Crow’s Nests : Part 1 — Melville & Captain Scoresby

Posted on by July 16, 2014
"The Arctic Expedition -- the Crow's Nest" 1875

“The Arctic Expedition — the Crow’s Nest” 1875

The first of a two-part post on crows nests. Who would have thought that a crow’s nest deserves such attention?

A reader commented on the lack of a crow’s nest in the video of the Charles W. Morgan under sail that we posted over the weekend.   While whaling ships and crow’s nests are closely associated in modern culture, most American whaling ships did not fit crow’s nests for their lookouts.  The lookouts on the Charles W. Morgan probably watched for whales standing in open iron hoops.

The first crow’s nest is credited to Captain William Scoresby Snr., who said to have invented the barrel like shelter for whale ship lookouts in Arctic waters in 1807.  William Scoresby and his son of the same name sailed from Whitby in North Yorkshire, UK, in the Greenland whale fishery. Before the introduction of the crow’s nest, also apparently known as a “hurricane house,” sailors made their own shelters of canvas. Here is Captain William Scoresby, Jr., son of Captain William Scoresby, Snr, describing the evolution of the crow’s nest. (He notably seems less concerned with the welfare of the sailors standing watch than he does the captain, who must also spend time at the masthead, from time to time.)

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Congratulations to Joan Druett — The Beckoning Ice Makes the Long List

Posted on by July 15, 2014

Congratulations to Joan Druett! Her crime thriller, The Beckoning Ice, the fifth of her Wiki Coffin series of maritime mysteries, is one of the longlisted titles for the 2014 Ngaio Marsh Award.   We reviewed The Beckoning Ice in December 2012. An excerpt from that review:

The  Beckoning Ice is part nautical adventure, part murder mystery, and part thriller, as well as thoroughly researched historical fiction. A multi-award winning nautical historian and novelist, Joan Druett brings a historian’s eye for detail and a novelist’s imagination, sense of character, plot and pacing to the novel. The tension only keeps building and the actions never waivers. The Beckoning Ice is a marvelous read. Highly recommended.

Read the rest of the review

Refloating the Costa Concordia

Posted on by July 14, 2014

Two and a half years ago,  the cruise ship Costa Concordia ran aground, sank and capsized with the loss of 32 passengers and crew, off the island of Giglio in the Tyrrhenian Sea off Tuscany.  This morning, the ship was re-floated  as salvors pumped compressed air into 30 large steel tanks welded to both side of the stricken ship.   In roughly a week, the cruise ship will be towed to Genoa to be scrapped.   The salvage of the Costa Concordia, which has cost $1 billion dollars, is one the largest salvage operations ever performed. 

Operation begins to refloat Costa Concordia cruise liner

Captain William Thomas Shorey, the Black Ahab

Posted on by July 14, 2014

WilliamshoreyToday is the 155th anniversary of the birth of Captain William Thomas Shorey, a famous captain in the last days of whaling,  who was affectionately nicknamed “Black Ahab” by his crew.  Shorey was born in Barbados in 1859 and ran away to sea as a young man. He learned navigation from a British ship captain and became a ship’s officer by the age of 21.  After only a decade at sea, he rose to command whaling ships sailing out of San Francisco.

In 1886 Shorey married Julia Ann Shelton, daughter of one of the leading black families in San Francisco. Together they had five children and Captain Shorey occasionally took his family to sea with him.  Captain Shorey was known as  a skilled and lucky captain. Nicknamed “Black Ahab,”  unlike Melville’s captain, Shorey had a reputation for “happy ships” and as a captain that brought his ships and crews home safely.  Returning to port in 1907 after surviving two typhoons, the crew testified that “nothing but Captain Shorey’s coolness and clever seamanship saved [it from] a wreck.”

As the whaling industry collapsed with the advent of cheap petroleum,  Shorey retired from whaling in 1908.  He died in the Spanish flue pandemic of 1919 at the age of 60.

Whaler Charles W. Morgan Sails with Whales off Stellwagen Bank

Posted on by July 12, 2014

What a wonderful juxtaposition. The whaling ship Charles W. Morgan, built in 1841, and recently rebuilt by the Mystic Seaport Museum, sailing with humpback whales as they migrate across Stellwagen Bank off Massachusetts. No harpoons were in evidence and the whales did not seem threatened in the slightest by one of the more successful whale ships of her day.

WHALE HO!

New London’s SailFest 2014

Posted on by July 12, 2014

New London’s Sailfest kicked off yesterday and will continue through Sunday, Jul 13th. It is billed as Southeastern Connecticut’s premier summertime event attracting over 300,000 people over the three-day festival. The festival features a major fireworks display, amusement rides, and over 200 vendors lining the downtown streets. Sailfest produces multiple stages of free entertainment with musical genres ranging in Rock, Celtic, Hip Hop, and Blues. Kids enjoy free shows at the City Pier stage. Sailfest also showcases the 4th largest fireworks display in the Northeast, sponsored by the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation.  It is unclear whether the schooner Amistad will be attending.   Saturday – 10:00am-11:00pm & Sunday – 9:00am-6:00pm.

Update: Yang­­-suis & Archimedes Burning Mirrors

Posted on by July 11, 2014
Yangsui, in a need of a good polishing

Yang-sui, in a need of a good polishing

One of the great stories from ancient history is of Archimedes Burning Mirrors.  Legend has it that Archimedes designed a series of curved mirrors to reflect and focus the rays of the sun and that these mirrors were used to set a fleet of Roman ships on fire during the Siege of Syracuse in 214–212 BC. Historians have often dismissed the story as a fanciful folk-tale. In January of this year, however, we posted of a modern, if accidental version of the burning mirrors in the form of London’s “Walkie Scorchie,” a glass office tower whose curved surface has been reflecting focussed sunlight, and has melted cars and fried eggs on the sidewalk.   A month later we also posted about a very intentional version of the “burning mirrors”  at the Ivanpah Solar Thermal Power Facility, which is currently the world’s largest solar thermal power system.

Recently, author John Perlin wrote the discovery of Bronze Age Chinese hand-sized “burning mirrors” in his book Let It Shine: The 6,000-Year Story of Solar Energy.   Perlin writes: During the sixth century BCE, Confucius wrote about the common use of curved mirrors shaped from shiny metal to concentrate the rays of the sun for making fire. These became known as yang­­-suis ­­– translating to solar ignitors, or burning mirrors. 

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City of Water Day Festival, July 12th in New York Harbor

Posted on by July 11, 2014
Photo: Reena Rose Sibayan/The Jersey Journal

Photo: Reena Rose Sibayan/The Jersey Journal

The Metropolitan Waterfront Alliance is hosting its seventh annual City of Water Day festival this Saturday, July 12th, at multiple locations in New York Harbor.  Festivities will run from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.  This year Hoboken is joining in the fun, hosting free kayak and ferry rides, along with a multitude of children’s activities, concerts and boat tours at Maxwell Place Park.  A free ferry between Maxwell Place Park, Paulus Hook in Jersey City and Governors Island will make five round-trip journeys throughout the day. No tickets are required, but all passengers must disembark at every stop.

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Grand Banks Oyster Bar on the Schooner Sherman Zwicker on the Hudson

Posted on by July 10, 2014

zwickerI believe that this is the first straight-out restaurant review that we have done on the Old Salt Blog.  Then again the Grand Banks Oyster Bar on the schooner Sherman Zwicker is not your typical restaurant.  Sherman Zwicker is a  142′ long wooden auxiliary fishing schooner, originally built in 1942 for dory fishing on the Grand Banks. She is now alongside Hudson River Park’s ‘Pier 25 in Manhattan with an oyster bar named Grand Banks on her deck and a soon-to-open exhibition by New Draft Collective in her hold.  The schooner is said to be the largest wooden vessel now afloat in New York.

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Swedish Warship Mars, Sunk in 1564, Preserved in the Baltic

Posted on by July 8, 2014

mosaik-a3-300-dpi-copy_81469_990x742National Geographic has published breathtaking photographs and video of the Swedish warship Mars, which exploded and sank in the first battle of Öland in 1564.  Because the ship sank in the dark, cold waters of the Baltic Sea, where the water is brackish and contains relatively little oxygen near the bottom, the ship is amazingly well preserved.

The Mars was believed to be one of the largest ships of her day.  When the ship sank she carried a fortune in silver coins, as well as 800 to 900 sailors, all of which ended at the bottom.  The wreck of the Mars has long been sought after. There is a legend that a specter rose from the inferno when Mars sank, to guard the ship against ever being discovered.  After 450 years, perhaps the legendary specter has retired. At least one silver coin has been recovered. Also numerous bones have been found at the wreck site from the ill-fated sailors and soldiers who went down with the ship.  There is video of the shipwreck after the page break.

Cursed Warship Revealed With Treasure Onboard

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Schooner HMS Pickel for Sale on Ebay

Posted on by January 1, 2016

HMS Pickle is for sale on Ebay, with a minimum opening bid of £69,500.00, no reserve and five days left in the auction.  The topsail schooner is a replica of the first ship to bring the news of Nelson’s great victory and tragic death at Trafalgar back to England.

We last posted about HMS Pickle when she was for sale back in 2008 when the asking price was £350,000.00.  From the Seller’s Notes of Ebay:  “Pickle is in need of some work to bring her up to scratch.” Apparently while in good shape below the waterline, the schooner needs a few new deck planks and beams.   Click here to learn more.

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The Fishermen, the Swimmer and the Great White Shark off Manhattan Beach

Posted on by July 7, 2014
Attack victim being carried through surf

Attack victim being carried through surf

This weekend, Steven Robles, 40, was swimming off Manhattan Beach in Southern California on Saturday morning when he was attacked by a juvenile 7′ long great white shark. He suffered a single bite wound on the right side of his rib cage and was taken to Harbor-UCLA Medical Center and then released to recover at home. If that was the entire story, it would be easy just to write it off as an another example of how dangerous great whites can be. The story ends up being a bit more complicated, however.

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The Barracuda Bites Back — Crew of Korean Bulker JS Comet Medevaced Off Florida Coast

Posted on by July 5, 2014

JS_COMETThe US Coast Guard in Florida faced an unusual challenge earlier this week.  Virtually the entire crew, 19 out of 21, on the 35,362 dwt Korean bulk carrier JS Comet had become seriously ill with symptoms of food poisoning and needed to be rescued. The ship was anchored in the Atlantic three miles off Port Canaveral, Florida while Tropical Storm Arthur raged offshore. The condition of the crew and the 35 knot winds and five to 6-foot seas raised by the tropical storm made evacuation by boat impossible. Despite the deteriorating weather conditions, the Coast Guard successfully evacuate the 19 sick crew members leaving only two crew aboard the ship.

So, what poisoned the crew? The crew told the Coast Guard they believe they got food poisoning from bad sushi. gCaptain reports that an unconfirmed report indicates the crew may have eaten some bad barracuda, which may have been contaminated with ciguatoxin.

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Inside the Costa Concordia — New Video, Days Before Refloating

Posted on by July 4, 2014

In just over a week, salvors expect to  start pumping air into sponson tanks welded along the hull of the Costa Concordia to refloat the ship.   Prior to the refloating, Italian police have released footage showing the underwater interior of the wrecked cruise ship. 

Costa Concordia: New video of the inside of sunken cruise ship

Queen Elizabeth II Christens Aircraft Carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth

Posted on by July 4, 2014

hmsqeToday, Great Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II christened the Royal Navy’s new aircraft carrier, HMS Queen Elizabeth. As the ceremony was held in Rosyth, Scotland, the queen christened the ship with a bottle of whiskey from the Bowmore Distillery, rather than the more traditional champagne. The new carrier will be the largest warship ever constructed for the UK. With a displacement of 65,000 tonnes, the ship is 280m long, about 70m wide, and carry some 1,600 personnel, including air crew. The new ship is roughly three times the size of HMS Illustrious, the Royal Navy’s remaining carrier.

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South Australia Eviro Boss Says Historic Clipper, City of Adelaide, “The Last Thing We Need…”

Posted on by July 3, 2014

The composite clipper, City of Adelaide, built in 1864, is the world’s oldest surviving clipper ship. Between 1864 and 1887 the ship made 23 voyages from London and Plymouth to Adelaide, South Australia. Approximately a quarter of a million Australians can trace an ancestor that migrated, or was a passenger, on the City of Adelaide. The historic clipper was recently transported to its namesake city, following a lavish send off featuring Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh, on the River Thames at Greenwich near London.

Apparently, the reception that the ship has received in Australia has been somewhat less enthusuastic.  South Australia’s Department of Environment, Water and Natural Resources CEO Allan Holmes has called the clipper restoration project an “indulgence” and “eventual taxpayer burden.”  He went on to say,”I’m not a supporter, I think it’s the last thing we need. As a government official I know where this is going to end up, they’ll come calling on government to pay the bill, there’s no doubt about that. Government will be under enormous pressure because we have this hulk, this wreck in the port with public expectation that something is going to be done about it.”

City of Adelaide clipper restoration project an indulgence and eventual taxpayer burden, SA Environment Dept says

In contrast, a few years ago, the City of Adelaide zoo spent close to $30 million building a pavilion for borrowed Chinese pandas.   It appears that borrowed pandas have a higher priority to government officials than Australia’s maritime heritage.

Congratulations, Again, to Admiral Michelle Howard, Four Star Admiral & Vice Chief of Naval Operations

Posted on by July 2, 2014

Last December, we congratulated Admiral Michelle Howard on her nomination to serve as Vice Chief for Naval Operations. The nomination was confirmed and yesterday she was promoted to the number two position in the US Navy. She will be the first woman to serve as a four star admiral.

Indeed, Admiral Howard is associated with many firsts.  She was the first African-American woman to achieve three star rank in the U.S. Armed Forces as well as being first woman and African-American woman to achieve the rank of admiral in the Navy. She was the first African-American woman to command a U.S. Navy ship, the USS Rushmore. She is the first African-American Vice Chief for Naval Operations. She was also the first admiral selected from the U.S. Naval Academy class of 1982 and the first female graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy selected for flag rank.  Admiral Howard was also in command of the anti-terror strike force which rescued Captain Richard Phillips from Somali pirates following the attack on the Maersk Alabama.

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Modern-day Mary Celeste – the Mystery of Tanker Galuh Pusaka in the South China Sea

Posted on by July 2, 2014
Graphic: Fleetmon.com

Graphic: Fleetmon.com

The owners of the product tanker Arsenal  lost contact with the ship while she was underway in the South China Sea near the Anambas Archipelago, Indonesia. Fearing that the ship might have been hijacked by pirates, they contacted the Indonesian Navy, which began a search for the missing tanker. (Not long afterwards, the Arsenal re-established contact after apparently suffering a failure in its communication equipment.)

The Indonesia navy did find a tanker, however. At roughly 03 49 15 N, 106 33 20 E, they came upon the Indonesia-flagged product tanker Galuh Pusaka, drifting with engine and navigational lights off, without crew or cargo, but with fresh provisions in the galley. The ship was towed to the Indonesian naval base at Tarempa. The suspicion is that the tanker was used by pirates to siphon and transport stolen oil from hijacked ships. It may have been used by the pirates for some time, as the last AIS signal received from the tanker dates back to Sept 24, 2010. Lt. Col. Agung Jaya Saktika, Tarempa Maritime Authorities, said the tanker had significant damage and a lot of the communication and navigational equipment was missing. The Galuh Pusaka, IMO 7511060, is a product tanker of 2500 DWT, built in 1975, flying the Indonesia flag. The manager of record is Waruna Nusa Sentana, Sumatra.

Modern Mary Celeste – the mystery of tanker Galuh Pusaka, South China sea

The Dazzle Ships, Then and Now

Posted on by July 1, 2014
Cargo Ship SS West Mahomet in Dazzle 1918

Cargo Ship SS West Mahomet in Dazzle 1918

We posted earlier today about the USS Slater’s dazzle camouflage paint.  Dazzle, sometimes referred to as razzle dazzle, is a very different approach to camouflage.  Where most camouflage attempts to hide an object or person, dazzle camouflage on ships uses complex patterns of geometric shapes in contrasting colors, to make it difficult to identity the ship and to determine which direction it is traveling.  If successful, the dazzle camouflage will confuse the targeting of the guns or torpedoes.

Norman Wilkinson is usually credited with developed the widely used disruptive coloration that became known as dazzle painting. Dazzle reached its peak usage in World War I but continued to be used throughout World War II.   The color schemes ranged from checker-board or stripped patterns to wildly abstract geometric imagery. Many dazzle schemes were black, white and gray, while some used brighter colors, including red, blues and purples and greens.

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