On National Rum Day — Rum and the Sea

Posted on by August 16, 2019

Today is “National Rum Day” in the United States. Why? Why not? In observation of the day, it seems worthwhile to consider the role of rum at sea.

Before there was rum, there was water. The problem with water was that it could kill you or at least make you sick due to poor sanitation both ashore and at sea. During the Age of Exploration, Royal Navy ships would provide a gallon of beer for each sailor each day, both for healthy hydration and morale. The problem with beer was it would spoil in the heat and motion of an ocean voyage. Wine, brandy and other spirits were tried as substitutes, with varying degrees of success. 

Rum entered the picture when sugar cane was brought to the Caribbean. Rum was introduced to the British Navy after 1655 when Vice-Admiral William Penn conquered Jamaica during Oliver Cromwell’s West Indies campaign as part of the Anglo-Spanish war. Rum was cheap, potent and didn’t spoil, making it popular with sailors and the Admiralty alike. 

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Greta Thunberg at Sea on Her Way to UN Conference

Posted on by August 15, 2019

On Wednesday, 16-year-old Swedish climate activist, Greta Thunberg, set sail from Plymouth, England on a racing yacht bound for New York. She is traveling to participate in United Nations climate talks in September, and she refuses to fly because aviation has such an enormous carbon footprint.

She is sailing on Malizia II, an IMOCA 60-foot foiling monohull with solar panels and hydro-generators, resulting in a nearly zero carbon footprint. On Day 2 of the voyage, they are roughly 100 nautical miles west of Cape Finisterre. The voyage is expected to take about two weeks. The trip may be uncomfortable as the boat has a bucket for a toilet, no real galley, and no privacy.

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Remembering the Tragic Fastnet Race of 1979

Posted on by August 14, 2019

Fastnet Rock in Fair Weather

Forty years ago today, on the third day of the 605-mile Fastnet Race, an unexpectedly strong storm struck the fleet with tragic results. The fleet of 303 sailing yachts had set off on August 11,1979 in clear weather with calm seas. The forecast predicted “south-westerly winds, force four to five increasing to force six to seven for a time.”

By the 13th, winds reached gale force 8. Overnight and into the 14th, the wind rose to 60-65 knots with mountainous seas.  Fifteen sailors and four spectators in an observation boat lost their lives. At least 18 boats were rolled a full 360 degrees. Twenty-four boats were abandoned, five sank, and approximately 170 were rolled over until their masts hit the water. Only 86 of the over 300 boats finished the race.

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Amsterdam to Build a Dynamic Roboat “Bridge”

Posted on by August 13, 2019

In March of 2018, we posted about a pilot project led by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and the Amsterdam Institute for Advanced Metropolitan Solutions (AMS) to develop autonomous barges, referred to as “roboats”, to carry cargo and passengers on Amsterdam’s 100 km of canals.  Now MIT and AMS have developed a new application for the roboats. In a project known as roundAround, a fleet of autonomous boats would run between the island of Kattenburg to the east of Amsterdam and the city center.

The boats would move in a continuous circle across the canal, picking up and dropping off passengers via a charging station. Currently, walkers have to make a 1km detour to make the crossing. 

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National Sailing Hall of Fame Announces 2019 Inductees

Posted on by August 12, 2019

The National Sailing Hall of Fame (NSHOF) announced 10 individuals in its 2019 class of inductees. It is an eclectic mix. The recipients include Sailmaker Robbie Doyle; Olympic Gold Medalist Buddy Friedrichs; sailing’s first-ever Women’s Olympic Gold Medalist Allison Jolly; passionate sailor Capt. John Bonds, whose leadership in establishing safety protocols has had a global impact on offshore sailing; and America’s Cup captain and author, Arthur Knapp, Jr. who is being recognized with the NSHOF Lifetime Achievement Award.  

Included in this year’s list is a historic lineup of engineers, designers, and builders, including clipper shipbuilder Donald McKay; the grandfather of fiberglass production, Everett A. Pearson; and the pioneering yacht designer Doug Peterson. 

Also included in this year’s inductees are journalists Thomas F. Day, editor of Rudder and founder, in 1906, of The Newport Bermuda Race; and Yachting magazine editor and publisher Herbert Lawrence Stone.

Swedish East Indiaman Götheborg to Sail Again with Support of Greencarrier Group

Posted on by August 11, 2019

Great news! The Swedish East Indiaman Götheborg will sail again thanks to support from the shipping agency Greencarrier Group, which has announced that it will take the full operational and financial responsibility for the ship for the next two years. In 2016, the Ostindiefararen Götheborg Foundation which operated the ship said that could no longer afford to run the replica, which is one of the world’s largest operational wooden sailing vessels. The foundation said that it was considering its options which included putting the ship up for sale. 

The Götheborg made her maiden voyage in 2005 and is modeled after the East Indiaman of the same name which sank on September 12, 1745, while approaching Götheborg harbor on her return from a third voyage to China.

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New Jersey’s Oystering Communities, Bivalve and Shellpile from 1993

Posted on by August 10, 2019

Here is a wonderful short video from 1993, which visits Bivalve and Shellpile, the last of New Jersey’s oystering communities, near Port Norris, where the Maurice River meets the Delaware Bay. The oystering industry was once highly profitable. Port Norris was the wealthiest municipality per capita in the state of New Jersey and was among the wealthiest in the country during the early 20th century. The industry collapsed in the late 1950s when an oyster pathogen killed 90% of the oysters. Today, Bivalve is the home of the Bayshore Discovery Center and the home port for the restored oyster dragger, the schooner A.J. Meerwald, the official tall ship of New Jersey.

New Jersey’s oystering communities

Vermont Sailing Barge Ceres for Sale

Posted on by August 9, 2019

Around six years ago, Vermont farmer Eric Andrus had an idea. Why not build a sailing barge to carry non-perishable produce down Lake Champlain to the Hudson and onward to markets along the river and on to New York City?  They raised money and built the sailing barge Ceres. On the 330 mile journey downriver, the barge carried produce from 30 different farms and made stops at historic river towns along the way, selling goods at “pop-up” markets along the riverside. 

As a demonstration project, the sailing barge was a success. Economically, however, it didn’t pay. Continue reading →

TBT: Alexander Hamiltons’ Lighthouse — History or Legend?

Posted on by August 8, 2019

For Throw Back Thursday (TBT) and in belated honor of yesterday’s National Lighthouse Day, here is a repost from several years ago about Hamilton’s lighthouse. 

The Cape Hatteras Lighthouse, marking the shoals which have become known as the “graveyard of ships,” is often referred to as Alexander Hamilton’s lighthouse. (The current lighthouse is the second built at the site.)

The story goes that when the teen-aged Alexander Hamilton was sent from St. Croix to the North American colonies to pursue an education in the summer of 1772, he sailed on the Thunderbolt, which caught fire off Cape Hatteras and very nearly sank. Young Alexander was said to have helped fight the fire. The ship is said to have come perilously close to drifting onto the deadly Diamond Shoals. Years later, in 1802, as Secretary of the Treasury, Hamilton recalled his brush with death and supported building a lighthouse on Cape Hatteras.

That is the story anyway. Continue reading →

National Lighthouse Day Concert Tonight on the Lighthouse Tender Lilac

Posted on by August 7, 2019

If you are in New York City this evening, head over to Pier 25 on the Hudson River to the historic lighthouse tender the ex-USCGC Lilac for a free concert in honor of National Lighthouse Day.  The concert, from 6:00 to 9:00 PM, rain or shine, will be on-deck under the awning, featuring musical performances by Peter Zummo, Ernie Brooks, and Mustafa Khaliq Ahmed.

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27th Annual Great North River Tugboat Race Sunday, September 1st

Posted on by August 27, 2019


Photos: Mitch Waxman

The 27th Annual Great North River Tugboat Race, sponsored by the Working Harbor Committee, will be held on the Hudson River near Pier 84  starting at 11 a.m. on September 1st.  Watch from shore or get onboard the Spectator Boat and see the whole event up-close. Boarding begins at 10:15 am, departure is at 10:30 am from Pier 83. Tickets for the Spectator Boat cost $25 for adults, $20 for seniors and $12 for kids, 3-12. Click here to buy tickets.

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Belated Bicentennial Birthday Wishes to Herman Melville

Posted on by August 5, 2019

Melville Memorial, 6 Pearl Street, Photo: Wally Gobetz

We missed the bicentennial of Herman Melville‘s birthday.  He was born just over 200 years ago on August 1, 1819, in a boarding house on 6 Pearl Street, in the Financial District of Lower Manhattan in New York City.  In honor of the bicentennial here is an updated post from a few years ago on visiting Melville’s birthplace. 

The boarding house where Melville was born is long gone. A 42-story gleaming glass and metal skyscraper, 17 State Street, rises where the building once stood. One photographer referred to the building as a “great white whale” which is certainly evocative. While the boarding house is gone, there is a plaque and bronze bust of Melville roughly on the site of the original structure.

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Coast Guard Extracts Oil From Coimbra, WWII Tanker Torpedoed Off Long Island Coast

Posted on by August 5, 2019

At about 9AM on January 15, 1942, the British tanker Coimbra, bound from Bayonne, NJ for Halifax, laden with 8,038 tons of lubricating oil, sank after being struck by two torpedoes fired by the German submarine U-123 off the southern shore of Long Island. Thirty-six of the 46 people aboard the tanker died.

Oil still trapped in the tanks of the sunken British tanker began leaking noticeably four years ago, creating a visible sheen above the wreck, which is in 185 feet of water, 30 miles off Long Island’s south shore. To address the environmental hazard, last May, divers supervised by the US Coast Guard began to remove the oil from eight tanks on the ship,  

Newsday reports that a unified command consisting of the DEC and the Coast Guard oversaw the oil removal supported by more than 100 specialists from government, industry and environmental concerns. The project was accomplished with the assistance of a 6,000-pound remotely operated underwater vehicle.

By the middle of July, the divers had successfully removed 450,000 gallons of oil.

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SEAL Commander — “We Have a Problem”

Posted on by August 3, 2019

In a blistering letter to his forces from the commander in charge of the Navy SEALs, Rear Adm. Colin Green, warns “We have a problem.” The sentence was in bold-faced print and underlined. The letter follows a series of incidents of alleged misbehavior by the elite special operations forces, including alleged illegal activity by two Navy SEAL teams.

Also, toward the end of July, an entire platoon of SEAL commandos was abruptly removed from Iraq after reports of serious misconduct and a breakdown of discipline. The Navy is investigating reports that Foxtrot Platoon of SEAL Team 7, held a Fourth of July party where some members consumed alcohol against regulations, and that a senior enlisted member of the platoon had raped a female service member attached to the platoon.

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Celebrate Coast Guard Day All Weekend on the Historic Lighthouse Tender Lilac

Posted on by August 2, 2019

Coast Guard Day in the United States is this Sunday, August 4th, commemorating the founding of the U. S. Coast Guard as the Revenue Marine on August 4, 1790, by the Secretary of the Treasury, Alexander Hamilton.

On the ex-USCG Cutter Lilac, however, they will be celebrating the 229th birthday of the Coast Guard all weekend with programs and activities. The ship is open from 2:00 to 6:00 PM Saturday and Sunday. Admission is free. Lilac is berthed at Hudson River Park’s Pier 25 at West Street and N. Moore Street, in lower Manhattan.

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