The Continuing Legacy of the Christmas Tree Ship

Posted on by December 29, 2018

Rouse Simmons

A report from a few years ago. A story well worth retelling.

Today the Christmas Ship is Chicago’s largest all-volunteer charitable support program for inner-city youth and their families at Christmas time.  At the turn of the twentieth century, the “Christmas Tree Ship” was a family business. In the mid-1880s, August and his brother Herman Schuenemann moved to Chicago.  They were merchants and sailors who made two-thirds of their annual income transporting and selling Christmas trees.  August died in November 1898 when the two-masted schooner S. Thal sank in a storm near Glencoe, Illinois. His younger brother Herman continued the family business.

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A Christmas Miracle — Cruise Ship Empress of the Seas Rescues Fishermen

Posted on by December 25, 2018

Call it a miracle, serendipity, or just good luck, but two stranded Costa Rican fishermen were rescued by the Royal Caribbean cruise ship Empress of the Seas after the ship was rerouted because of a storm. If the ship had continued on its planned course, it would have missed the stranded sailors.

The fishermen were near death after 20 days adrift. They had set out from Costa Rica on December 1, but had been run out of fuel after strong winds had separated them from their nets. They had a week’s supply of food and water aboard which they depleted almost two weeks before the rescue. One of the rescued fishermen was so weak that he could no longer walk and had to be carried from the Empress of the Seas‘ tender to the ship.   

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Riverboat Car Washes

Posted on by December 24, 2018

We recently visited St. Augustine, FL. Founded in 1567, it is the oldest continually occupied city in the United States and is replete with a fascinating history and a plethora of sites and museums worth visiting. This post, however, is not about one of those places, but rather about a non-historical landmark one might notice while driving into town — the riverboat car wash. 

Yes, while driving down Ponce de Leon Blvd, not long before turning down King Street to go to downtown St Augustine, there is what appears to be a full-sized riverboat alongside the road. It is in fact not a riverboat but Sporty’s Riverboat Car Wash. Cars drive up a stern “gangway” to enter the automated car wash, which is surrounded by a “moat” for runoff. The clean cars drive out the bow.

Sporty’s Riverboat Car Wash was built in 2005 and was inspired by a riverboat car wash in California. Yes, there are at least two riverboat car washes. 

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Tsunami Kills More Than 200 Following Anak Krakatau Eruption

Posted on by December 23, 2018

Anak Krakatau

On Saturday, a tsunami in Indonesia’s Sunda Strait killed at least 222 and injured 843. The huge wave hit without warning at night destroying hundreds of homes and buildings, sweeping away cars and uprooting trees. Officials say more than 160 people were killed in Pandeglang – a popular tourist district on Java known for its beaches and national park. The main road into Pandeglang is reported to be badly damaged, making it difficult for rescuers to reach the area. In South Lampung on Sumatra, 48 were reported dead. Deaths were reported in Serang district and Tanggamus, also on Sumatra. Officials fear the death toll could rise further.

The tsunami is thought have been caused by an underwater landslide following a recent eruption of the volcano Anak Krakatau, which has been active since June. 

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What is the World’s Most Densely Populated Island?

Posted on by December 22, 2018

Recently, the BBC posted a video about Santa Cruz del Islote, a tiny island on the Caribbean coast of Colombia, which it described as the “world’s most densely populated island.” With five hundred people living on an island the size of a soccer field, it is definitely crowded, but is it the world’s most densely populated island? 

Apparently, Santa Cruz del Islote does not have the highest population density of the world’s islands. At just over 40,000 people per kilometer, it appears to rank about 10th in the list. The most densely populated is Ilet a Brouee in Haiti, where 500 people occupy a sand spit with an area of only around 4,000 m², resulting in a staggering population density of 125,000 people per kilometer. 

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Gladys West — Pioneer of GPS Technology

Posted on by December 21, 2018

I will admit to being dependent on GPS. I rely on it for both maps and apps on my phone as well as the chartplotters on several tablets on my boat. Nevertheless, until recently I knew nothing of Gladys West, a black female mathematician for the Navy whose work made a major contribution to the development of the Global Positioning System.

This month, Dr. Gladys West was inducted into the Air Force Space and Missile Pioneers Hall of Fame during a ceremony at the Pentagon. The Pioneers Hall of Fame is one of Air Force’s Space Commands Highest Honors. 

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Plastic Collecting Boom Not Collecting Plastics

Posted on by December 20, 2018

Around six years ago, the media went slightly crazy when a fresh-faced 17-year-old Dutch engineering student, Boyan Slat, claimed to have designed a means for using currents to clean plastic from the oceans. He was covered in the major press outlets, was interviewed on television, and gave TED talks. Despite all the enthusiasm, the unanswered question was, would the design work? So far, the results are not promising.

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As the Scandal Rolls on, What Has Become of Fat Leonard?

Posted on by December 19, 2018

Five years ago, Leonard Glenn Francis, aka “Fat Leonard”, was arrested by the US Navy as the center of a major procurement scandal and what has been described as the worst national-security breach of its kind to hit the Navy since the end of the Cold War. The 54-year-old, 350-pound Malaysian national, ran Glenn Defense Marine Asia (GDMA) and two decades had been bribing US Navy officials with cash, lavish gifts, entertainment and prostitutes in exchange for information on ship port calls, bidding information, and for officials looking the other way at GDMA overbilling. 

So far, the Justice Department has filed criminal charges against 32 defendants who worked for the Navy or Glenn Defense Marine Asia. Twenty of the defendants have pleaded guilty in the scandal that cost the Navy at least $35 million. Another 550 people who had contact with Francis — including about 60 admirals — are under investigation.

After all this, what has become of Fat Leonard? Continue reading →

Golden Globe — Igor Zaretskiy Out, Five Sail On

Posted on by December 18, 2018

Sixty-seven-year-old Igor Zaretskiy was in last place in the Golden Globe Race. His mast was seriously damaged, even after jury-rigged repairs. He had lost a hatch, exposing his cabin the elements, and his hull was so fouled that his boat, Esmerelda, was crawling along, at times at just over a knot.

He wisely chose to put into Albany in Western Australia for repairs. By stopping he was no longer in the main race but could still finish in the Chichester Class. Despite everything, he decided that once repairs were completed, he would sail on. Then, a medical checkup changed his mind. He is flying back to his home in Russia where he may need an operation. 

From the Golden Globe website:

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Orcas Swimming with Woman off Coromandel, NZ

Posted on by December 17, 2018

Judie Johnson was swimming alone at Hahei Beach on the Coromandel Peninsula in New Zealand when she saw a huge shape appear from underwater. Initially, she thought that it was a dolphin but the black and white coloration made it clear that it was an orca. She found herself surrounded by three rather playful Orca whales — an adult, a juvenile and a calf.

Remarkably, the encounter was captured on video by a drone launched by an Australian tourist, Dylan Brayshaw, who saw the orcas heading toward Ms. Johnson. (See the video below the page break.)

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Sailboat Drifts Ashore in South Africa, Body of French Sailor Aboard

Posted on by December 16, 2018

A sailboat drifted ashore on a Southbroom beach on the KwaZulu-Natal lower south coast of South Africa on Saturday. The body of a French sailor was found aboard. The yacht, originally from Papua New Guinea, had left Port Elizabeth a few days ago with one person on board. The man is believed to have died of natural causes and no foul play is suspected. The sailor’s name has not been released pending notification of next of kin. Police have opened an inquest docket and SAMSA (South African Maritime Safety Authority). MRCC (Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre) and Police are investigating and assisting in the case.

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Visiting the Titanic in Person For the Cost of An Original First Class Ticket

Posted on by December 15, 2018

OceanGate, a privately owned manned submersible and survey company, recently tested its newest submersible, Titan, at depths of 13,000 feet underwater in the Abacos. Next year, the company plans to use the sub to perform 3D laser surveys of RMS Titanic. For $105,129 per person, which OceanGate represents as the cost of an inflation-adjusted first class ticket on the original Titanic, passengers (referred to as Mission Specialists) can ride along/participate in the Titanic surveys. While this might seem to be a high price for most of us, of the first six voyages planned for 2019, the first four trips are sold out and there is limited availability on the last two. 

What was the cost of a first-class ticket on the ill-fated maiden voyage of the Titanic in 1912? OceanGate quotes the price of first-class passage as $4,350. Is this the right figure? How much did passage on the Titanic actually cost? And how much has the price increased due to inflation? As is so often the case, it depends on who you ask. 

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And Then There Were Six — Sinclair Retires From Golden Globe Race

Posted on by May 29, 2022

Last week we posted about the rescue of Golden Globe racer Susie Goodall, whose boat pitchpoled and was dismasted in the Southern Ocean. Goodall was the eleventh of the original eighteen sailors in the race to either withdraw or require rescue.  Now, one more sailor, Mark John Sinclair, has withdrawn from the Golden Globe Race.  Sinclair, a 60-year-old Australian, sailing Coconut, a Lello 34 Masthead sloop, had reached Australia when he chose to retire from the race. 

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Update: Norwegian Frigate and Tanker Collision — What Happened?

Posted on by December 13, 2018

On November 8, just after 4 AM, the Norwegian navy frigate, KNM Helge Ingstad, collided with the Maltese flag, Aframax tanker, Sola TS, near the Sture terminal in the Hjeltefjord near Bergen, Norway. The night was clear. Local traffic control and the tanker both communicated with the frigate by radio. The frigate’s radar and AIS receiver were operational and yet the frigate cut across the bow of the tanker, resulting in the collision. The tanker was traveling at around 6 knots, while the frigate was operating at 17-18 knots. Eight sailors aboard the frigate suffered minor injuries but the frigate subsequently sank.

What happened? The Accident Investigation Board Norway has issued a preliminary report answering at least some of the many questions surrounding the collision. 

How could this have happened?

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Brexit & the Scallop Wars May Save RN Patrol Vessels

Posted on by December 12, 2018

The Royal Navy Offshore Patrol Vessels (OPVs), HMS Tyne, HMS Mersey, and HMS Severn had been scheduled to be decommissioned. Now, however, the three River Class patrol vessels, which support the Fishery Protection Squadron, have been given extended lives, potentially until 2027.  The rationale for the operating extension is that after the Fishery Protection Squadron may be even more critical after Brexit. 

The so-called scallop wars also demonstrated the need for the fisheries patrol vessels. In September a conflict between RFrench and British scallop fishermen erupted.  The shellfish battle centered around the Baie de la Seine, a stretch of water off the coast of Normandy where scallops are plentiful.  Current regulations state British ships have the legal right to fish there all year round but the French are banned from doing the same between May 15 and October 1 to allow the mollusks to repopulate. The region has been a source of conflict since 2013 when larger British boats agreed to avoid the area in return for larger fishing opportunities.

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