The Unsinkable Hugh Williams – Truth Behind the Legend?

Posted on by April 12, 2022

I am traveling this week, so it seems like a good time to repost an old blog favorite, the remarkable story of the unsinkable Hugh Williams.

There is a video bouncing around the web these days called “The Strangest Coincidence Ever Recorded?”   (The video is embedded at the bottom of the post.) It tells the story of a ship that sank in the Menai Strait off the coast of Wales on December 5, 1664. All 81 passengers died, except one. His name was Hugh Williams.  Then on December 5th, 1785 another ship with 60 aboard sank in the Menai Strait. The only survivor – a man named Hugh Williams.   In 1820 on December 5th, a third vessel sank in the Menai Strait. All 25 aboard were drowned except, you guessed it, a man named Hugh Williams.

An amazing tale, but is it history or just an oft retold sea story?   It could easily be a bit of each.

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Algae Apocalypse — Sargassum Spreads Across the Caribbean & Florida

Posted on by October 17, 2018

On the resort beaches of the Yucatan Peninsula masses of stinking sargassum seaweed have been washing ashore for several years. From Miami Beach to Barbados sargassum is spreading across the Caribbean and Florida. The seaweed is killing fish, turtles and other sea life as well as befouling beaches and damaging fisherman’s nets. 

The Washington Post reports: 
Scientists warn that the algae known as sargassum are a grave new threat to the Caribbean — one as potentially life-altering as rising sea levels or destructive hurricanes.

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Sailor’s Tattoos – Pigs, Chickens, Swallows, and Tattooed Backsides

Posted on by October 2, 2018

A repost on Throw-Back Thursday from all the way back to 2008.

Tattoos have become very popular of late. Tattoo Facts & Statistics notes that “thirty-six percent of those ages 18 to 25, and 40 percent of those ages 26 to 40, have at least one tattoo, according to a fall 2006 survey by the Pew Research Center.” As popular as tattoos are with twenty and thirty-somethings, sailors have been marking their bodies for most of history.

Many years ago a retired ship’s captain told me that his youth deckhands often had “HOLD FAST” tattooed across the knuckles of their hands so they wouldn’t fall when they went aloft. They also often had a pig tattooed on one foot and chicken the other which was supposed to protect you from drowning. He told me that he never figured out which foot was supposed to be tattooed with the chicken and which with the pig. He would say, with a twinkle in his eye, that he never got the tattoos because he was afraid of getting them on the wrong feet.

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Mutant Green Crabs Invading Maine

Posted on by October 17, 2018

Photo: Hans Hillewaert

It sounds like a low budget horror/sci-fi flick —  “Nasty Mutant Green Crabs Invade Maine.” Sadly, it is no movie pitch. LiveScience reports that an aggressive breed of green crab is indeed invading Maine’s waters. 

Green crabs have been in North America in the 1800s. They are believed to have arrived in the ballast water of ships from Europe. In recent years, however, a genetically different European green crab from Nova Scotia, Canada — one that is more combative and more destructive of ecosystems — has appeared off the coast of Maine. 

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Lessons From the Golden Globe Race, So Far — the Limits of Retro Racing

Posted on by December 5, 2018

Ocean racing seems to have been taken over by boats made entirely of carbon fiber, costing slightly more than their weight in gold, as well being as festooned with foils, articulating keels and every high-tech whiz-bang device that millions of dollars can buy. There is something very appealing to the idea of reverting back to a simpler time with simpler boats and gear. 

The current Golden Globe Race is attempting to do just that. The Golden Globe racers all set out to race solo non-stop around the world in production boats equipped with only gear available in the first Golden Globe of 50 years ago. That means specifically: no GPS, chart plotters, electronic wind instruments, electric autopilots, electronic log, iPhone, satellite phones, digital cameras, computers, cd players, pocket calculators electronic clocks and watches, water makers, carbon fiber, Kevlar, spectra etc… so it is back to film cameras, cassette tapes, sextants, wind up clocks, trailing logs and Dacron sails, wind vanes, and typewriters.

The Golden Globe Race is roughly half over. How has the “retro race” worked out so far? 

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MIT’s SoFi — the Swimming Robotic Fish

Posted on by October 2, 2018

Researchers at MIT’s  Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL) have developed a swimming robotic fish with a soft silicone skin, which they have dubbed SoFi, for “soft fish.” SoFi is controlled by a modified video game controllers sending ultrasonic signals to the robotic fish, swishing its tail as it swims alongside real fish.

From MIT News: During test dives in the Rainbow Reef in Fiji, SoFi swam at depths of more than 50 feet for up to 40 minutes at once, nimbly handling currents and taking high-resolution photos and videos using (what else?) a fisheye lens.

Using its undulating tail and a unique ability to control its own buoyancy, SoFi can swim in a straight line, turn, or dive up or down. The team also used a waterproofed Super Nintendo controller and developed a custom acoustic communications system that enabled them to change SoFi’s speed and have it make specific moves and turns. Continue reading →

Save the Tug Urger, Flagship of the Erie Canal!

Posted on by October 17, 2018

The New York State Canal Corporation’s website still refers to the tug Urger as the “flagship” of the Erie Canal. The Urger served more than 60 years hauling machinery, dredges, and scows on the Erie and Champlain Canals until she was retired from service in the 1980s. Now, 117-year-old tug, which has served as a floating classroom for the canal since 1991, is earmarked to become a display at a Thruway rest stop. 

In addition to the Canal Corporation and New York State Power Authority’s plan to beach the Urger at the Exit 28 rest stop in Montgomery County, they have already sunk already sunk seven canal vessels off the coast of Long Island to make artificial reefs and have another six vessels under review.

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New Jersey Opening Bids on Major Offshore Wind Project

Posted on by October 3, 2018

The State of New Jersey has opened the bidding on a 1,100 megawatt offshore wind project, the largest of any state in the nation. The project is the first step in meeting New Jersey’s goal to deploy 3,500 megawatts of offshore wind by 2030. New Jersey has more than a hundred oceanfront miles.

“Bidders will be required under the statute to pay a $150,000 application fee,” said Ken Sheehan, director of the Clean Energy Division at the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities. “There are six primary criteria — they are the OREC purchase price, the economic impacts for the state, ratepayer impacts, environmental impacts, the strength of the guarantees of economic impacts and the likelihood of successful commercial completion. The purpose of this is not wind at any cost, it is to do this well, to do this smart.”

Governor Phil Murphy said in a statement, “In the span of nine months, New Jersey has vaulted to the front of the pack in establishing this cutting-edge industry. We campaigned on rebuilding New Jersey’s reputation as a clean energy leader and that involves setting an aggressive timetable on offshore wind.”

Fighter Jets Land for the First Time on HMS Queen Elizabeth

Posted on by October 2, 2018

From the BBC:  Fighter jets, specifically F-35 Lightning stealth jets, have landed on the UK’s new £3.1bn aircraft carrier for the first time.  Portsmouth-based HMS Queen Elizabeth was commissioned into the British fleet last year.

The crew are currently undergoing sea trials off the east coast of the US, and are expected to carry out 500 landings and take-offs during the carrier’s 11 weeks at sea.

F35 Lightning jets on HMS Queen Elizabeth | Royal Navy

NTSB Video on the Investigation of the Sinking of US Cargo Vessel El Faro

Posted on by October 3, 2018

Three years ago this week, the ro/ro container ship El Faro sank with all hands in Hurricane Joaquin northeast of Crooked Island in the Bahamas. The 28 American crew and 5 Polish repair technicians died.  Recently the  National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) posted The Sinking of the US Cargo Vessel El Faro — an Illustrated Digest, as well as the video below, summarizing the facts and findings related to the tragic sinking.

The Investigation of the Sinking of US Cargo Vessel El Faro

US and China Navy Have “Unsafe” Encounter In South China Sea

Posted on by October 2, 2018

A Chinese destroyer came perilously close to the US destroyer Decatur as it sailed 12 nautical miles off Gaven and Johnson reefs in the Spratly Islands.  The Chinese destroyer is reported to have approached within 45 yards of the Decatur, which maneuvered to prevent a collision.

The Spratly Islands in the South China Sea are variously claimed by China, Taiwan, Malaysia, the Philippines, Brunei and Vietnam. In recent years, China has been attempting to enforce their claims of sovereignty over the 45 scattered islands and 100 or so reefs that make up the archipelago. The United States does not recognize the Chinese claims and recently sent the USS Decatur to the Spratly Islands as part of what the US Navy calls freedom of navigation operations, which are meant to enforce the right of free passage in international waters.

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None of Indonesia’s 22 Tsunami Early Warning Buoys Were Working

Posted on by October 2, 2018

After the devastating 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami that killed nearly a quarter of a million people, the United States, Germany, and Malaysia donated an advanced tsunami warning system to Indonesia. When the city of Palu on the island of Sulawesi, Indonesia was hit by tsunami waves of up to 6 meters following the magnitude 7.5 earthquake on Friday, none of the 22 tsunami early warning buoys was working. Some have been damaged by vandals and others have been stolen. Reportedly, the system has not worked for at least the last six years due to a lack of funding.

Indonesia does have a tsunami early warning system, but it is limited in its capabilities. The nearest closest tsunami tidal gauge to Palu was over 200km away. Based data from this gauge the Indonesian authorities predicted a tsunami wave of from 0.5 to 3 meters high. 

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SB Met, First Robot Vessel to Cross the Atlantic — Or Is It?

Posted on by October 1, 2018

Recent reports in the media have announced that the 2-meter long robot sailboat, SB Met, has become the first unmanned vessel to cross the Atlantic after completing a 1,800-mile (3,000 km) journey from Newfoundland in Canada to Ireland.

The Daily Mail reports that the boat’s two-and-a-half-month journey saw it cross the North Atlantic as part of the Microtransat Challenge – a transatlantic race for autonomous boats.

The SB Met, built by Norwegian company Offshore Sensing AS, is the first vessel to complete the challenge after more than 20 attempts by various teams.

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Wreck of 400 Year Old Portuguese Spice Ship Discovered Near Cascais

Posted on by September 29, 2018

Photo: Reuters

Archaeologists have found a 400-year-old shipwreck off the coast of Portugal, near Cascais, close to the capital Lisbon. The shipwreck was found in early September while dredging the mouth of the Tagus river. 

Spices, ceramics, and cannons engraved with Portugal’s coat of arms were found at the wreck site.  Archaeologists believe that the ship was returning from India when it sank sometime between 1575 and 1625, at the height of Portugal’s spice trade with Asia. One expert has called the shipwreck the “discovery of a decade”.

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Indonesian Earthquake & Tsunami — Over 400 Killed or Missing

Posted on by September 29, 2018

A 7.5 magnitude earthquake triggered a tsunami which struck the city of Palu on the island of Sulawesi, Indonesia. At least 384 have been reported to be killed and 29 are missing. 540 are being treated in local hospitals. The wall of water smashed into buildings and swept away homes in the coastal city of Palu city, the capital of Central Sulawesi Province and home to 350,000 people. The city is built around a narrow bay that apparently magnified the force of the tsunami waters as they raced into the inlet. 

Preparations had been underway for a beach festival when the tsunami hit on Friday evening. Rescue workers have not yet reached all areas thought to have been affected, and it was feared that the death toll could still rise.

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