Schooners on the Capes – Twenty-Eighth Annual Gloucester Schooner Festival & Great Provincetown Schooner Regatta

Posted on by September 1, 2012

Two great schooner festivals and regattas are now underway on Massachusetts’ Cape Ann and Cape Cod. On Cape Ann, the Twenty-Eighth Annual Gloucester Schooner Festival began yesterday with the arrival of the schooner fleet. Today there will be dockside events and tours of the visiting HMS Bounty. The Mayor’s Race will be sailed on Sunday with Monday held in reserve as a rain day.

Just to the south on Cape Cod, the Great Provincetown Schooner Regatta begins today and runs through Friday, September 7th.  The week long festivities on land and sea include racing  in and around the waters of Provincetown Harbor and the Fisherman’s Cup race, a schooner only event, which starts in Gloucester on Tuesday, September 3rd  and ends in Provincetown harbor.

20th Annual Great North River Tugboat Race & Competition

Posted on by August 31, 2012

The 20th Annual Great North River Tugboat Race and Competition will be held again this year on the Hudson River at Pier 84 (off W44th Street) in Manhattan.  The festivities begin with a Parade of Tugs at 10:00 am with the tug boat race, from the 79th Street Boat Basin to Pier 84, starting at 10:30. Good views of the race are available from the dock. A special Circle Line Spectator Boat also provides a great view of the race and the parade of tugs.  Following the race, there will be line throwing competitions and  nose-to-nose pushing competitions between the tugs.  If you are anywhere near New York harbor on Sunday, it is worth stopping by. The event is sponsored by the Working Harbor Committee.

Once in a Blue Moon

Posted on by August 31, 2012

Tonight’s sky will be graced by a “blue moon.”  It is the first blue moon since New Year’s Eve 2009.  The next blue moon won’t appear until July 2015.  Tonight’s full moon won’t actually be blue for most of us.  A “blue moon” is commonly defined as the second full moon in a calendar month.  It doesn’t happen often and so is the inspiration for the phrase, “once in a blue moon.”

It is possible that there may be a literally blue moon for some. Ash in the atmosphere from forest fires or volcanic eruptions can make the moon appear to be tinted blue. There are a sufficient number of forest and brush fires in parts of the United States resulting from recent drought conditions so that tonight’s moon may be blue in both senses.

“Blue Moon” Friday—Last One Until 2015

Linda Collison’s Barbados Bound, a Review

Posted on by February 20, 2019

Linda Collison’s recently released “Barbados Bound,” begins provocatively, “I came aboard with the prostitutes the night before the ship set sail.”

The year is 1760 and not yet 17 year old Patricia Kelley is, quite literally, seeking to find her place in the world.  The illegitimate daughter of a West Indies plantation owner, attending an English boarding school, she finds herself without money, family or connections when her father dies suddenly. With a head full of dreams of reclaiming the plantation where she was born and largely raised, that her father promised to her as a dowry, she stows away aboard a merchant ship carrying gunpowder and military stores, bound for Barbados. She has much to learn of the world and her education is just beginning.

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‘Cajun Navy’ to the Rescue During Hurricane Isaac

Posted on by August 30, 2012

A wonderful story about private citizens in their own small boats in Plaquemines Parish, Louisiana, who came the rescue of their neighbors during Hurricane Isaac, guided by often by information from Facebook, earning the nickname, the ‘Cajun navy.’

‘Cajun Navy’ saves lives in New Orleans

Maritime Museum of San Diego Festival of Sail 2012

Posted on by August 31, 2012

Tomorrow, Friday August 31 through Monday September 3, 2012, the Maritime Museum of San Diego will host the Festival of Sail 2012, the largest tall ship festival on the west coast, transforming San Diego’s North Embarcadero into a nautical theme park.  More than twenty tall ships and other fascinating vessels will be participating.  The festivities start this afternoon with a parade of ships around San Diego bay finally ending at the Maritime Museum’s docks.

Festival of Sail 2012

Ships of New York Harbor: Marine Art of Christina Sun and Frank Hanavan Closing Party Thursday, August 30

Posted on by August 29, 2012

If you are near New York harbor, there is a closing party for the “Ships of New York Harbor: Marine Art of Christina Sun and Frank Hanavan” exhibit on the historic lighthouse tender Lilac tomorrow evening September 30, from 6 to 10 PM at Pier 25 on the Hudson River at West Street and N. Moore Street in lower Manhattan. There will be music by the Jug Addicts, a five-piece band playing music in the style of 1930s and 1940s “jug” bands, combining elements of ragtime, swing, and folk music.  David Sharps of the Waterfront Museum will serve as auctioneer at 8:30 PM when selected works by Frank and Christina and photographers Shelley Seccombe and David Hodgson are auctioned to benefit the restoration of the Lilac.

Hurricane Isaac in the Gulf, Typhoon Bolaven Pounds Korea – 4 Chinese Fishermen Dead, 12 Missing

Posted on by August 28, 2012

One hell of a day for storms at sea. Just after noon today, Isaac was upgraded to a Category 1 hurricane as it slowly moved north in the Gulf of Mexico toward Louisiana and the city of New Orleans, on a track disturbingly similar to that taken by Hurricane Katrina seven years ago, which came ashore as Category 3 hurricane.

In the Pacific, Typhoon Bolaven is pounding the Korean peninsula.  Five Chinese crew are confirmed drowned and twelve are still missing from two Chinese fishing vessels off Jeju Island, near the southern tip of the South Korean mainland.

South Korea typhoon kills Chinese fishermen

http://youtu.be/1cB-QndeZYU

Thanks to Phil Leon for contributing to this post.

Clipper Ship City of Adelaide Ready to Begin her Long Voyage Home to Australia

Posted on by August 28, 2012

Last January we posted that the composite clipper ship City of Adelaide would begin her voyage by barge and then ship  to her namesake city in Australia by March, “if all goes well.”   As is not unusual is this sort of project, there have been delays.  The new departure date from Scotland is now October.  The ship, built in 1864, has been fumigated and is waiting on a barge to take her to Rotterdam, where she will be loaded onto a container ship for her return trip to Australia.

The City of Adelaide is the world’s oldest surviving composite clipper ship and is the only surviving sailing ship built to give regular passenger and cargo service between Europe and Australia.  She is five years older than the composite clipper, Cutty Sark.

City of Adelaide to begin its trip to Port Adelaide from Scotland in October

America’s Cup Racing – the Reason that the Crews Wear Crash Helmets

Posted on by August 28, 2012

I have a distinct recollection a photo of Thomas Lipton on one of his Americas Cup challengers sipping a cup of the tea on which his fortune was based.  I can’t find the photograph, so perhaps I shouldn’t trust my memory.  Nevertheless, it is safe to say that America’s Cup racing has changed.  These days the sailors don’t sip tea from porcelain cups; they wear crash helmets. Last Friday, Russell Coutts, skipper of the Oracle boat demonstrated why the helmets are a good idea when he tried, unsuccessfully, to squeeze between the Race Committee boat and another racer at a speed of around 20 knots.  Thanks to Irwin Bryan for passing along the video.

America’s Cup – Jimmy on Russell’s Crash Out

http://youtu.be/6fbFT1JWw7Y

 

Alaric Bond on C.S. Forester – An Unlikely Sea Daddy

Posted on by August 27, 2012

Today is C.S. Forester’s birthday.  (Thanks to Margaret Muir, who pointed it our on Facebook. Otherwise, I would have missed it.) Cecil Louis Troughton Smith, who wrote under the pen name of Cecil Scott “C.S.” Forester was born on August 27, 1899.  While Forester wrote over fifty books, he will probably always be best remembered for his creation of Horatio Hornblower, the Georgian naval officer who rose from midshipman to admiral over a dozen novels and short stories.

Alaric Bond, author of the Fighting Sail series of novels, wrote an article for the June 2012 issue of Reflections, the C S Forester Society  magazine, on the influence C.S. Forester had on his writing. The article is reproduced below with his permission.

An Unlikely Sea Daddy

For me it all started with a slightly gruff and remote frigate captain. He was a man who lived his life bitterly aware of his own inadequacies, and in constant fear that one of his real, or imagined, weaknesses would expose him as the fraud he supposed himself to be. It was a wonderfully complex, yet understandable character and the fact that he shared a world that I then considered Nelson’s was an added bonus, although if Hornblower had appeared in any other time or genre he would probably have been almost as compelling.

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J. Steven Dews’ ‘Battle of Trafalgar’ Expected to Fetch over £100,000 at Bonhams Auction

Posted on by August 27, 2012

The old saying goes that success is the best revenge.  John Stevens Dews failed his ‘A’ level art. (For the non-British, including myself, the ‘A’ level is a public examination in a subject taken for the General Certificate of Education (GCE), usually at the age of 17-18.)   Perhaps the examiners should be examined. Dews, who was told as a youth that fame usually comes only after an artist has died, is now one of Britain’s most sought-after living marine artists.  Dews painting, “The Battle of Trafalgar – H.M.S. Victory breaking the enemy line and raking the stern of the French flagship as she goes through” is the star of the September 26th Marine auction at Bonhams in London.  The painting is expected to fetch between £100,000 – 150,000, or €130,000 – 190,000 or US$ 160,000 – 240,000.  Thanks to Alaric Bond for passing along the news.

Battle of Trafalgar masterpiece by artist who failed “A level” art for sale at Bonhams

Little Leon, 16′ Small-Tall Ship

Posted on by August 26, 2012

Leon of 1880 (left), Little Leon (right)

When I first saw the photo, I thought that the Little Leon was sailed by giants. The ship looked properly to scale, while the crew seemed disproportionately large.  It turns out that Little Leon is a 16′ long brigantine modeled after the Leon, a 120′ Norwegian brigantine built in 1880.  Little Leon will be sailing in the Old City Seaport Festival on the Delaware River in Philadelphia sponsored by the Independence Seaport Museum from October 5-7th.  For fans of other “small ships” see our post from 2010: “Small Ships Under the Tower Bridge“

Little Leon: Sailing a 16-foot model of a square-rigged ship

High Drama on the Sail to Dublin – Teens Battle 60 Knot Winds & Black Diamond of Durham Saves Singlehander

Posted on by August 25, 2012

Photo: Frank Miller/The Irish Times

The Dublin Tall Ship Festival is well underway this weekend in Ireland, with 40 tall ships and at least a dozen accompanying vessels.  A million vistitors are expected to throng the docks.  There was already considerable drama prior to the arrival of the ships and boats in Dublin.  Teen crew on the three masted 30 meter schooner, Kapitan Borchardt, battled 60 knots winds in a storm which snapped one of the ship’s booms.  No one was reported injured and the ship arrived safely in Dublin.  Ecuadorean navy’s tall ship, Guayas, also reported ripped sails.

Teens battle 110kph winds as Tall Ship damaged in storm

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Good, if Highly Confusing News, About the Galveston’s Tall Ship Elissa

Posted on by August 24, 2012

There were several recent news accounts related to the Galveston’s 1877 iron barque Elissa which frankly made us shake our heads and ask,” where did they come up with this stuff?”  The extremely good news is that the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has awarded the state of Texas $1.4-million for repairs to Elissa for  damage in hurricane Ike.
   Exactly why and how she was damaged is the confusing part.  The explanations vary widely and none appear to be correct from all that we have seen.

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Pride of Baltimore II Visiting New York’s North Cove

Posted on by August 24, 2012

Photo: Lynn Digennaro

The Pride of Baltimore II is visiting New York, calling in Manhattan’s North Cove on the Hudson River.  She should be arriving around mid-day today and will be staying through Sunday.  Daysails and dockside tours will be available.  (See the schedule after the page break.)

War of 1812 Privateer Pride of Baltimore II Returns to New York Harbor August 24 to 26

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Hell Around the Horn, a Novel by Rick Spilman

Posted on by August 23, 2012

I am pleased to announce that my novel, Hell Around the Horn, is now available on Amazon around the world. The print edition will be out shortly. About the novel:

In 1905, a young ship’s captain and his family set sail on the windjammer, Lady Rebecca, from Cardiff, Wales with a cargo of coal bound for Chile, by way of Cape Horn. Before they reach the Southern Ocean, the cargo catches fire, the mate threatens mutiny and one of the crew may be going mad. The greatest challenge, however, will prove to be surviving the vicious westerly winds and mountainous seas of the worst Cape Horn winter in memory. Told from the perspective of the Captain, his wife, a first year apprentice and an American sailor before the mast, Hell Around the Horn is a story of survival and the human spirit in the last days of the great age of sail.

Praise for Hell Around the Horn:

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Update: Fires at Sea – MSC Flaminia Finally Allowed To Come Home & Chamarel Salvage Underway

Posted on by August 22, 2012

Updates to two sets of recent posts:  After considerable delay the container ship  MSC Flaminia is being allowed into a port of refuge.  Authorities have granted permission for the German flagged ship to be towed into German waters. Following a safety inspection the ship will be allowed to dock in a German port.   MSC Flaminia suffered an explosion and fire on July 15th while in the mid-Atlantic. One crew member was killed and another is missing and presumed dead.  After the fire was brought under control and the ship taken under tow, European maritime authorities have benn slow in granting approval for the ship to enter territorial waters.

Stricken Container Ship to Shelter in German Waters

On August 8th, a fire broke out on the France Telecom-Orange cable laying ship, Chamarel, in the Atlantic Ocean off Namibia’s Skeleton Coast in the Atlantic Ocean. The crew of 56 abandoned ship after attempts at firefighting failed to control the blaze. France Telecom-Orange has announced that the salvage of the ship is now underway.  Chamarel is currently agound on sand banks 30 km from Henties Bay in Namibia.

Namibia: France Telecom-Orange – Salvage Operation Underway – Risk of Pollution Under Control

10 Tons of French Wine to Copenhagen by Sail – Delivered to Noma “the World’s Best Restaurant”

Posted on by August 22, 2012

Commercial sail has not yet returned, but there are interesting niche players who are doing what they can to change that. The sailing brigantine Tres Hombres recently carried 10 tons of French wine from Brest to Copenhagen for delivery to Noma, which has been rated as the “World’s Best Restaurant” for the past seven years by the World’s 50 Best Restaurants.   The 10 tons of wine include wines from 13 French biodynamic winemakers. The shipment by sail is estimated to have saved close to 5 tons of CO2 emissions.  The shipment was arranged by TransOceanic Wind Transport

World’s best restaurant chooses wines shipped by sail
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The Wreck of the SS Terra Nova Discovered – An Appreciation of a Remarkable Ship

Posted on by August 21, 2012

Last week it was announced that the wreck of SS Terra Nova, the ship that had carried Robert Scott on his ill-fated quest to be the first to reach the South Pole, had been located off Greenland. In July, the Schmidt Ocean Institute’s flagship, the R/V Falkor, discovered the ship while testing testing its mutibeam mapping echosounders. The identify of the ship was confirmed by towed high definition video cameras. (See video at the end of the post.)

The media reports of the finding have focused on Robert Scott, which is not surprising as this year is the centenary of the death of Scott and the others on his expedition. Nevertheless, carrying Scott and his expedition to Antarctica was a very small part of the nearly 60 year career of the SS Terra Nova.

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