This was the most perilous phase of the salvage of the wrecked cruise ship, Costa Concordia. The parbuckle rolling of the ship upright was where everything could go wrong. The biggest concern was that the stress would break the already damaged ship apart. Nevertheless, despite going somewhat slower than originally planned, the operation was a success. The ship is upright again. It will take several months before the ship is ready to be towed away to the scrap yard. Below, a time-lapse video of the salvage, the 19 hour process reduced to about a minute.
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Tuesday, September 17 through Saturday, September 21st, we will participating in “Weigh Anchor,” a nautical blog hop organized by the wonderful Helen Hollick. She has brought together twenty three writers of nautical fiction and non-fiction to post about their work and other interesting topics with nautical themes. If you were unaware that there were 23 authors writing about ships and the sea, here is a great opportunity to meet them.
As my novel “Hell Around the Horn” is set on a windjammer, one of the last mighty sailing ships to carry one toward the end of the great age of sail, I will be posting a “Week of Windjammers.” (Technically, it may be only five days but I like the alliteration. And who knows I may add on a few days to make it a full week.)
Updated: 15:30 – The number of dead has risen to at least twelve. One shooter is dead and one may be still at large.
Updated 13:02 – The Washington Post is reporting that as many as three gunmen opened fire this morning at the Naval Sea Systems Command in the Washington Navy Yard killing at least nine. From the Washington Post: “At least nine people are dead after as many as three shooters dressed in military style uniforms opened fire a rampage at the Washington Navy Yard on Monday, police said, spreading fear and chaos across the region as authorities tried to contain the incident. D.C. Police Chief Cathy Lanier said in a mid-day news conference that one of the suspected shooters is dead, while authorities are looking for two other possible suspects wearing military style clothing.” The Navy Yard is about 1.5 miles from the U.S. Capitol and 4.5 miles from the Pentagon. The Washington Navy Yard is the oldest shore establishment of the U.S. Navy, established in 1799.
At first it looked like the 34th America’s Cup races would be a route. Emirates Team New Zealand was simply out-sailing the defender, Oracle Team USA. Not only was the crew making fewer mistakes but the Kiwi’s boat seemed noticeably faster to windward. In the first five races, the Kiwis won four, compelling Oracle to call a time-out before race six, using its one race postponement card to give the team time to reassess. Races 6 & 7 were also Kiwi wins but things changed dramatically in Race 8. The Kiwis almost capsized, losing the race and coming perilously close to ending their hope of winning the Cup. The Oracle boat also seemed much quicker to windward. Races 9 & 10 confirmed the transformation. Once the laggard, Oracle now appears to have a windward speed advantage, either due to changes in the boat, new crew tactics or both. They won Race 9 and only lost 10 in an exciting squeaker, falling 47 seconds behind the Kiwis.
Is this Oracle resurgence too late? The Kiwis only have to win two more races to claim the Cup while Oracle has to win another seven to hold it. If the last two races are any indication, the final races in 34th America’s Cup will be extremely exciting. If Oracle manages to dominate the last races and win, it will be a comeback tale for the ages.
The parbuckling of the cruise ship Costa Concordia is proceeding as intended after a three hour delay due to a thunderstorm. If all goes well, the process should take 10 hours to roll the ship upright from its current position, rolled 65 degrees over on its side off the island of Giglio. If successful, the operation will be the largest intact ship salvage in history. For a live video feed of the operation, click here.
In brisk winds on Saturday, Emirates Team New Zealand’s hopes of winning the America’s Cup nearly came to an end when they came perilously close to capsizing during a tack in Race 8 of the Americas’ Cup races in San Francisco. The Kiwi wingsail did not release in time during the tack and the boat rolled high on one hull before slowly righting itself. Two AC72s have capsized in practice sails. In both cases, each boat was significantly damaged, and in one case a man was killed.
Race 9 was cancelled due to winds being too strong. Oracle Team USA came back with a win after two losses to the Kiwis and showed improved windward performance overall. Notwithstanding the considerable point lead by the Kiwis, Oracle is clearly not out of the competition.
Tomorrow, if all goes well, a small army of engineers, technicians and mariners will attempt to roll the stricken cruise ship, Costa Concordia, upright from where she sank on the island of Giglio on January 13, 2012. Once upright the ship will be refloated and towed to a scrap yard. If successful, it will be the largest intact salvage of any ship in history.
The process is called “parbuckling.” Parbuckling is commonly defined as the use of “a kind of purchase for hoisting or lowering a cylindrical burden, as a cask. The middle of a long rope is made fast aloft, and both parts are looped around the object, which rests in the loops, and rolls in them as the ends are hauled up or payed out.” The salvage companies involved in the project have set up a website to explain what will be done – The Parbuckling Project. In this case the Costa Concordia is a very large cask, indeed. See also Parbuckle salvage. Parbuckling has been used successfully to right the battleship USS Oklahoma (BB-37) which was sunk at Pearl Harbor in 1941 and the passenger/ro-ro ferry Herald of Free Enterprise which capsized in 1987. Both ships were significantly smaller than the Costa Concordia.
Fortunately, the ship itself is not quite as heavy as is being reported in the media. There have been repeated references to the Costa Concordia as a “100,000 ton” ship or as a ship that weighs over 100,000 tonnes. Slate is pretty typical in asking, “How Do You Move a 100,000-Ton Capsized Cruise Ship?” (The obvious answer is – very carefully.)
Scout is on its way to Spain! It is a twelve foot long autonomous robotic boat designed to cross the Atlantic Ocean, relying only on pre-programmed commands and information that it can collect about its environment through sensors. Built by a group of engineering students it looks like a bit like a surfboard with a sailboat keel covered with solar cells. It departed 21 days ago from Rhode Island and is now almost 700 miles closer to its destination. Other autonomous robotic boat projects, such as Robotboat Mark VI, rely on sail propulsion. The designers chose solar power driving a propeller as the simplest solution. To follow Scout on its slow but steady voyage across the Atlantic, click here.
The Emirates Team New Zealand challengers continue their winning streak against the defending Oracle Team USA, winning races 6 and 7. The Kiwis need only three more races to win the best of nine series to win the America’s Cup. To keep the Cup, Oracle needs to win another ten races. The Kiwis continue to appear to have a noticeable upwind speed advantage while Oracle may have a downwind edge.
At the end of July, we posted about the sinking of the Dutch sail training ship, Astrid, a 136′ (41.65 M) brig, which ran aground on rocks on the western mouth of Oysterhaven, on the Irish coast, near Cork. She was recently salvaged by West Cork-based Atlantic Towage and Marine with a 937-tonne floating crane, the Atlas, which lifted the steel brig off the rocks. The Astrid was moved safely to the port of Kinsale where she was placed on a deck barge. A video of the salvage:
A very interesting opportunity posted on the Tall Ship Challenge Official Blog: Looking for more sea time and experience? Picton Castle is looking for apprentices to join them in the Pacific. For the cost of room and board, you can join Leg 3 of the current voyage, sailing from Auckland, New Zealand to Nuku Hiva in the Marquesas, via Pitcairn Island and Mangareva, from October 25 this year to February 1 next year.
Photo: Emirates Team New Zealand
On Tuesday the Emirates Team New Zealand beat the defending Oracle Team USA in the fifth race of the America’s Cup finals with a victory of 1 minute, 5 seconds on San Francisco Bay. This is the fourth Kiwi victory. The challenger Kiwis only have to win five more races to take the Cup, while Oracle needs to win ten races in order to keep it.
Shortly before the scheduled start of Race 6, Oracle Team USA radioed in to the race committee that it was playing its one postponement card of the regatta, meaning the race was scrubbed until Thursday. Skipper Jimmy Spithill said Oracle Team USA needs to regroup and make some changes.
The first annual Connecticut Schooner Festival begins this today! Five days of fun in Mystic and New London, September 11 – September 15. Click here to learn more.
Of all the things worth remembering on 9/11, one incredible event is often overlooked. After the attack, all the bridges, tunnels and rail lines in and out of New York City were shut down. Somewhere between 300,000 and one million people were trapped trapped in lower Manhattan. Amazingly, perhaps miraculously, they were all evacuated by that evening by a flotilla of ferries, tugs, excursion boats, fireboats, buoy tenders, patrol boats and yachts. The evacuation was unplanned and almost spontaneous. The Coast Guard called for “All available boats,” and all available boats responded, the captains and crews doing what needed to be done. It was truly an American Dunkirk.
As reported by NPR: A fire aboard a cargo ship in the Mediterranean Sea was set in order to get rid of 30 tons of hashish, according to officials in Italy and Malta. Authorities had approached the Gold Star, a Tanzania-registered ship, for an inspection Friday afternoon. But members of the crew reportedly set fire to their cargo, which Italian authorities identified as hashish resin. The incident began in waters about 30 nautical miles north of Malta, where police and firefighting ships converged on the Gold Star as it burned Friday night. They succeeded in quenching the flames around noon Saturday.
Last night the Daily Show put its own spin on the story. Thanks to Phil Leon for contributing to this post.
Two hundred years ago today, in what would become known as the Battle of Lake Erie, a squadron of ships under the command of Oliver Hazard Perry defeated and captured a Royal Navy squadron at Put-in-Bay in Lake Erie off the coast of Ohio. Last week on Labor Day, there was a reenactment of the battle, the largest naval reenactment ever undertaken in the United States. (No surprise the Americans won again.) The boats and ships involved in the reenactment had the additional challenge of avoiding the more than 2,000 spectator vessels. The Battle of Lake Erie Bicentennial site has a wonderful slide-show of photos taken during the reenactment. Click here to view it.
Here is a wonderful 90 second video from the Plain Dealer with an animated history of the battle:
Matt Rutherford
In April we posted about a drifting Nautor Swan 48 sailboat named Wolfhound which had been abandoned in a storm just north of Bermuda in February by her owner, Alan McGettigan, and a crew of three. Initially, the boat was reported to have sunk, but nine weeks later the boat was sighted very much afloat, looking only slightly worse for the wear.
Then, at the end of July, Matt Rutherford literally sails into the story. Matt Rutherford is the remarkable young sailor who completed a record breaking 309 day, more than 27,000 mile, non-stop circumnavigation of the Americas in April of 2012. He also raised over $100,000 for the Chesapeake Regional Accessible Boating (CRAB.) This year Matt was awarded the Ocean Cruising Club’s Jester Medal, for an outstanding contribution to the art of single-handed sailing.
We recently posted about the A.J. Meerwald‘s 85th birthday. On Friday September 13th, the Bayshore Center in Bivalve, NJ will be celebrating oysters as well as the A.J. Meerwald‘s 85th birthday and the 25th Anniversary of the founding of the organization created to restore the classic schooner. Come on down for some great food, an exciting new gallery exhibit, live music on the wharf, lectures on oysters and oystering, crafts, birthday cake and more!
In the Gallery: To celebrate the Meerwald’s 85 years, the new exhibit, “Salute to a Schooner: A Visual Celebration of the A.J. Meerwald” will feature images of the Meerwald through the years in all kinds of media – paintings, drawings, photographs, models and more! Click here to learn more.
After more than two decades, the City of Adelaide, the world’s oldest surviving clipper ship, is afloat again! The 1864 built clipper ship, supported by a 100 ton steel cradle, has been moved onto a pontoon barge and is being transported by tug on the first leg of her voyage home to her namesake city in Australia. The ship will initially be towed to London. She will then be loaded onto a heavy-lift ship to be transported to Australia. The ship has been sitting onshore in Irvine, Scotland since 1992, after sinking in 1989. The formal transfer of ownership of the ship to its new owners, Clipper Ship City of Adelaide, took place on Friday.
Historic clipper City of Adelaide ‘floats again’ for first time since 1991