Larsen C Iceberg Calves — Trillion Tons of Ice, the Size of Delaware

Posted on by July 12, 2017

For months we have been watching a vast crack in Antarctica’s Larsen C ice-shelf in the Weddell Sea.  Today, a huge block of ice calved from the ice-sheet, forming one of the largest icebergs in recorded history. The new Larsen C iceberg with a surface of 2,200 square miles, is almost the size of Delaware and contains roughly a trillion tons of water, or more water than Lake Erie, one of the Great Lakes.

Larsen C is the fourth-largest ice-shelf in Antarctica. The iceberg reduces the size of the ice-shelf by 12 percent. There is concern that the calving of the large iceberg will destabilize the ice-sheet. If the ice-sheet collapses, it could allow glaciers, which had been blocked behind the shelf, to flow more rapidly to the sea, contributing to rising sea-levels. Thanks to Phil Leon for contributing to this post.

Huge Antarctic iceberg finally breaks free – Larsen Ice Shelf, Antarctica

Mysterious Underwater Forest off Alabama Coast

Posted on by July 11, 2017

In the Gulf of Mexico, off the coast of Alabama, divers have discovered an underwater forest rising out of the sediment, 60 feet below the surface. Ben Raines — an environmental reporter for the Mobile Press Register, told the Washington Post, “It was like entering a fairy world. You get down there, and there are these cypress trees, and there are logs lying on the bottom, and you can touch them and peel the bark off. It was an otherworldly experience where you knew you were in this ancient place.”

The wood from the ancient trees has been dated to around 50,000 years ago, when the seal level was far lower and much of North America was covered by a one-mile thick sheet of ice. The Washington Post reports:

Scientists believe the forest may have remained hidden were it not for Hurricane Ivan, which caused billions of dollars in damage after it slammed into the Alabama and Florida coast in 2004. The storm produced massive waves that may have scooped out about 10 feet of sediment covering the forest.

The Underwater Forest

Thanks to Phil Leon for contributing to this post.

Keels in the Air at Équihen Plage — the Village of Overturned Boat-Houses

Posted on by July 9, 2017

Équihen Plage is a village on the Opal Coast, along the English Channel, in Pas-de-Calais, France. Until the early 20th century, it was a fishing village. Lacking a harbor, the fishing boats would be run aground on each tide and hauled up higher on the beach on rollers. This repeated beachings would, over time, wear the boats out. New boats would be built and the old ones abandoned. The poorest of the village hauled the abandoned boats up above the beach, and used then as small cottages. On a rudimentary foundation they would turn a boat upside down and use the bottom of the boat as a roof. Toward the end of the 19th century there was a small community of these overturned boat houses which the locals called, “quilles en l’air,” or “keels in the air.”

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Cyber-Security at Sea — XP on Carriers, Hacking Tridents & Spoofing GPS

Posted on by July 8, 2017

Originally posted on gCaptain. Reposted with permission.

When reporters were recently being given tours of the Royal Navy’s new “supercarrier,” HMS Queen Elizabeth, some were surprized to see a distinctive logo on several computer screens on the bridge and in control rooms. The logo was for Windows XP, the Microsoft computer operating system introduced in 2001. The ship itself was under construction for over eight years and the many of the procurement lead times were even longer. The reporters were told that the software was ordered in 2004, when XP was the latest and greatest version of the operating system. 

Other than being slightly embarrassing that the brand new £3.5 billion aircraft carrier is running outdated software, why is this a problem? The problem is that the older operating systems are much more vulnerable to security breeches.  In May, a worldwide ransomware attack was launched, which created havoc in networks in 99 counties around the world.  (A new wave of ransomware cyber-attacks has hit recently. This time, port operations were also impacted, including Moller-Maersk and others.) 

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Return of the Steamer Sabino at Mystic Seaport

Posted on by July 7, 2017

In January 2016, we posted about how during a major restoration of the 1908 coal-fired steamer Sabino at the Mystic Seaport Museum, it was determined that the boiler was beyond repair and would need to be replaced. Now with new decking and planking and a reverse-engineered 1908 boiler, the steamboat Sabino is back.

Keels Falling Off — How Many More Sailors Will Die?

Posted on by July 6, 2017

Cheeki Rafiki without her keel

We posted yesterday about the death of Dutch yacht designer Frans Maas and two of his crew when the fin keel broke off from Capella, a boat he designed and owned. The boat capsized without warning and the three sailors drowned.

Sadly, keel failure is a common enough occurrence that the folks at the Sailing Anarchy blog to have coined a name for it  — keel kills.  The sudden detachment of a fin keel from a fiberglass sailboat hull too often ends up with one or more dead. 

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Yacht Designer Frans Maas & One Crew Drowned, One Sailor Missing

Posted on by July 5, 2017

Frans Mass Photo: C Yachts

On July 1, Dutch yacht designer Frans Maas and his friend and crew, Freddy Franssens died when the yacht, Capella, capsized after losing her keel during the Genisol Light Vessel Race off Ostend, Belgium. Crew member Hannes Goegebeur is still missing and feared dead. Three other crew were rescued after clinging to the overturned hull before being found by a passing dredger. All were suffering from hypothermia and were hospitalized in Bruge for treatment.

The yacht Capella, designed and owned by Frans Maas. The Maritime and Rescue Coordination Centre in Belgium told local media that it received no distress call from the yacht before or after the capsize.

Frans Maas was Dutch yacht designer, builder and ocean racer. He was an early proponent of glass fiber construction. His designs achieved great success in racing in the 1960’s during the heyday of the RORC rule.  He also designed more than 18 classes of production sailboats in his career. Maas was 80.

Happy 4th of July – A Toast to Madeira, the Wine of the Declaration of Independence and the Liberty Riots

Posted on by July 4, 2017

A post from five years ago, which is still fitting for the day.

Happy 4th of July!  Those of us in the United States celebrate the anniversary of the adoption of the Declaration of Independence on July 4th 1776. Immediately after declaring independence from Great Britain, the representatives in the Continental Congress drank a toast with glasses of Madeira wine.

Why Madiera?  It was virtually the only wine available in the American colonies at the time. Wine carried by sailing ship was often spoiled in transit by the constant jostling of the ship and the wide variations of heat and cold. Wine from the island of Madeira, however, was fortified with a small amount of sugar cane brandy to help it survive the ocean voyage. Not only did the fortified wine survive the voyage but it was found that the heat and motion of the ship actually improved the quality of the wine.

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Guest Post : Falls of Clyde – 2017 Update

Posted on by July 3, 2017

A guest post by Susan Yamamoto from her new and wonderful blog, Maritime Hawai‘i, on the latest developments to help save the four masted sailing ship, Falls of Clyde.   David O’Neill is leading the ‎Save The Tall Ship Falls of Clyde – International Group in its effort to bring the historic ship back to Scotland, where she was built in 1878. From Maritime Hawai‘i:

At the beginning of the month, David O’Neill met with Friends of Falls of Clyde (FFOC) president, Bruce McEwan. Mr. O’Neill tells Maritime Hawai‘i that the meeting was positive in general. Both parties recognize there is a tremendous amount of work that needs to be done in short order if they are to succeed in returning the Falls of Clyde to Scotland. Maritime Hawai‘i urges DOT Harbors to give both organizations the time they need.

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Of Stinky Sea Monsters, Alien Space Balls & Dead Whales

Posted on by July 2, 2017

Every now and then, the stories of sea monsters take a physical form when a huge, decaying carcass of what appears to be a monster from the deep washes ashore. Such a creature came ashore on Seram Island in Indonesia’s Maluku province in May. Initially, the 50-foot-long body was said to be a giant squid but the appearance of bones from the decomposing and incredibly smelly corpse allowed scientists to identify the creature as a dead and rotting baleen whale. The scientists are unsure whether the whale was a blue, a Bryde’s whale or possibly a fin whale.

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The WoodenBoat Show at Mystic Seaport

Posted on by July 1, 2017

A wonderful video promoting the Mystic Seaport Museum‘s Annual WoodenBoat Show, which began yesterday and runs through Sunday, July 2nd. There are more than 100 traditional and classic wooden boats of every type on display on the historic museum waterfront. The festival, which is hosted in partnership with WoodenBoat Publications, celebrates the design and craftsmanship of wooden craft.

The WoodenBoat Show at Mystic Seaport

TV Vikings, Wrong-Side Rudders and the USS Fitzgerald Collision

Posted on by June 30, 2017

Wrong-side rudder

Vikings is a History Channel series that follows the exploits of  the legendary Viking leader Ragnar Lodbrok. It is basically lots of fun, with swords and axes flying, supported by a fair share of intrigue and drama, the sort of show that will tide Game of Thrones fans over until that series finally starts again.

How historically accurate the series is open to question. The tattoos and shield maidens have some, if not a lot, of support in the sagas. And tattoos and kick-ass women are popular these days, so why not?  One detail, however, is bizarrely inaccurate. All the Viking longships in the TV series have their rudders on the port side, the wrong side. (Oddly, the Frankish ships in the series have the rudder on starboard sight, literally the right side.)

So why does this matter? Continue reading →

Doug Peterson, Great Yacht Designer, Dies at 71

Posted on by June 29, 2017

Doug Peterson

Doug Peterson, one of the most talented yacht designers of our time, has died at 71 of cancer. He may be best remembered for his America’s Cup designs, as one of the lead designers of the winning 1992 America3 and 1995 Team New Zealand Black Magic.  Peterson was elected into the America’s Cup Hall of Fame earlier this year. 

Beyond the America’s Cup, however, Peterson made his mark in both racing and cruising sailboat designs. In 1973, at the age of 28, his design for the One-Tonner Ganbare caught the sailing world’s attention.  He went on to design a series of custom racing boats which dominated offshore racing in the 70s. Peterson’s cruising designs, which combined seaworthiness and speed, included the Peterson 44 and Hans Christian 48 and 52. 

Coral Reefs and the Economic Costs of Global Warming

Posted on by June 28, 2017

Some complain that responding to climate change will damage the economy and cost jobs. Others counter that not responding effectively to climate change will do even greater economic damage. Recently an analysis of the social and economic value of the Australia’s Great Barrier Reef calculated the world’s largest barrier reef as being as being an asset worth AU$56 billion (US$ 43 billion.)

The study performed by Deloitte Access Economics, commissioned by the Great Barrier Reef Foundation, concluded that the “reef was too big to fail” supporting 64,000 jobs and contributing AU$29 billion in tourist revenue while also having an  “indirect or non-use” value – people that have not yet visited the reef but know it exists – estimated at AU$24 billion.

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