The Unsinkable Hugh Williams – Truth Behind the Legend?

There is a video bouncing around the web these days called “The Strangest Coincidence Ever Recorded?”   (The video is embedded at the bottom of the post.) It tells the story of a ship which sank in the Menai Strait off the coast of Wales on December 5, 1664. All 81 passengers died, except one. His name was Hugh Williams.  Then on December 5th, 1785 another ship with 60 aboard sank in the Menai Strait. The only survivor – a man named Hugh Williams.   In 1820 on December 5th, a third vessel sank in the Menai Strait. All 25 aboard were drowned except, you guessed it, a man named Hugh Williams.

An amazing tale, but is it history or just a an oft retold sea story?   It could easily be a bit of each.

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Containership MSC Flaminia in Flames in the North Atlantic

The container ship, MSC Flaminia, is in flames, drifting in the North Atlantic, roughly half way between Britain and Canada, approximately 1,000 miles west of Cornwall.   One man is reported either be missing or to have died from burns. At least three others were injured in an attempt to fight a fire and explosion which broke out in a container in the No. 4 hatch on Saturday.  MSC Flaminia is a 6,732 TEU post-Panamax ship, registered in Germany and built in 2001.  The ship’s crew of 25 abandoned ship and was picked up in a lifeboat and liferaft by the VLCC DS Crown The injured crew were transferred to the container ship  MSC Stellawhich is carrying them to the Azores for treatment.  The burning ship is beyond the range of rescue helicopters.  Tradewinds reports that oceangoing salvage tugs may have been dispatched to fight the fire.

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Stowaway Cat Survives Trip From Shangai to Los Angeles in Sealed Container

Photo: Department of Animal Care and Control/Associated Press

Toward the end of June, we posted about the minor media circus that grew out of a report of possible stowaways on the container ship, Ville D’Aquarius, bound for Port Newark. After a multi-agency task force swung into action to investigate, the media began reporting that there were between 20 and 60 Pakistani stowaways aboard the ship and making veiled and not so veiled references to terrorism. There turned out to be no stowaways found aboard the ship.

Recently, however,we have heard of a real, live, proven stowaway hiding in a sealed shipping container.  A container, originally loaded in Shanghai, was opened at a business in Compton, California, near Los Angeles.  Inside was a 3-month-old kitten, which had apparently survived without food or water for the up to 21 day that it often takes to make the 6,500 mile journey from China.  Remarkably, the kitten appears to be in reasonable good health, despite the ordeal.

Kitten survives freighter trip from Shanghai to Los Angeles without food, water

The kitten, nicknamed Ni Hao (NEE’-How), which means “hello” in Mandarin, is not the first feline to surreptitiously take to the sea as a stowaway. In April 2011, a cat who vanished from his home in New Zealand was found stowed away in a container in Australia, after a voyage of 18 days and more than 2,200 miles.  Likewise in November 2009, a cat was found in a container unloaded in the British port of Felixstowe after a after a 3,000 mile journey from Egypt.

City of Water & Fire – A Day in New York Harbor

Smokey fire at South Street Seaport

Today the  the Metropolitan Waterfront Alliance hosted the “City of Water Day” to celebrate New York – New Jersey harbor.  Festivities were centered on Governor’s Island and Liberty State Park with activities spread across the waterfront from Edgewater to Brooklyn and Staten Island.  In addition to food, music, exhibits, ship tours and kayaking, one of the highlights of the day were free harbor rides on the historic fireboat John J. Harvey.

On the East River, other fireboats were hard at work.  Just as the City of Water festival was ending, a fire broke out on Pier 17 at the South Street Seaport on the East River, sending hundreds fleeing from the shopping pavilion on the dock. The South Street Seaport shopping mall was not part of the City of Water festival but is a popular tourist destination.   The New York Fire Department mobilized 33 units and 140 firefighters, fighting the fire from both trucks on land and fireboats from the water. The three alarm fire was extinguished in about two hours. No one was injured.   A city of water and fire indeed.  Thanks to Carolina Salguero at Portside New York for the heads up on Facebook.

Fire Causes Smoke and Panic at the South Street Seaport

Update: Viking Longship Dragon Harald Fairhair Under Sail

We have been following the construction of the Dragon Harald Fairhair, (or in Norwegian Draken Harald Hårfagre)  the largest Viking longship to have been built in modern times. (See our previous post – Building the Viking Longship Dragon Harald Fairhair.)  Built of oak, in the town of Haugesund in Western Norway, the ship is hundred and fourteen feet, twenty-seven feet wide, displacing seventy tons, and will carry thirty-two hundred square feet of sail. She was recently launched and has begun sailing trials.  A short video of one of her first sails.

Dragon Harald Fairhair (Viking Longship)

Baltic “UFO” a Top-Secret Nazi Anti-Submarine Weapon?

This story just keeps getting stranger.  A year ago last June, the Swedish treasure hunters, Ocean X Team, saw something that they did not understand while doing sonar sweeps of the bottom of the Baltic Sea.   There appeared to be a 200′ diameter disk on the bottom, which the press dubbed the “Millenium Falcon” as it resembled the Star Wars space craft.  This June, the Ocean X Team dove on the site and the mystery only deepened.  The object on the bottom appeared to be a dome described as “mushroom shaped.”

Now, a former Swedish naval officer and WWII expert Anders Autellus is suggesting that the structure – measuring 200ft by 25ft – could be the base of a top-secret Nazi device designed to block British and Russian submarine movements in the area during World War II.

Sonar scans show that ‘UFO’ at bottom of Baltic sea may actually be a top-secret Nazi anti-submarine defence lost since the Second World War

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Update: Saving the SS United States at $1 per Square Inch

In February 2011, we posted that the the SS United States Conservancy had purchased the S.S. United States from Norwegian Cruise Line.  The sale was made possible by a $5.8 million gift by Philadelphia philanthropist H.F. “Gerry” Lenfest.  Since then the Conservancy has raised $5 million of the estimated $25 million needed to  to restore the exterior and part of the interior of the ships to house a museum.

The Conservancy has now kicked off a new fundraising campaign and a new interactive web site – Save the United States – Help restore America’s Flagship.  Visitors to the new web site can help save the ship at $1 per square inch by “purchasing” a piece of the ship. Visitors to the site can choose the section they want to sponsor by scrolling and zooming around a virtual model on the website, can “meet” other donors throughout the ship, personalize and upload images and memories of the ship, as well as share it through social media sites.  To donate and learn more, click here.

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Update: USS Ponce, One of the Oldest Amphibious Transport Dock Ships, Forward Command Post and Commando Mothership After All

Last February, we posted about the modification to the USS Ponce prior to being sent to the Persian Gulf. (See Mine-Detecting Dolphins and USS Ponce, Commando “Mothership” in Persian Gulf?)   We included the question mark in the post title because, while the press was referring to the ship as a “commando mothership,”  a floating base from which commando raids could be launched, the Navy admirals were busy denying that it would be any such thing.  Now it appears that the ship, one of the oldest Amphibious Transport Dock Ship will indeed be used as a “commando mothership” as well as a forward command post.  (Thanks to Dave Shirlaw for pointing out that the USS Denver is three years older than the Ponce.)

Floating Base Gives U.S. New Footing in the Persian Gulf
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The Rocket’s Red Glare, Bombs Bursting in Air – the Battle of Stonington, 1814

Yesterday, I went on a field trip  with the New York Shiplore and Model Club to Stonington and Mystic, Connecticut. (Thanks to Lee Gruzen, Norman Brouwer and Linda Zatkowski for making the arrangements.)  Our first stop was Stonington, Connecticut, a small village on the extreme eastern coast of the state.  In the center of the village, two 18 pound cannon are on display in the fittingly named Cannon Square.  On their tampions, blocking the ends of the cannon’s muzzles, is the date 1814, when the two cannons, manned by local militia, almost miraculously drove off a British force of four Royal Navy ships under the command of Captain Sir Thomas Hardy, Nelson’s flag captain on HMS Victory at the Battle of Trafalgar.  The battle may not have been of any great strategic importance, but was one of a series of American victories in the last days of the War of 1812.

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The Return of Commercial Sail – UT Wind Challenger & Retracting Rigid Wing Sails

Early airplane wings were built of canvas stretched over a wooden frame, held together with wire rigging.  Modern airplane wings are built of aluminum and other metals.  The comparison to sails, masts and rigging on ships may not apply directly.  Nevertheless, the last America’s Cup winner, the US-17, formerly known as the BMW Oracle Racing 90,  screamed to victory in 2010, sailing on a 223 feet rigid wing sail, more than 80 percent larger than the wing of a Boeing 747 airplane. Now a Japanese group, including engineers from the University of Tokyo, are developing the design of a merchant ship with retracting rigid wing sails, the UT Wind Challenger.

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Ernest Borgnine – from Gunners-Mate to Marty to McHale’s Navy and Sponge Bob Square Pants

Ernest Borgnine has died at the age of 95.  He joined the Navy in 1935, straight out of high school and served through World War II, leaving the service with the rank of gunner’s mate 1st class.  He became an actor, appearing in over 140 movies and winning an Academy Award for Best Actor in 1955 for the movie, Marty.  He is probably best known, however, for his role as Lt.Commander Quentin McHale in McHale’s Navy, a situation comedy about the insubordinate crew of a PT boat in the Pacific during World War II which ran from 1962-1966. Actor and comedian Tim Conway played his second in command in McHale’s Navy. More than thirty years later they would re-unite in 1999 when Borgnine voiced the role of the elderly superhero Mermaid Man in the cartoon SpongeBob SquarePants, where Tim Conway provided the voice of Mermaid Man’s sidekick, Barnacle Boy.

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Ernest Borgnine dies at 95; won Oscar for ‘Marty,’ showed comic side in sitcom

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City of Water Day in New York Harbor!

The City of New York is a city of islands, large and small, floating in a vast harbor and waterway. Only one of the five boroughs is on the mainland and that even borough, the Bronx, is on a peninsula, with water on three sides. The city and the metropolitan area of 20 million people only exist because of the harbor, the Hudson River estuary, and neighboring rivers and sounds.  Once again the Metropolitan Waterfront Alliance is presenting “City of Water Day” to celebrate the mighty New York – New Jersey harbor and to witness the potential of the waterfront.  The festivities will be held on Governors Island and Liberty State Park from 10:00 AM to 4:00PM on July 14th.  Activities are also scheduled in Brooklyn, Manhattan, Staten Island, the Bronx and on the Jersey side of the Hudson River.  Click here for details of local activities.

City of Water Day

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Great Windjammer Race – Rockland to Camden, Maine

Last Friday, 19 schooners sailed from the starting line near the Breakwater Lighthouse in Rockland, Me out into Penobscott, Bay and then into Camden, Me, for the 36th annual Great Windjammer Race.  After the breakneck speeds of America’s Cup catamarans, the stately pace of the old schooners is almost soothing. The race is sponsored yearly by the Maine Windjammer Association.  Thanks to Irwin Bryan for passing along the article.

Great Windjammer Race: A perfect day on the bay

 

Update: Frigate L’Hermione Launched in Rochefort, France

After fifteen years of work, the replica of the frigate L’Hermione was launched yesterday into the Charente River in Rochefort, France.  The original  frigate L’Hermione, on March 21, 1780, carried the the 23 year old Gilbert du Motier, better known as the Marquis de Lafayette, to America with the then secret news that France was committing 5,500 men and five frigates to help George Washington and his forces in the revolution against Great Britain.

A Wealth of Overlapping Tall Ships and Harbor Festivals In New London, Newport, Providence and New Bedford

To say that this will be a busy weekend on the New England waterfront may be an understatement. Following the 4th of July festivities in Boston, OpSail 2012 CT starts today in New London, CT, with an impressive fleet of ships.  Only about 50 miles away, the Ocean State Tall Ships Festival 2012 in Newport, Rhode Island, also starts today.  The Newport festival also has an impressive fleet attending.  Both festivals run today through Monday.  Exactly why anyone though that it was a good idea to schedule two tall ship festivals on the same weekend, 50 miles apart is not clear. Fortunately either festival is a good choice.

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Fourth of July Tragedy in Long Island Sound – Three Children Drown when Overloaded Boat Capsizes

Silverton 34, a similar motor yacht to the Kandi Won which capsized on July 4th

We have blogged too often about the loss of life after overcrowded boats capsized off Indonesia, India, Bangladesh and Papau New Guinea.  This week was sad reminder that the problem of overloaded boats is not limited to the developing world.  On Wednesday evening a group of 27 people went out in the the Kandi Won, a 34 foot long Silverton motor yacht, to watch the Fourth of July fireworks over Long Island Sound, near Oyster Bay.  Shortly after the fireworks were over, at around 10PM, the yacht was hit by a wave and capsized. Twenty four people were pulled from the water, but three children; a 12-year-old boy, his 11-year-old cousin and an 8-year-old girl; were drowned in the boat’s cabin.

The motor yacht is being raised today from where it sank off the mouth of Oyster Bay, in 60′ feet of water. The investigation into the cause of f the tragedy is ongoing.

Three kids drowned trapped inside the cabin when their yacht capsized on July 4 in Oyster Bay

FLIP Turns 50 ! Navy’s Floating Instrument Platform One Half Century Old

The Navy’s Floating Instrument Platform, better known as FLIP, went into service fifty years ago, in 1962.  The 355-foot research vessel is capable of operating horizontally as a conventional, if somewhat odd-looking, ship. When on station, however, it “flips” vertically 90 degrees and becomes the equivalent of a massive spar buoy.   Because the hydrodynamic forces act primarily on the bottom of the vessel, which is far below the surface waves, the ship is highly stable in heavy seas and up to 80′ waves.

Bizarre ‘flipping’ research ship turns 50

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U.S Navy Sonar Training and Testing Could Kill 1,800 Whales & Dolphins and Deafen 15,900 More

In a previous Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for 2009-2013, the U.S. Navy estimated that 150,000 marine mammals could be harmed in sonar training and testing exercises. Now in the EIS for 2014-2018, Navy estimates have soared, suggesting that sonar training and testing might unintentionally harm marine mammals 2.8 million times a year over five years, including deafening 15,900 whales and dolphins and killing 1,800 more over the next five years, in testing in Hawaii, off the California and Atlantic Coasts, and in the Gulf of Mexico.

To sign a petition opposing the Navy’s plans, click here.  Time is short.  All comments are due by July 10, 2012, so please sign the petition today

Navy raises sonar impact on dolphins, whales dramatically

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

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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Dubai Unveils More Modest Plans for QE2 Hotel

For several years now cruise ships fans have been concerned that the 2008 debt crunch in Dubai would result in the RMS Queen Elizabeth 2 being sold for scrap instead of being converted to a luxury hotel, as had been the plan when she was purchased  by Dubai investment company Istithmar for $100 million.  On Monday, it was announced that the ship would be converted to a more modest 300 room hotel.  Originally a 1,000 room facility had been planned. The ship will also not be moored at Nakheel’s Palm Jumeirah, the emirate’s famous palm-shaped island, but instead would be tied up  at the Port Rashid cruise terminal in a commercial district a considerable distance from the more tourist-friendly neighbourhoods.  For classic cruise ship fans, the good news is that large portion of the ship will remain unrenovated.

Dubai unveils more modest plans for QE2 hotel
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