Russian Spy Beluga Whale Defects to Norway

Posted on by May 2, 2019

Two days ago, NPR reported: “Fisherman off the coast of Norway encountered a beluga whale with “Equipment of St. Petersburg” inscribed on its harness. Researchers think the beluga may be a Russian spy in training.” 

There was speculation that the harness wearing beluga was part of Russian spycraft gone wrong. The harness was believed to be designed for some sort of camera or possibly a weapon. 

Today, however, there has been a new twist. The Guardian reports that the beluga may be defecting to Norway. They report that the “beluga whale that may – or may not – have been trained to spy for Russia appears to have defected to Norway, refusing to stray more than a few miles from the small northern harbor where it was found on Monday and entertaining locals with tricks.” 

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St. Lucia Quarantines Scientology Cruise Ship for Measles

Posted on by May 2, 2019

The cruise ship MV Freewinds is described on the Scientology website as “a religious retreat ministering the most advanced level of spiritual counseling in the Scientology religion.” It is also home to at least one confirmed case of the measles. The Caribbean nation of St. Lucia has quarantined the 440′ ship with 300 aboard in an attempt to avoid the spread of the contagious illness.

“Measles is a highly contagious disease. Anyone who is not adequately immunized against measles can contract the disease, if there has been close contact with a confirmed case,” according to a statement issued Wednesday by Dr. Merlene Fredericks-James, the island nation’s chief medical officer. “It is therefore likely that other persons on the boat may have been exposed.”

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Time-Lapse: When and If Over-Takes America 2.0, 2019 Wreckers Race

Posted on by May 1, 2019

Here is a fun time-lapse of the 1939 built Alden schooner, When And If, overtaking the schooner America 2.0 in the 34th Annual Schooner Wharf Bar Wrecker’s Cup Race in Key West, FL.  When And If  was built for General  George S. Patton who wrote that “When the war is over, and If I live through it, Bea and I are going to sail her around the world.” 

America 2.0 was designed and built by the Scarano brothers and delivered in 2011. The schooner is a modern interpretation of the yacht America of 1851.  Operated by Classic Harbor lines, they refer to new schooner as a “tribute to the first schooner America.”  

When and If Over-takes America 2.0 – Time-lapse of close encounter during the 2019 Wreckers Race

Ancient Seafarers, Stonehenge and the Megaliths

Posted on by April 27, 2019

For centuries, ancient megalithic monuments, such as Stonehenge, existing all across Europe, have been abiding mysteries. Who built them, how and why?

A new study by Bettina Schulz Paulsson of the University of Gothenburg, Sweden may have at least one of the answers. Who built the monuments? She concludes that sailors spread the practice of building megalith monuments.

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Corpus Christi’s Replica of Columbus’ Niña Sinks Again

Posted on by April 27, 2019

When Hurricane Harvey blew through the US Gulf coast in August 2017, the replica of Columbus’ Niña sank at the dock in Corpus Christie, Texas. Last Tuesday, the replica sank again. ABC Channel KSAT 12 quotes Kim Mrazek, president of the Columbus Sailing Association, which helps maintain the ship.  “She sank fast, but she is a survivor.

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Waterfront Heroes: Women on the Waterfront at City Lore

Posted on by April 28, 2019

Next Wednesday, May 1, from 7:00 PM – 9:00 PM, the City Lore gallery in Manhattan is hosting Waterfront Heroes: Women on the Waterfront which will feature a panel discussion moderated by maritime journalist Betsy Haggerty. The panelists will include Fulton Fish Market painter Naima Rauam, Carolina Salguero, founder and director of PortSide NewYork, Jasmine Benitez, Public Programs Manager of Rocking the Boat, and Capt. Cait Field, captain with Classic Harbor Line.

The panelists will describe their experiences working on and around New York’s 520 miles of coastline and Long Island’s 1600 miles of shoreline, and will answer questions from the audience. A reception will follow. Tickets are $5 and are available here.  City Lore is at 56 East 1st Street, New York, NY 10003. 

About the participants: Continue reading →

Are Ships She, He, or It, and Does it Matter?

Posted on by April 27, 2019

There has been a minor hub-bub of late over the decision by the Scottish Maritime Museum to use gender-neutral references to ships after vandals have scratched out references to “she” several times on museum displays. Putting aside the question of whether vandals are the best choice for dictating museum policies, the museum is not alone in moving to gender-neutral labeling for ships. Lloyd’s List, the more than 280-year-old publication has been referring to ships as “it” rather than as “she” since 2002. 

Not surprisingly, not everyone is happy with the change. The Telegraph reports that supporters of the museum expressed their dismay on social media. “This isn’t how it works. You don’t get to erase history, and like it or not ships have always been referred to as she,” said Jennifer Sorbara.

Well, maybe yes and maybe no. This may be true for English speakers but shipping is and has always been an international business. In other languages, ships can be he, she or it, sometimes both. 

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William H Sumner Shipwreck from 1919 Reappears Off NC’s Surf City

Posted on by April 26, 2019

In 1919, the three-masted schooner William H. Sumner was wrecked on the North Carolina shore near New Topsail Inlet, after a mutiny by its crew. Since then the wreck has played hide and seek, disappearing beneath the sand and emerging again as the sands shift and drift. On Monday, the Town of Surf City posted on its Facebook page: 

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Blind Japanese Sailor Sails Non-Stop Across the Pacific

Posted on by April 23, 2019

Mitsuhiro Iwamoto, 52, sailed 8,700-miles across the Pacific non-stop, becoming the first visually impaired person to do so. He was assisted by his sighted navigator, Doug Smith.  The two left California in late February on a 12m (40 ft) sailboat and arrived in Fukushima on Saturday morning.

Fox News reports that when sailing, Iwamoto can still feel the wind direction and steer with sighted people’s help, but needs a guide like Smith to navigate around other boats, according to the Voice of San Diego. To work around his disability, he uses a vocalized GPS and audio compass. On the latest trip, Iwamoto steered the yacht and managed the sail, while Smith helped him with the equipment that shows wind direction.

Mitsuhiro Iwamoto first blind non-stop Pacific journey (Japan) – BBC News

Transient Orcas Scare Even Great White Sharks

Posted on by April 24, 2019

A study published in Nature’s Scientific Reports documents that as ferocious as great white sharks can be, even the great whites are afraid of transient orcas.

When the orcas swim by the Southeast Farallon Islands, off San Francisco, the great white sharks flee the area and often do not return for up to a year, even though the killer whales are typically just passing through. Both the sharks and the orcas feed on elephant seals indigenous to the Farallons. In addition to feasting on seals, the transient orcas have been known to attack and eat great while sharks. Rather than compete with the killer whales for the seals, and possibly end up as dinner themselves, the sharks choose another hunting ground.

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How Will a Pedal-Powered Party Boat Do in the Hudson River?

Posted on by April 23, 2019

A Cycleboat in calm water.

A few years ago I was walking down a street in Austin Texas when I saw a group of folks sitting at a bar pedal by. Apparently, they were peddling a “Pedal Pub” on a PubCrawler tour. The Pedal Pub tour is advertised as traveling a “maximum speed is five miles per hour; just right for sharing good times with friends and drinking cold beverages as you pedal your way through downtown Austin!” Safe to say it was not what I expected to see, even in Austin. I have since learned that there are Pedal Pubs operating in 40 cities with 190 of these “Party Bikes” on the streets. Who knew?

I have recently learned of a waterborne version of the Pedal Pub called the Cycleboat. Instead of pedaling on streets, the pedaling passengers of a Cycleboat pedal a 24′ pontoon boat, turning a stern wheel to propel the craft through the water. The Cycleboats can accommodate between 14-16 passengers and are currently operating in bays, rivers, and lakes at 20 locations around the country. If the pedal-powered stern wheel doesn’t provide enough power, the boat also has a 30 hp gasoline outboard engine. Continue reading →

Update: Jean-Jacques Savin, Drifting in a Barrel Across the Atlantic, Still Drifting

Posted on by April 22, 2019

At the end of last December, we posted about the 72-year-old French adventurer Jean-Jacques Savin who set off to attempt to drift across the Atlantic in a large wooden barrel. He departed from El Hierro, one of the Canary Islands, west of Morocco, with the intention of drifting, carried by the winds and currents, across the Atlantic Ocean.

Now over 115 days into the crossing, Savin is reported to be in good spirits and to be, well, still drifting. He and his barrel have drifted over 2,500 nautical miles from the Canary Islands and are now within 400 – 1,000 miles of land, depending on which way the winds and currents take him. 

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Update: Sub Vets Sue to Save USS Clamagore

Posted on by April 21, 2019

Recently, we posted about the planned sinking of the USS Clamagore as an artificial reef. The 1945 built Balao-class submarine has been an exhibit at the  Patriots Point Naval & Maritime Museum in Charleston, SC since 1981, but the museum says that the submarine has become too costly to maintain. While the submarine may be expensive to maintain, sinking it as a reef is not cheap, either. Funding of $2.7 million has been set aside to strip the submarine Clamagore of all environmental pollutants.

Now, a group of retired submariners is suing the museum to stop the reefing of the historic submarine, arguing that the museum lacks the authority to sink the sub and that they have a less costly proposal to save it.

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Man at Sea — Iain Percy

Posted on by April 16, 2019

Man at Sea is one of Alfred Dunhill’s ‘Portraits of Achievement‘. It is five years old, but new to me. 

Man at Sea is an ode to the sea and one man’s life long passion for sailing on it, following Iain Percy OBE, British sailor and Olympic Champion. Setting sail from Lymington in the New Forest district of Hampshire in the yacht Strega, Iain tackles the wind and the waves on The Solent strait between the Isle of Wight and the mainland England.

“The boat suddenly becomes weightless and you’re surfing. You almost become mesmerised as you catch the next wave and the wave after”

– Iain Percy

MAN AT SEA by Alfred Dunhill from Alfred Dunhill on Vimeo.

Tall Ship Oliver Hazard Perry Begins Year-Round Local Programming

Posted on by April 19, 2019

In February we posted that the tall ship Oliver Hazard Perry was entering drydock and that the mission and strategy of Oliver Hazard Perry Rhode Island (OHPRI), the organization operating the ship, was being reconsidered. Rather than focussing on distance sailing, Rhode Island’s Official Tall Ship would be used in year-round programming closer to home. OHPRI announced that the new operating model will pivot away from long offshore voyages that impact the fewest people at the greatest capital expense. Operations will consist of a mix of multi-day, single day and dockside programs, with underway voyages offered from late spring through mid-autumn.

OHPRI wasted no time to test the concept of the new model. With the ship in winter shipyard layup, they provided a program of six days of hands-on experience to nine participants in the Rhode Island Marine Trade Association’s (RIMTA) Pre-Apprenticeship Program.” Continue reading →