A Look at McLean’s Clipper Ships — the Fastest Cargo Ships in the World

Posted on by September 24, 2019

The recent activation by TRANSCOM of 28 cargo ships, makes it a good time to take a look back at eight iconic shps from the 1970s still in service today. 

When I was a young student of naval architecture at the University of Michigan in the early 70s, I attended a Society of Naval Architects and Marine Engineers (SNAME) convention in New York City. In our visit, we took a field trip across the river to the Sea-Land container terminal at Elizabeth, New Jersey to tour a new SL-7 class container ship.

The eight SL-7s were Malcom McLean‘s modern-day clipper ships. As I stood on the pier looking up at the ship, I remember finding the long hollow water line to be breathtaking. And whereas the clipper ship Sovereign of the Seas was just over 250′ long, the SL-7s were close to 1000′ overall. With steam turbines producing 120,000 HP, these ships could cross oceans at 33 knots. They would each carry over 1,000 containers, making them the largest container ships in the world at that time. 

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Update: Ex-Presidential Yacht Sequoia Bound for Restoration in Maine

Posted on by September 23, 2019

Back in 2016, we posted about a new owner for the ex-presidential yacht Sequoia, which had been sitting, deteriorating in a boatyard in Deltaville, VA. Now, three years later, the 104′ long motor vessel has been loaded aboard a barge to be transported ultimately to Maine for restoration. The Sequoia served as a presidential yacht during the administrations of Herbert Hoover through Jimmy Carter and is a National Historic Landmark. 

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America’s Cup Gets Interesting — Two Very Different AC75s

Posted on by September 22, 2019

The 36th America’s Cup Races, featuring foiling monohulls, is still 18 months away but are beginning to look very interesting.  Two very different AC75 contenders have taken to the water recently — The New York Yacht Club Team American Magic‘s Defiant. and Emirates Team New Zealand’s Te Aihe.  

Richard Gladwell writing in Sail-World commented about the two boats: The two AC75’s launched to date have little in common other than they are 75ft long, are sloop-rigged, and are 13.5ft between the Foil Arm rotation pins.  The basics – hull profile, rig style, foil fairings, foil wing shapes, deck, and cockpit layouts – are all markedly different. And that is just comparing the pieces we can see or have been shown.

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The Beauty of Sail, Video and Stills by Onne van der Wal

Posted on by September 21, 2019

Photographer Onne van der Wal’s “The Beauty of Sail,” a selection of videos and photographs which portray just that. Onne is a full time pro nautical shooter and sailor based in Newport, RI and has been at it since 1987.

“Meet Us Don’t Eat Us” — Tourists to Iceland Support Both Whale Watching and Whaling

Posted on by September 20, 2019

Paradoxically, whale watching by tourists to Iceland is booming. At the same time, the primary economic support for the hunting of whales by Icelandic whalers are also tourists to the island.

Iceland is the largest whale watching destination in Europe. Around 20% of all tourists who visit Iceland go whale watching, which is to say somewhere between 300,000 and 400,00 tourists yearly.

Along with Japan and Norway, Iceland is also one of only three countries still engaging commercial whaling.  And who is eating all the whale meat? Tourists. Tourists eat about 70% of all whale meat from Icelandic whaling. Icelanders eat around 2%. The rest is exported, mostly to Japan. 

So, basically, tourists support both the growth of Icelandic whale watching while at the same time providing an economic foundation for Icelandic whaling.

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Sarah Thomas, Cancer Survivor, Swims English Channel Four Times Non-Stop

Posted on by September 19, 2019

In November 2017, Sarah Thomas, a marathon swimmer from Colorado, was diagnosed with an aggressive form of breast cancer. She underwent chemotherapy, surgery, and radiation to fight the disease. One of the ways she coped was by continuing to swim.

And cope she has indeed. From Sunday to Tuesday, over a period of 54 hours, Sarah Thomas, 37, swam the English Channel four times, nonstop, becoming the first person ever on record to do so. Only one year out of treatment for cancer, she swam nearly 134 miles (215km) in the open sea, a swim made more challenging by strong tides and choppy conditions. 

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US Navy Deploys Carrier Group (Without a Carrier) & Activates 28 Ready Reserve Cargo Ships

Posted on by September 18, 2019

Four ships from the Navy’s carrier Harry S. Truman Strike Group are deploying from the East Coast this week. Notably, the aircraft carrier Harry S. Truman is not one of the ships being deployed as it is still undergoing repairs for an electrical system failure. 

Military.com reports that “the guided-missile cruiser Normandy and guided-missile destroyers Lassen, Forrest Sherman, and Farragut — will form a surface action group (SAG) as the Truman continues undergoing repairs.”

Vice Adm. Andrew Lewis, U.S. 2nd Fleet’s commander, said in a statement that the deployment demonstrates the Navy’s ability to maneuver and flex to accomplish its tasks on hand. But in an interview with USNI News, which first reported the unique deployment, Lewis also called the situation “unfortunate.” He added that it is the first time a surface action group has deployed from the East Coast in 13 years.

In what may or may not be unrelated news, the U.S. Transportation Command (Transcom) has begun the largest turbo activation of the ready Reserve Fleet since 2003 to stress-test the military’s ability to quickly deploy the cargo ships required for a massive troop movement. 

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Crossing the Arctic Circle — An Unexpected Line Crossing Baptism

Posted on by September 18, 2019

Panorama in calmer water

When crossing the Equator for the first time, sailors have traditionally undergone a “line-crossing ceremony” which often includes being dunked in the ocean three times. Recently, on my first northern line crossing, I inadvertently presided over my own unexpected dunking, a baptism of sorts in the early morning hours, just as we were crossing Latitude 66.56 N, the Arctic Circle. 

My wife and I were on the Panorama, a 173′ motor sailing cruise ship, on a week-long trip on the west coast of Iceland, from Akureyri to Reykjavik, making five port calls along the way. Like most cruise ships, the Panorama did most of her sailing at night so the 34 passengers aboard would wake up at a different port every morning.

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Humpback Whale Watching Off Hólmavík, Iceland

Posted on by September 17, 2019

We have just gotten back from a week-long voyage along the west coast of Iceland from Akureyri to Reykjavik on the three-masted motor sailor Panorama. One of the stops was the village of Hólmavík, population 300. The village may be best known by tourists for its Museum of Sorcery & Witchcraft, an interesting if a rather small museum, which also features a cafe, a gift shop and tourist information center. Hólmavík was the center of witchcraft and witch-hunting in 17th century Iceland.

The village should perhaps also be better known for the whales in the fjord. Whereas some whale watching sites have as many as twenty boats offering tours, Hólmavík has exactly one. We were fortunate enough to be able to catch one of the last tours of the season offered by Laki Tours. The morning was cold and the wind bitter but, we saw lots of humpback whales, feeding in the Steingrimsfjordur Fjord. Captain Víðir was skilled in finding the whales and our naturalist/guide Judith was knowledgeable and entertaining. Here is a short video. 

Whale Watching Off Hólmavík, Iceland

Are Delta Queen Safety Exemptions Justified?

Posted on by September 6, 2019

On the same day that I heard the news of the horrific fire on the dive boat Conception which killed 34 passengers and crew, I also saw an article attacking the safety waivers granted to the riverboat Delta Queen. It raised the question, do the Delta Queen fire safety exemptions make too many compromises? Should the old riverboat be allowed to operate without fully meeting the current regs? On the other hand, the dive boat Conception and boats like her, met and meet all the current regulations, and still, the Conception turned out to be a death trap. 

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Shakespeare at Sea — Hamlet on the Red Dragon

Posted on by September 6, 2019

Here is a wholly random question. When and where was William Shakespeare’s tragedy Hamlet first performed on shipboard?  

The first recorded shipboard performance of Hamlet, and one of the earlier performances anywhere, was in September 1607 on the East India Company ship, Red Dragon under the command of Captain William Keeling on a voyage to the Spice Islands. The ship was anchored off Sierra Leone to allow the crew to recover from a serious outbreak of scurvy. Captain Keeling was an enthusiastic follower of Shakespeare’s plays. From Shakespeare’s World: 

During their recovery, the captain put his crew on a diet of citrus fruits and allowed performances of Shakespeare’s plays for entertainment. Earlier in September 1607. Hamlet was performed aboard the Red Dragon. Keeling recorded in his diary: Continue reading →

Update: Akademik Lomonosov — Russia’s First Floating Nuclear Power Plant Sets Sail

Posted on by September 4, 2019

In May of last year, we posted about the Russians’ first floating nuclear power plant, “Akademik Lomonosov — Floating Chernobyl or Nuclear Titanic?.” At the time, the barge-mounted power plant was essentially completed but needed to be loaded with fuel. Now the reactor, capable of generating 70 Megawatts of power, is being towed to the Arctic, a more than 3,000-mile voyage.

As we posted previously, once operational, the plant will be connected to the electrical grid in the Arctic town of Pevek. It will be the world’s northernmost nuclear reactor, capable of powering a town of 100,000 people. The reactor barge will be anchored at the Kamchatka Peninsula in the Arctic, northwest of Russia. The almost 500-foot long Akademik Lomonosov has a displacement of around 21,500 tons.

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Ancient Sailors — More Evidence that First Settlers in North America May Have Arrived by Sea

Posted on by September 6, 2019

Cooper’s Ferry, Idaho  Photo: Loren Davis, Oregon State University

More evidence that the first travelers to the Americas may have been sailors.

The classic theory of the arrival of early people in North America was the Clovis model. The theory was that early humans migrated to North America by walking over an Alaskan landbridge from Asia around 13,000 years ago. Roughly 14,000 years ago, the landbridge became passible due to the retreat of ice due to rising temperatures. 

Now, a team of archeologists working in Cooper’s Ferry, Idaho have uncovered artifacts dating back to 16,000 years ago, well before the landbridge was clear of ice. Whomever these early humans were, they did not walk from Asia. They most likely arrived by boat. Evidence suggests that glaciers retreated from the Pacific coast around 17,000 years ago which would have allowed early Asian sailors to make their way up the Columba River valley to Cooper’s Ferry. 

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Update: Return of the Floating Pacific Pumice Islands — Will Floating Rocks Save a Reef?

Posted on by September 24, 2019

Pacific pumice raft

Back in 2012, we posted about a series of photos that were floating around the internet. The photos were taken from a yacht that had encountered what appeared to be a beach, stretching as far as the eye could see in the middle of the South Pacific. It turned out that what they were seeing was floating pumice, the volcanic rock formed when lava erupts underwater. With a bit more investigation, it appeared that the photos dated back to 2006. At around the same time, the New Zealand Navy reported a pumice raft covering an area of roughly 10,000 square miles. 

Recently, the New York Times reported that a couple sailing in the Southwest Pacific encountered a similar pumice raft — a floating mass of volcanic rocks, with some boulders as large as basketballs, blanketing the ocean as far as their boat’s spotlight could illuminate.

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Silent Yachts — Are Electric Motor Yachts the Future?

Posted on by September 3, 2019

Imagine a yacht that is almost completely silent, with a close to unlimited range, and that doesn’t pollute. While it may sound too good to be true, this is what Silent Yachts is aiming for in its line of electrically-powered luxury catamarans. The company offers catamarans ranging from 44 to 80 feet long and recently upgraded and improved its Silent 55 design. One of the new designs has been delivered and three more are on order.

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