German Sub UB-85 — Of Submarines and Sea Monsters

Posted on by October 19, 2016
Multibeam View of the Wreck of UB85, Image: Scottish Power

Multibeam View of the Wreck of UB85, Image: Scottish Power

Engineers laying subsea power cables off Stranraer, Scotland have discovered the wreck of a World War I German UBIII-Class submarine, which may be either the UB-85 or the UB-82, both of which were sunk in the area. The possibility that the submarine may be the UB-85 has set the media and the internet abuzz, because according to legend, the UB-85 was sunk after being attacked by a sea monster. Some have even identified the creatures as the Loch Ness monster, or at least its salt-water cousin. International Business Times led with the headline “Did Nessie help win the war? German U-boat ‘sunk by sea monster’ discovered off Scottish coast.”

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Sailing Yacht A — One of the Biggest & Definitely the Ugliest

Posted on by October 18, 2016

sya2bRussian billionaire Andrey Melnichenko’s new sail-assisted motor-yacht, named simply, Sailing Yacht A, is undergoing sea trials. The $450 million yacht has a number of superlatives attached to it. At 12,700 tonnes, it is the largest sailing yacht in the world by gross tonnage. At 469 feet, she is the longest sailing yacht in existence. Its 300 foot tall carbon fiber masts are the largest composite freestanding structures in the world. And while not a superlative exactly, the yacht — a slab sided, eight decked, angular monstrosity — does qualify as the ugliest sailing vessel in the world. Continue reading →

USS Mason, Yemen, Missiles and the “Fog of War”

Posted on by October 17, 2016

ussmasonClausewitz wrote of the “fog of war.” Recent events in the Gulf of Yemen and the Red Sea are a good example of what he meant.  The USS Mason, an Arleigh Burke-class destroyer, may have been attacked on Saturday, October 8th, off the coast of Yemen by anti-ship cruise missiles for the third time in a week. The ship was not hit.  In response to the possible attacks, the destroyer USS Nitze (DDG-94) fired Tomahawk missiles at three Houthi radar sites believed to have been used help target the anti-ship missiles. The Tomahawk strikes raised concerns that the US might be getting drawn into the Yemeni civil war. One critical question remains unanswered, however, — did the attacks actually take place?

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Looking in the Eye of the Greenland Shark, Oldest Living Vertebrate

Posted on by December 14, 2019
greenlandshark1

Photo: NOAA Okeanos Explorer Program

In 2014, we posted about Joel Abrahamsson, from Gothenburg, Sweden, who set a record for kayak fishing by catching a 15′ long 1,247 pound Greenland shark while fishing from a kayak near the island of Andoria, in Norway.  We noted that the fish, which was released, was believed to be over 200 years old. It turns out that the shark could have been much older. Scientists now believe that the Greenland shark is the longest living vertebrate in the world with a lifespan of up to 400 years.

How does one determine the age of a Greenland shark? Continue reading →

Harvey Gamage in Cuban Waters

Posted on by October 15, 2016

The last time we posted about the schooner Harvey Gamage, was in 2014, when she and several other vessels were due to be sold at auction following the failure of the Ocean Classroom Foundation. She was subsequently purchased by Phineas Sprague and refit at his Portland Yacht Services in Portland, ME. Harvey Gamage was built in 1973 in the Harvey Gamage yard of South Bristol, ME and is a gaff-rigged wooden schooner with a sparred length of 131 feet. She is now managed by Ocean Passages which operates programs between Maine and Cuba. Here is a wonderful video of the schooner in Cuban waters.

A Tall Ship in Cuban Waters from Harvey Gamage on Vimeo.

Australia on the Move — Adjusting the Charts to Agree with GPS

Posted on by October 14, 2016

australia-globeAustralia is, literally, on the move.  A year ago, we posted about how the Prime Meridian, the arbitrary line in Greenwich, UK, marking 0 degrees of longitude, had to be adjusted by slightly over 100 meters after the discrepancy was noted by GPS. While the position of the Prime Meridian marker is interesting and yet of no real practical consequence, on the other side of the world the maps of an entire continent are now continually in need of adjustment. Chances are that any map or chart you may have of Australia has its position at least slightly wrong.

All the world’s continent are moving due to plate tectonics, also known as continental drift. The continent also has a slight clockwise rotation. Whereas North America drifts at around one inch per year, Australia is moving at the relatively breakneck speed of 2.7 inches northward per year.

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San Francisco Capsize Echoes Past Tragedy — Kandi Won & Khaleesi

Posted on by October 13, 2016
Khaleesi, with over 20 people visible on deck

Khaleesi, with 20 people visible on deck

Originally posted by gCaptain. Reposted with permission.

Last Saturday, the 30 passengers aboard Khaleesi, a Silverton 34 power boat, were watching the Navy Blue Angels over San Francisco Bay as part of Fleet Week.  On the way back to the dock,  Khaleesi capsized and sank. Miraculously, no one died, although two children were rushed to a local hospital in critical condition.  (Initial reports, incorrectly described the boat as a recreational sailboat.)  Sadly, this incident sounds far too familiar.

This is not the first time that an overloaded Silverton 34 has capsized. Four years ago, under remarkably similar conditions, another Silverton capsized and sank with tragic results.

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Clipper Ship City of Adelaide — A Short Documentary

Posted on by October 12, 2016

The City of Adelaide is the world’s oldest surviving clipper ship and one of only three remaining composite clipper ships. She was built in 1864, in Sunderland, England by William Pile, Hay and Co. for transporting passengers and goods between Britain and Australia. Between 1864 and 1887 the ship made 23 annual return voyages from London and Plymouth to Adelaide, South Australia. After a long and varied career the City of Adelaide has returned to her namesake city. A short documentary by Tasha Trebeck.

Clipper Ship City of Adelaide

Delta King, the Delta Queen’s Shorebound Sister

Posted on by October 9, 2016
Photo: J.Smith

Delta King — Photo: J.Smith

We recently posted that the National Trust for Historic Preservation has named the 1926 built sternwheel steamboat Delta Queen as one of America’s 11-Most Endangered Historic Places.  In researching the post, I learned several new things. The first was that the “Delta” in Delta Queen, which I had always assumed was referring to the Mississippi River Delta, was in fact, the San Joaquin River Delta.  The other thing I learned is that, in addition to the Delta Queen, there is also a Delta King, now a dockside restaurant, bar, theater and hotel in Old Sacramento, CA.

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San Fran Capsize — 30 People in a 34′ Boat

Posted on by October 12, 2016

sanfranrescueUPDATE: The initial reports of the capsize identified the boat which capsized as a sailboat.  Even the Coast Guard’s website said that the boat named Khaleesi was a 34-foot sailboat.  As initial reports often are, these reports were not accurate. The boat is not being reported to be a Silverton 34′ cabin cruiser.  Thanks to Greg Davids for his eyewitness account in the comments section below.

On Saturday, a 34′ recreational sailboat powerboat with 30 people aboard capsized in San Francisco Bay near Pier 45. All aboard were rescued but eight were injured, with at least one, a child, in critical condition. It could have been much, much worse.

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LCS USS Montgomery Woes Continue — Hull Crack, a Tug and a Hurricane

Posted on by October 8, 2016

montgomery2When Hurricane Matthew approached, the Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) USS Montgomery and several other Navy ships were ordered out of port in Mayport, FL. Unfortunately, in the process of leaving port, the USS Montgomery took a hard knock from a tug, which cracked the hull and bent five hull stringers. The crew was able to control the flooding. This, however, was not the first of the LCS’s troubles.

At the end of September we posted, “Recently, the USS Montgomery, an Independence Class Littoral Combat Ship (LCS), established a new record. The ship broke down, suffering two unrelated engine failures only three days after being commissioned.” The USS Montgomery was able to limp into Mayport, Florida for repairs.

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Navy Amphibious Transport, Aircraft Carrier, & Hospital Ship in Relief Mission to Haiti

Posted on by October 8, 2016
USS Mesa Verde

USS Mesa Verde

The US Navy is sending a flotilla of ships to help the relief effort in the Haiti, devestated by Hurricane Matthew, the first Category 4 storm to hit the island nation in over 50 years. USS Mesa Verde, a San Antonio-class amphibious transport dock,  is steaming toward Haiti. The ship is carrying three heavy-lift helicopters, a landing craft, bulldozers, fresh-water delivery vehicles and two surgical operating rooms.

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Steamboat Delta Queen on the Endangered List

Posted on by February 7, 2017

dqsmThe National Trust for Historic Preservation has named the sternwheel river steamboat Delta Queen as one of America’s 11-Most Endangered Historic Places.  The Delta Queen, built in 1926, is a U.S. National Historic Landmark.  She has been tied to the dock since 2008, a victim of bankruptcy, regulations, and Congressional inaction.  A new owner is attempting to put the riverboat back into overnight service but is waiting on a waiver from Congress.

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Death on the Historic Ketch Amicitia Caused by Bad Mast Repair?

Posted on by October 6, 2016

amicitiaGermany’s Federal Bureau of Maritime Casualty Investigation has released a preliminary report suggesting that a mast repair on the ketch Amicita may have been the cause of a fatal accident in which three male passengers were struck and killed by falling rigging on August 21th.

The ketch Amicita was built in 1889 and worked as a sailing cargo carrier. In the 90s, she was converted for passenger service. A German family of twelve had chartered the ketch with the captain and his wife, for a family vacation on the Wadden sea.  On a Sunday in the early afternoon, on the last day of their vacation, the main mast broke. The falling mast and rigging killed three men aged 19, 43 and 48.

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24th Annual North River Tugboat Race & Competition! Sunday, October 9th

Posted on by October 5, 2016

24thtugraceThe 24th Annual North River Tugboat Race & Competition was originally scheduled for Labor Day, but Tropical Storm Hermine interfered. The rescheduled event, sponsored by the Working Harbor Committee will be held on Sunday, October 9th from 9am-2pm at Pier 83, West 43rd Street and Hudson River Park, in New York City.  For those who wish to see the race up close and personal, there will be a Circle Line Spectator Boat. Click here for more information and tickets.

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Saltwater Brewery “Edible Six Pack Rings” Saving Marine Life

Posted on by June 2, 2017
ediblesixpack

Photo: We Believers

A craft brew beer company and an ad agency have come up with a brilliant solution to problem of plastic six pack rings. What is the problem with six pack rings, you might ask? The plastic rings that hold six cans of soda or beer together in a standard six pack are so common, they are barely noticeable, and yet every year millions of birds, fish and turtles get caught in the clear plastic after the rings are discard in rivers, bays, and oceans. And the problem is huge. Americans drank 6.3 gallons of beer and around 10 billion gallons of soda, roughly half of which was in cans.

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HMS Warrior — Saving the Last Wreck From Jutland

Posted on by October 3, 2016

hmswarriorjutlandOn August 24, 2016, an Anglo-Danish team found the wreck of armored cruiser HMS Warrior in the northern North Sea in 83 meters of water where it sank in 1916 following the Battle of Jutland in 1916. HMS Warrior is last wreck of the ships sunk during from the Battle of Jutland to be located. Now, the challenge is to protect the wreck of the Warrior and other ships from illegal metal scavengers who are believed to have pillaged up to half of the wrecks from the battle. Based on Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV) video footage, (see below) HMS Warrior remains largely intact and untouched, overturned on the ocean floor.

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A Glimmer of Hope for the Historic Falls of Clyde?

Posted on by October 2, 2016

Things look grim for the 1878 sailing ship Falls of Clyde, the last surviving iron-hulled, four-masted full-rigged ship, and the only remaining sail-driven oil tanker.  There is still a glimmer of hope that she can be saved, but time is running out. Recently, a campaign has gotten underway to return the ship to Scotland where it was built 138 years ago.

On Friday, an administrative hearing upheld the State of Hawaii’s Department of Transportation’s right to take control of the ship from its current owners, the nonprofit Friends of the Falls of Clyde. In June, the DOT revoked the ship’s permit to moor at Pier 7 in Honolulu harbor and then impounded the ship in August. The Friends of the Falls of Clyde has owned the ship for the last eight years but has not raised the necessary funds to drydock her, as the first step in ship’s restoration. The concern now is that the State of Hawaii may choose to scrap or sink the Falls of Clyde.

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Street Signs of the Times — Peking, Gone But Not Forgotten

Posted on by October 1, 2016

pekingstreetsignThe windjammer Peking has left the South Street Seaport for the last time.  Nevertheless, the grand old windjammer has left her mark, both on those who cared for the beautiful, if decrepit, Flying P liner, and also on the street signs of the Seaport District.

I was walking toward the Pier 17 to see the Peking for the last time, when I glanced up at a street sign. And there was the Peking, or at least an image of the iconic ship, on a street sign on John Street. I do not know how many times I have walked these streets without noticing and yet there it was. As soon as I saw the first sign, I started seeing the image of the Peking at every street corner, on Nassau, and Cliff, and Pearl, and Water Street.  All across the Seaport District, the image of the Peking still graces the street signs. Even though she is no long alongside the dock, she lingers awhile longer for those who take a moment to glance up at the street signs.

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Black Moon on the Rise

Posted on by September 30, 2016

8_moonphaseswWe have posted before about the blue moon, which is the name given to the second full moon appearing in any given month. Tonight, September 30th in the Western hemisphere, there will occur the darker version of the blue moon — a black moon. A black moon is whenever there are two new moons in a given month. This black moon will officially occur on Friday, Sept. 30, at 8:11 p.m. Eastern Time (5:11 p.m. Pacific Time).

Don’t rush outside to see it, the new moon is the moon phase where the moon is entirely in the earth’s shadow, so it is dark. There is literally nothing to see.  Black moons are moderately rare, occurring about once every 32 months.

For those in the Eastern hemisphere, the new moon will rise on October 1, making it the first new moon rather than the second. Rather than encountering a black moon in September, those in Asia, Japan, Australia or New Zealand will have a black moon on October 31, which happens to be Halloween. That should make for an even slightly spookier evening.

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