, and to see the progress made over the winter in restoring communication systems and getting things looking shipshape.  Admission is free (although donations are always appreciated.)

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How Did a Cannon from HMS Bounty End Up in Scotland ?

Posted on by May 22, 2018

Thanks to Alaric Bond for passing on an intriguing news item. A cannon said to be from HMS Bounty, the ship made famous by a mutiny in 1789, is being put up for sale at an upcoming auction. According to the provenance, the cannon was gifted to Captain Stewart of the Orealla in 1898. The letter is signed by JR McCoy, president of Pitcairn Island and great-grandson of one of the original mutineers. The cannon was reportedly found in Scotland.

How did this come to pass? Following the mutiny, the leader Fletcher Christian sailed off with a crew of nine mutineers, six Polynesian men, twelve women and a baby. They arrived at Pitcairn, a tiny volcanic island in the South Pacific, which had been conveniently miss-plotted on Admiralty charts. Shortly thereafter, they burned the Bounty in what is now known as Bounty Bay. The ship’s four 4 pound cannons sank with the ship when she was set ablaze.

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