Watching the Ball Drop — the Nautical Origins of a New Year’s Tradition

Posted on by January 1, 2020

The USNO Millennium Time Ball

Last night in New York City, over one million people watched a jeweled ball drop in Time Square at exactly midnight to mark the arrival of the New Year. Over a billion people are believed to have watched the festivities on television or on-line. The six-ton Waterford crystal ball covered in 32,276 LED lights is not actually “dropped” but lowered from a flag pole on the roof of One Times Square.  In New York City, the tradition dates back to 1907. But where did the tradition of dropping a ball to mark the time originate?  The practice dates back to 1829 and was related to helping sailors calculate their position at sea. Here is an updated post from several years ago.

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New York Harbor Pilot Dies in Fall While Boarding Ship

Posted on by December 31, 2019

Photo: Sandy Hook Pilots.

Sandy Hook harbor pilots guide merchant ships in and out of New York harbor, all year round, day and night, in all weather. They are highly skilled professionals who routinely make a very difficult job look easy. It easy to forget that their job is also extremely dangerous.

Early Monday morning, harbor pilot Captain Dennis R. Sherwood fell while attempting to board an inbound container ship and subsequently died of his injuries. Captain Sherwood, of Freehold, N.J., was climbing an accommodation ladder to board the U.S.-flagged Maersk Kensington at the Ambrose Light pilot station outside the harbor approaches at 4:30 a.m., Coast Guard officials said.

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Six Men First to Row Unassisted Across Drake’s Passage

Posted on by December 30, 2019

Six men have become the first to row unassisted across Drake’s passage, between South America and Antarctica. The effort was led by adventurer Colin O’Brady. In just under 13 days, they rowed more than 700 miles in a 29-foot boat named Ohana.

The other men on the expedition were: Fiann Paul of Reykjavik, Iceland; Cameron Bellamy of Cape Town, South Africa; Andrew Towne of Grand Forks, North Dakota; and John Petersen of Oakland, California.

Paul, Douglas-Hamilton and Bellamy are record-breaking ocean rowers, Towne is a championship rower and has climbed the tallest mountain on every continent, and Petersen was a championship college rower.

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Australia — Record Heat on Land, Devastating Heatwave Offshore

Posted on by December 29, 2019

The temperatures in Australia have been hotter than ever recorded in history. Wildfires are raging, filling the air of several cities, including Sydney, with acrid smoke.  Drought is choking a significant portion of the country.

As bad as things are on land, they are just as bad offshore where Western Australia’s coastline is in the midst of the most widespread marine heatwave it has experienced since reliable satellite monitoring began in 1993. The heat is killing fish, shellfish, crabs, and kelp. 

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75th Rolex Sydney Hobart Race — the Maxis and the Unfortunate Shark

Posted on by December 28, 2019

The five 100′ long maxi yachts dominated the 75th sailing of the Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race, each finishing the 630 nautical mile race within the same two-hour window. Commanche took line honors finishing the race in 1 day, 18 hours, 30 minutes and 24 seconds.  She was followed closely by InfoTrack, Wild Oats XI, SHK Scallywag 100, and Black Jack, respectively.

The standings in the race may have been altered by an unfortunate collision by Scallywag and a shark. Continue reading →

Honoring the Coast Guard Heroes of Hurricane Harvey

Posted on by December 27, 2019

When Category 4 Hurricane Harvey devastated coastal Texas and Louisiana in August 2017, the US Coast Guard was there to assist in the rescue. Harvey was the wettest tropical cyclone on record in the United States and is tied as the most destructive. The hurricane’s floods inundated hundreds of thousands of homes, displaced more than 30,000 people and prompted more than 17,000 rescues.

Last week in Mobile the Coast Guard awarded three Distinguished Flying Crosses and one Air Medial to four of the heroes of rescues in Hurricane Harvey.  The Distinguished Flying Crosses were presented to Cmdr. Scott Sanborn, Lt. John Briggs, and Petty Officer 3rd Class Tyler Gantt. Petty Officer 1st Class James Yockey was awarded the Air Medal.

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Ghost Net Kills Hundreds of Sharks Off Cayman Islands

Posted on by December 26, 2019

Ghost nets — Photo: The Ocean Cleanup

Yahoo recently reported that a group of divers happened upon a gruesome sight in the Cayman Islands — hundreds of decomposing sharks and other sea creatures tangled up in a floating “ghost net.”

Dominick Martin-Mayes, a 27-year-old fisherman and diving instructor, told the Independent that he was with a group of friends when they found the “solid net of dead, decomposing fish and sharks.”

Ghost nets are fishing nets that have been left or lost in the ocean by fishermen and that continue to entangle, trap and kill fish and other sea life long after they have been abandoned or lost. 

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Hoisting the Christmas Tree to the Masthead on the Joseph Conrad at Mystic Seaport

Posted on by December 25, 2019

Merry Christmas to all those who celebrate the holiday.

Here is a short video of the rigging crew of Matt Otto, Nick Canzellarini and Alex Peacock at Mystic Seaport Museum installing one of the many mast-top Christmas trees atop the foremast of the Joseph Conrad.

Oh Christmas Tree

Wreckage of 16th Century Ship Samson Uncovered in Stockholm City Center

Posted on by December 24, 2019

Archaeologists Daniel Matsenius and Philip Tonemar recovering the probable remnants of Samson, a ship built in the 16th century (Arkeologikonsult / Facebook)

Like so many coastal cities, Stockholm has grown larger and its harbor smaller over time as landfill and buildings have replaced waterways and docks. The Local reports that over the past year, work has been going on in the Kungsträdgården area in Stockholm’s city center, to strengthen the foundations of a building belonging to the Riksbankens Jubileumsfond. In an excavation under a courtyard, sections of a ship’s hull were discovered. Analysis of the wreckage and the dating of the planking leads archaeologists to believe that the ship was the Samson, commissioned by Charles IX of Sweden in the late 1500s.

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The Sailing Ship Amongst the Battle Cruisers, Battle of the Falklands 1914

Posted on by December 23, 2019

We recently posted about the 105th anniversary of the Battle of the Falklands and the discovery of the wreckage of the German armored cruiser, SMS Scharnhorst, which was sunk in the battle. In researching these posts there was one bit of historical trivia which seems worth sharing — the appearance of a sailing ship, which sailed directly between the combatants at the beginning of the battle.

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Royal Navy and US Navy Aircraft Carriers — Integration or Outright Lease?

Posted on by December 22, 2019

USNI News recently quoted Adm. Tony Radakin, the First Sea Lord and U.K. Chief of Naval Staff suggesting that the U.K. Royal Navy intends the HMS Queen Elizabeth its largest, most advanced warship ever built, to be considered interchangeable with U.S. Navy carriers.

“As she has demonstrated already, we can successfully field a combined U.S., U.K. carrier strike group,” Radakin said. “I look forward to this developing further, moving to the point where we are not only talking about interoperability, but we are looking for interchangeability.”

Queen Elizabeth can deploy with up to 36 F-35B Lightning II Joint Strike Fighters. The ship is wrapping up a series of exercises off the Atlantic Coast, in coordination with the U.S. military, he said.

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2020 Daysails on 1877 Barque Elissa

Posted on by December 21, 2019

The Galveston Historical Foundation has announced its yearly daysails on the 1877 Barque Elissa. The day sails will be on April 3rd, 4th, and 5th. From the announcement:

Join us for a one of a kind outdoor adventure aboard the 1877 Iron Barque ELISSA! 2020 sees the Official Tall Ship of Texas return to the waters of the Gulf of Mexico for her annual daysail series. As one of the oldest, and longest continuously sailed vessels in the world, the annual daysails keep her where she works best, with her sails down, sailing in the Gulf waters.

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Cruise Ship Bumper Cars — Carnival Glory Hits the Carnival Legend, Just Misses Oasis of the Seas

Posted on by December 20, 2019

This morning while maneuvering to come into the dock at Cozumel, Mexico, the cruise ship Carnival Glory, collided with the docked cruise ship, Carnival Legend, and narrowly averted hitting the Royal Caribbean Lines Oasis of the Seas, which was also at the dock. Video, taken by passengers on the Oasis of the Seas, shows that as the Carnival Glory is passing the Carnival Legend, the Glory‘s stern sideswipes the Legend‘s bow. Six people were reported to have sustained minor injuries in the collision which damaged at least two decks on the stern of the Glory. 

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First AC 75 to Capsize — “a Little Whoopsie” on Emirates Team NZ Te Aihe

Posted on by December 19, 2019

The new America’s Cup AC75 monohulls flying across the water on foils look like other-worldly beasts to a traditionalist’s eye. How does one sail those things? Very carefully, apparently.

The other day, Emirates Team New Zealand was testing their boat, Te Aihe, in Aukland’s Waitemata Harbour when they had what was described as a “little whoopsie.” While performing a foiling gybe – described as a particularly tricky maneuver – they became unbalanced, their bow reared up and their foils lost contact with the water. Te Aihe lost speed and slowly rolled on to its side. No one was injured and no damage was done to the boat, which was righted with the help of a support boat.

This is likely not to be the last AC75 capsize. Recently, Grant Simmer, eleven-time America’s Cup veteran and CEO of the INEOS Team UK, warned of possible disaster with the new high-tech boats. In an interview on the team website he noted, “You can easily capsize these boats, a big focus will be the safety of the crew – followed by trying to protect our physical assets.”

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Kicked Out For Being Gay, US Navy Names New Ship USNS Harvey Milk

Posted on by December 18, 2019

Then Ensign Harvey Milk

At NASSCO in San Diego, they have begun cutting steel for a new Navy oiler, T-AO-206, to be named the USNS Harvey Milk. When completed it will be the second of the John Lewis class of underway replenishment oilers, operated by the Military Sealift Command to support ships of the United States Navy. 

Raised in a Navy family, Harvey Milk joined the US Navy in 1951 during the Korean War. He served aboard the submarine rescue ship USS Kittiwake (ASR-13) as a diving officer. He was later transferred to San Diego to serve as a diving instructor. Then in 1955, he was forced to resign from the Navy for being a homosexual. He held the rank of lieutenant, junior grade.

Milk would go on to become the first openly gay elected official in the history of California, where he was elected to the San Francisco Board of Supervisors in 1977.  On November 27, 1978, Supervisor Harvey Milk and San Francisco Mayor George Moscone were shot and killed in San Francisco City Hall by an ex-supervisor. When Milk was shot he was wearing his U.S. Navy diver’s belt buckle.

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