Searchers using side scanning sonar believe that they may have located a German U-boat from World War II on the bottom in the Churchill River not far from Muskrat Falls in Labrador, Canada, more than 100 kilometres from the ocean. German submarines operated in the region during World War II and a novel written in the early 1990s features the story of a U-boat beaching in the Churchill River. The novel may be more accurate than anyone realized.
Here is a wonderful short video capturing a day in the life of a deckhand on the schooner Mary Day, sailing the coast of Maine. (Looks someone should cut back on the caffeine.) See also our previous post – Happy 50th Birthday Schooner Mary Day !
Earlier this month, we posted how the North Carolina legislature is considering legislating limits to sea level projections, even though recent studies suggest that sea levels are rising faster on the US East Coast than they are in the rest of the world. That hasn’t stopped Virginia legislators from opposing the use of the phrases “climate change” and “sea level rise” in state documents. Instead, they refer to the issue of the rise in sea levels as “recurrent flooding.” One brain-dead legislator is quoted as saying that “sea level rise” is a “left-wing term.”
The constant ranting of the climate change deniers raises several questions. How long can we deny the obvious? What happens if we wait too long? Recently Roger Bradbury writing in the New York Times suggest that it is already too late for the world’s coral reefs. The frightening question is – what if he is right?
The 72 foot long catamarans that will be competing for the America’s Cup in San Francisco in 2013 are both breathtakingly beautiful and slightly terrifying. Powered by a towering wing sail and well capable of sailing at the twice the speed of the wind, these high-tech monsters suggest the still untapped potential of sail. A 3d animated fly-around of the AC72:
The 34th America’s Cup AC72 class rule 3D animation flyaround
Last April we posted about Australian mining billionaire Clive Palmer’s plans to build a 21st-century replica of the Titanic. I am not sure how I feel about naming new vessels after maritime tragedies. On the other hand, the Titanic may be as well known today as the setting for a movie, as it is as an ill-fated passenger liner.
I have to admit that I have the same mixed feelings when I heard recently that Florida entrepreneur, Charles Kropke, is endeavoring to revive Windjammer Barefoot Cruises and Chalk Ocean Airways. Both ventures had long and interesting histories which unfortunately ended badly. Mr, Kropke is also attempting to revive the Belleview-Biltmore Hotel in Belleair, Florida
The Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum’s 5th Annual Chesapeake Folk Festival, this Saturday, July 28th, in St. Michaels, MD, celebrates the Bay’s people, arts, work, and bounty offers a full stage of live music all day long, regional foods, hands-on activities with regional craftspeople, small-craft paddling around the harbor, and more.
Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum’s 5th Annual Chesapeake Folk Festival
Two recent reports look at the actions and inaction of BP and its contractor Transocean before the Deepwater Horizon explosion and the consequences of the resulting spill on the environment. The explosion on the drilling rig Deepwater Horizon killed 11 and injured 17 and resulted in the largest accidental marine oil spill in the history. A report issued Tuesday by the Chemical Safety Board faulted BP and Transocean for failing to focus on the larger issues of safety and serious accident prevention. The report found that many of the the same failures in safety analysis and planning which lead to a 2005 explosion at a BP Texas City oil refinery, killing 15 employees, contributed to the Deepwater Horzion catastrophe.
BP, Transocean faulted over preventive efforts in gulf spill
The 2010 Deepwater Horizon disaster spilled roughly 4.5 million barrels of crude oil into the Gulf of Mexico. The environmental impact is only beginning to be understood. A recent study suggests that the oil spill along with unusually cold water has contributed to an unusually high death rate for dolphins in the Gulf of Mexico.
BP spill, cold water tied to dolphin deaths, study finds
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The fire on the containership MSC Flaminia, abandoned in the mid-Atlantic after a fire and explosion on July 15th, is reported now to be under control. The ship is under by the Smit salvage tug Fairmount Expedition at five knots and is roughly 320 NM off the coast of the the UK. The tugs Anglian Sovereign and Carlo Magno remain on standby. The Anglian Sovereign has been monitoring temperatures aboard the ship and will resume cooling as necessarily. The ship and tugs are now in dense fog. Once viability improves, a salvage team will go aboard the ship and inspect for burning containers and extinguish any fires found.
Photo:Elizabeth Dinan/www.seacoastonline.com
We apologize to industrial vacuum cleaners. (They may not be the national security threat we once thought.) In a previous post we repeated a statement by the Federal investigators that the fire on the nuclear submarine USS Miami, undergoing repairs in the Portsmouth Naval shipyard was caused by an industrial vacuum cleaner.
Yesterday, Casey James Fury, a 24 year old shipyard painter and sandblaster, was charged with arson for setting the May 23rd fire, which did $400 million damage to the submarine. He is reported to have said that he set the fire so that he could get off work early. He admitted to using a cigarette lighter to ignite a vacuum cleaner and a pile of rags on the submarine. Fury is also charged with setting a second fire in June in the dry dock next to the USS Miami. Fury was said to be taking a variety of medications for anxiety, depression, allergies and insomnia at the time of the first fire. If convicted on either charge, Fury could face life in prison. The Navy has not yet determined whether it will repair or scrap the $900 million USS Miami. Thanks to Alaric Bond and Irwin Bryan for contributing to the post.
Drivers on the Courtney Campbell Causeway began calling the authorities to report manatees in trouble. There appeared to be around ten manatees on a sandbar not far from the causeway that connects Tampa and Clearwater, Florida. Drivers stopped their cars and pulled over to get a better look. Police called the Clearwater Marine Aquarium and their experts said the mammals were not in distress. They were mating. As the crowd of onlookers grew, police officers cordoned off the waterline with crime scene tape to give the manatees some privacy. This is not the first time that mating manatees have stopped traffic on the causeway. In 2004, an estimated 500 onlookers tied up traffic as a group of manatees frolicked just offshore in 2 to 3 feet of water. Video of the manatees after the break.
Mating manatees cause a stir on Courtney Campbell in Clearwater
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This seems like a suitable video for a Monday morning. Tres Hombres is a Dutch 32 meter cargo-carrying brigantine, meant to serve as an ambassador to a new fleet of sustainable hybrid sailing vessels. The video below is beautifully shot footage of the Tres Hombres under sail set to soothing music. What better way to start the week than watching a beautiful ship under sail on open sea?
A very interesting interview with Captain Denise Meagher and Dawn Santamaria of the schooner Unicorn and the Sisters under Sail Program at this weekend’s Halifax Tall Ships Festival.
This gallery contains 15 photos.
At the end of May, we posted about the “unfortunate economics of tall ships.” All ships, sailing ships included and perhaps, especially, are devilishly expensive to maintain and run, and income is tough to come by, especially in these difficult economic times. One of the examples we noted was the 126-foot schooner Virginia which had fallen on hard times in 2009. We are therefore immensely pleased to see that the schooner Virginia is back sailing, running educational programs to teach children about sailing, leadership and the importance of the Elizabeth River and why it should be protected. “Elizabeth River Adventures,” is a seagoing camp run jointly by the schooner Virginia, Nauticus and the Elizabeth River Project.
The nonprofit Virginia Maritime Heritage Foundation raised money for new masts and rigging for the schooner and has formed a partnership with the museum, Nauticus, to take over the schooner’s operation. Last month, the Virginia served as an anchored mark in the Parade of Sail that opened OpSail. Now, it’s a highlight of the summer camp. And next year, the Virginia will pay a role in a new sailing center for disadvantaged youths. All we can say is “welcome back!”
The Smit 16,320-hp ocean going tug Fairmount Expedition has reportedly been successful in controlling the spread of the fire on the MSC Flaminia, the 6,732 TEU container ship which was abandoned in middle of the North Atlantic last Sunday after suffering a fire and an explosion. The Fairmount Expedition was joined last night by a second salvage tug, the 16,500-hp Anglian Sovereign. A third tug, the 10,880-hp Carlo Magno, is expected to arrive around mid-day Sunday to assist with the firefighting.
Smit’s salvage master has reported that the MSC Flaminia’s hull appears to be intact and that the deckhouse, engine room and after hatches do not appear to have been damaged by the fire and explosion. Nevertheless, he estimates that it could take several weeks to bring the fire under control. There are plans to board the ship this week end and to attempt to ship’s firefighting system.
Twenty survivors of the fire and explosion arrived in Falmouth yesterday aboard the VLCC DS Crown. Three injured crew were transferred to the container ship MSC Stella and are now being treated in the Azores. One crew member died in the explosion on the MSC Flaminia and one is still missing.
The 86′ schooner Larinda sank in Halifax harbor during Hurricane Juan on September 29, 2003. She was raised from the harbor bottom and following a nine year restoration has returned to Halifax for this year’s Tall Ship Festival.
The design and construction of the schooner are highly distinctive. The hull was modeled after HMS Sultana, a Royal Navy schooner built in the years prior to the American Revolution. The Larinda, however, is not quite a replica. The schooner has a 2,800-square-foot junk rig and the hull is built of ferro-cement. Also, below decks, the schooner is powered by a historic1928 eight ton 100 HP Wolverine diesel engine, thought to be one of only two still operating. From her frog figurehead to her broad stern, the Larinda is unique.
Lifeboat from the Mignonette
We recently posted in response to a video, “The Strangest Coincidence Ever Recorded?.” It recounted how three men named Hugh Williams were each the only survivors of shipwrecks in the treacherousness Menai Straits off North Wales. More remarkably, two of the Hugh Williams escaped from shipwrecks on the same day, December 5th separated by over a hundred years. The video claimed that all three Hugh Williams’ ships sank on December 5th, but that was not the case. And Hugh Williams is a very common name in North Wales, so while it is a remarkable coincidence, it doesn’t quite rank as the “strangest ever recorded.”
On the topic of nautical coincidences, Chris Quigley at the Quigley’s Cabinet blog, mentioned the Mignonette coincidence. All that we can say is, Hugh Williams meet Richard Parker. The case of Richard Parker and the Mignonette does indeed involve coincidence but the story remains compelling because it raises issues of morality that are very tricky to address, even to this day.
Last September we posted about the sinking of a ferry off Zanzibarwith the loss of 200 passengers. Yesterday, another ferry sank off the Zanzibar coast. Thirty eight are confirmed dead with another 100 missing. Zanzibar police spokesman Mohamed Mhina said, “Search operations continue but it is now almost impossible survivors will be found… The ship has completely sunk. There were 290 people on board.”
Photo: Odyssey Marine
Last September we posted that Odyssey Marine Exploration had located the wreck of the S.S. Gairsoppa, which was torpedoed in February of 1941 by a German U-boat. When she sank, the ship was loaded with 240 tonnes of silver believed to be worth approximately $200 million (around £155 million.) Yesterday the company announced that, so far, they have recovered approximately 48 tonnes of silver worth roughly $38 million. The wreck lies almost three miles below the surface and is one of the most valuable and deepest ship wrecks ever salvaged. Salvage operations are expected to continue through September. Under a salvage contract with the British government, Odyssey will keep 80% of the proceeds after expenses.
Odyssey Announces First Load of Silver Cargo from Three Miles Deep
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On Sunday we posted about an explosion and fire aboard the container ship MSC Flaminia in the North Atlantic about a thousand miles west of Cornwall. The first officer died from burns received in the fire and one crew member is missing. The rest of the 25 crew were evacuated and the ship was abandoned. Now, four days later, the ship is burning and new explosions have been reported. The first firefighting tug, the Smit Fairmont Expedition, has arrived at the drifting ship. The new explosions interrupted the tug’s firefighting operations. A second firefighting tug is expected to arrive today.
From photographs sent back, it appears that the fire has spread through at least five stacks of containers, or close to 220′ along the length of the 980′ ship. So far, the engine room, deck house and after hatches do not appear to be on fire. The container ship Hanjin Ottowa is also standing by to help assess the situation aboard the burning ship.