Black History Month — Remembering the Golden Thirteen

Posted on by February 2, 2025

Twelve of the Golden Thirteen

In honor of Black History Month, a repost of a wonderful bit of history from the Naval History and Heritage Command — the story of the Golden Thirteen.

In January 1944, there were nearly 100,000 Black Sailors in the United States Navy, but none were officers. That would change when sixteen Black enlisted men were assembled at the Recruit Training Center, Great Lakes, in Illinois, for officer training that month.

The odds were initially stacked against them as there was still a strong sentiment within the Navy that African Americans could not succeed as officers. The normal officer training course was sixteen weeks, however, these men were expected to complete it in eight – a move that they believed was an attempt to set them up for failure.

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World’s Toughest Row – Atlantic Challenge : Rowers Attacked by Marlin, Again

Posted on by January 31, 2025

Photo: Mayflower crew

The World’s Toughest Row – Atlantic Challenge, a 3,000 mile race across the Atlantic Ocean from San Sebastian in La Gomera, Canary Islands to Nelson’s Dockyard, Antigua, is billed as the ultimate test of endurance and adventure. In addition to facing huge waves and extreme weather, the rowing teams must also contend with one of the less expected risks of open ocean rowing — being attacked by marlin.

In this year’s race, two of the four-person rowing teams have had their boat’s hulls pierced by the bills of marlin in the Atlantic.  On Boxing Day, the Team Graft boat was struck by a marlin which skewered the hull, flooding one compartment. Fortunately, the fish’s beak missed the crew. They were able to repair the damage in about three hours and to get back in the race.

About three weeks later, the Team Mayflower boat was also punctured by a marlin. Speaking to BBC Radio Devon from the Atlantic, crew member Dan Wooler said: “I guess it was the middle of the afternoon on Saturday, there was an almighty crunch…

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Container Ship ASL Bauhinia Ablaze, Abandoned & Adrift in Red Sea — Houthi Attack or Hazardous Cargo?

Posted on by January 29, 2025

Following an explosion and fire onboard the container ship, ASL Bauhinia, in the Red Sea early Tuesday morning, the 22 crew abandoned the ship. The crew was subsequently rescued unharmed by a passing vessel. 

The 1,930-teu containership, owned by Shanghai-based Asean Seas Line and operated by Emirates Shipping Lines, was deployed between Jebel Ali and Aqaba. The ship was supposed to reach Aqaba on January 31 and stop in Jeddah on January 29.

What caused the explosion and fire? Continue reading →

Will the Axial Seamount Erupt in the Pacific Off Oregon in 2025?

Posted on by January 28, 2025

Seismologists at Oregon State University predict that the Axial Seamount, Oregon’s most active underwater volcano, could erupt in 2025.  The seamount, located 300 miles from the state’s coast and one mile beneath the Pacific Ocean’s surface, has been swelling at a steady rate for the past six months, with seismic activity totaling hundreds of earthquakes per day, according to an Oregon State University blog that chronicles eruption predictions of the sea volcano.

The good news is that the seamount doesn’t pose a threat to humans. However, observing what happens before and after its potential eruption could help scientists learn about submerged volcanoes and improve the accuracy of their predictions.

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Update: State of Hawaii Awards $6.5M Contract to Remove Falls of Clyde from Honolulu Harbor

Posted on by January 27, 2025

The Hawai‘i Department of Transportation (HDOT) is reported to have awarded a $6.5 million contract to a mainland marine engineering company, identified on social media as Donjon Marine, to finally remove the historic ship Falls of Clyde from Honolulu Harbor. The HDOT has not confirmed whether the vessel will be scrapped or sunk and when the work is scheduled to begin.

The process has been long and painful for all concerned.

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A23a, World’s Largest Iceberg, on Collision Course With South Georgia Island

Posted on by January 25, 2025

The world’s largest iceberg, designated A23a, is drifting northwards from Antarctica towards South Georgia, a British territory and wildlife haven, where it could ground and break into pieces. If that happens, it poses a grave threat to King Emperor penguins’ colonies, millions of elephant seals, and fur seals on the island.

In addition to being currently the largest iceberg adrift in Antarctic waters, A23a is also one of the oldest. In 1986, the massive iceberg, more than three times larger than New York City, calved off West Antarctica’s Filchner-Ronne Ice Shelf and immediately grounded on the floor of the Weddell Sea, where it remained stuck for almost four decades until it broke free in late 2023.

Then, instead of drifting off on the Antarctic Circumpolar Current into “iceberg alley,” A23a became stuck in a massive oceanic eddy just north of South Orkney Islands, turning in an anti-clockwise direction by about 15 degrees a day, where it remained for almost a year before escaping the vortex in mid-December.

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USS Jimmy Carter — the Navy’s Stealthy Spy Submarine

Posted on by January 10, 2025

On the day following Jimmy Carter’s funeral, it seems like a good time to look at the top-secret submarine that bears his name.

The USS Jimmy Carter (SSN 23) is a unique submarine in many respects. Commissioned in 2005, she is named for the 39th president of the United States, Jimmy Carter, the only president to have qualified on submarines. She is the only submarine to have been named for a living president and is also only the third submarine of the US Navy, to have been named for a living person. 

Technically, she is the final of only three Seawolf-class fast attack submarines to ever have been built, although the Jimmy Carter has been so heavily modified, that she has been described as a subclass of her own. As modified, the USS Jimmy Carter is not just a fast attack submarine. She is fully outfitted as a spy submarine ready to undertake top-secret and hazardous missions.

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Looking Back at President Jimmy Carter’s Naval Career

Posted on by January 9, 2025

Today was President Jimmy Carter‘s funeral. He was 100 years old when he died after a long and remarkable life of public service. He will, no doubt, be best remembered for his personal integrity and faith in his term as the 39th president of the United States and his efforts to promote and expand human rights in his post-presidential career, for which he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2002.

Nevertheless, Jimmy Carter began his career as a naval officer who played a role in shaping the future of the Navy’s atomic-powered propulsion systems. Here is a short video about Carter’s relatively brief naval career that would provide a foundation for his long and eventful life.

Jimmy Carter: A Navy Story

Warren Upton, Oldest Survivor of Pearl Harbor Attack, Dies at 105

Posted on by January 5, 2025

The Washington Post reports that Warren Eric Upton died in Los Gatos, California on Dec. 25. At 105, he was the oldest survivor of the attack on Pearl Harbor and the last remaining crew member of the USS Utah, according to Kathleen Farley, the California state chairwoman of the Sons and Daughters of Pearl Harbor Survivors. 

After Mr. Upton’s death, approximately 15 Pearl Harbor survivors are believed to be alive, the youngest of whom is 100, according to Farley.

As a survivor of the USS Utah, Mr. Upton had the option of being interred with the remains of the ship, which along with the USS Arizona serves as a memorial. He declined.

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Sting — Christmas At Sea (Live from Durham Cathedral)

Posted on by December 6, 2024

We hope everyone is having a joyous holiday season.  Here is a repost of a beautiful version of Robert Louis Stevenson’s poem “Christmas at Sea,” performed by Gordon Matthew Thomas Sumner, better known as Sting.

Sting – Christmas At Sea (Live from Durham Cathedral)


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Underwater Christmas Trees

Posted on by December 6, 2024

A Christmas repost from a few years ago. Spirobranchus giganteus are beautiful underwater creatures, only about 1.5 inches tall, which look like tiny decorated Christmas trees. They are almost too attractive to be described as what they are, tube-building polychaete worms. They are, however, often referred to as Christmas tree worms. Each worm has two brightly colored crowns that protrude from its tube-like body. The crowns look like miniature fir trees often in a wide range of brilliant colors. The worms live in tropical waters around the world. Here is a video of spirobranchus giganteus, Christmas tree worms, from Taiwan.

Spirobranchus giganteus in Green Island, TAIWAN

Repost on the Winter Solstice — Shortest Day & Longest Shadows, or No Shadow At All

Posted on by December 6, 2024

Happy Winter Solstice to all! In the northern hemisphere, today is the shortest day and the longest night of the year. The sun is at its southernmost point of travel, over the imaginary circle on the globe we refer to as the Tropic of Capricorn. Today is also the day in which a person standing outside at noon in the northern hemisphere, outside of the tropics, would cast the longest shadow. If you are on the Tropic of Capricorn, however, at noon today, you would have no shadow at all. 

Reading an article in The Sailors’ Magazine and Seamen’s Friend, Volume 43, Issue 3, of  1871, got me thinking about shadows and the solstice. (I will admit that this is more than a touch odd.) It seems that at an 1871 gathering at the Chicago Academy of Sciences, a Rev. Mr. Miner, of Canada presented a paper called “The Snow Line” in which he observed, “Should a man start from the Tropic of Cancer at the winter solstice and walk 18 miles per day northward for six months, his shadow would remain nearly the same each day at noon.”  If instead of starting at the Tropic of Cancer one began at the Tropic of Capricorn, you might do away with your noon shadow altogether. 

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Over the Holidays & in the New Year, May Saint Nicholas Hold the Tiller

Posted on by December 7, 2024

An updated holiday season repost.

Saint Nicholas, long associated with Christmas and gift-giving, is also the patron saint of ships and sailors. The St. Nicholas Center notes: “Many ports, most notably in Greece, have icons of Nicholas, surrounded by ex-votos of small ships made of silver or carved of wood. Sailors returning safely from sea, place these in gratitude to St. Nicholas for protection received. In some places, sailors, instead of wishing one another luck, say, “May St. Nicholas hold the tiller.”

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Admiral Yi Sun-sin, Korea’s Greatest Military Hero

Posted on by December 16, 2024

Admiral Yi Sun-sin died 426 years ago today, in his final victory against the Japanese on behalf of the Joseon dynasty. He died of a gunshot wound at the Battle of Noryang on December 16, 1598, the closing battle of the Imjin War.

While the Japanese largely triumphed on shore in their twin invasions of Korea, Admiral Yi, in command of the Korean navy, cut Japanese supply lines and denied them access to the Yellow Sea. He wrote, “No invader from the sea can obtain final victory unless he can completely control the sea.” Despite winning nearly every land battle, the inability to supply their troops meant the Japanese invasion was doomed to fail.

Admiral Yi fought in at least 23 recorded naval engagements against the Japanese. In most of these battles, he was outnumbered and lacked the necessary supplies. He nonetheless won battle after battle. His most famous victory occurred at the Battle of Myeongnyang, where despite being outnumbered by 133 warships to 13, he managed to disable or destroy 31 Japanese warships without losing a single ship of his own. Indeed, Yi is credited with sinking over 780 Japanese ships during the war without losing a single ship under his command. In 14 of these 23 battles, not a single Japanese ship survived. Remarkably, when Yi took command of the Korean Navy, he had no formal naval training of any kind.

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