North Carolina Legislature Plays Xerxes, Considers Making Sea-Level Rise Illegal

Xerxes orders the sea to be lashed

When a storm destroyed Xerxes the Great’s bridge across the Hellespont in 480 BCE, he ordered that the sea be flogged with chains. Now, the North Carolina legislature is playing Xerxes. Some North Carolina legislators do not like the estimates of the rise in sea-level caused by global climate change, so they are considering making a rise in sea-level illegal, or at least, any predication of such a raise.  A law is working its way through the North Carolina legislature that would require government planning boards to only use predictions of sea level rise based on linear projections from 1900.  The increased rise in sea-level due to climate change would not only be ignored, but would be illegal for land use planning.

Coastal N.C. counties fighting sea-level rise prediction
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Seas of Peace – Israeli, Palestinian and American Teens Head to Sea

Seas of Peace is a remarkable sail training and leadership program that brings together Middle Eastern and American youth for a summer of sailing and conflict resolution training.  This year, in their second summer of operation, they hope to bring together 18 young sailors on a 1,000 mile voyage on the Spirit of Massachusetts.  Monica Balanoff and David Nutt, the social entrepreneurs and youth leaders behind the program, are working to raise $20,000 by June 15th to make it happen.  Click here to donate to this fascinating program.

Seas of Peace – Sailing Beyond Borders to a More Peaceful World
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Update: Removing the MV Miner from Nova Scotia’s Scatarie Island

Photo: The Canadian Press

Last October, we posted about the MV Miner, ex Canadian Miner, a Great Lakes bulk carrier whose tow rope snapped on the way to the scrap yard. The ship drifted onto Scatarie Island, off the coast of Cape Breton in Nova Scotia.  Now eight months after the grounding a contract has been given to the Bennington Group, a New York-based salvage company, to dismantle and remove the wreck.

After eight months aground, shipwreck to be removed from Nova Scotia island 

Where Did Ancient Sailors Sail ? – Roman Shipwrecks Located in Deep Water off Corfu and Paxoi

Broken pottery from Roman wreck Photo: Greek Culture Ministry

Two Roman-era shipwrecks have been found in water slightly less than a mile deep off the western Greek islands of Corfu and Paxoi. The two third-century wrecks were discovered earlier this month during a survey of an area where a Greek-Italian gas pipeline is to be sunk.

It has long been supposed that most ancient sailors preferred coastal routes over sailing in deep water. The depth of these wreck raise questions about that theory.  Most shipwrecks from the era have been found in shallow waters closer to the coast.  It may be that the protection provided by inshore sailing were cancelled out by the likelihood of striking coastal reefs or being blown ashore. Then again, deep-water wrecks can also be harder to locate than shallower water wrecks.  It is also possible that the Roman ships were blown into deep water before sinking.

Shipwreck findings challenge conventional theory
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Own Your Own Secret Submarine Base – Norway’s Olavsvern Naval Base For Sale

For only 105 million Norwegian krona (thats € 14 million or roughly US$17.5 million) you too can own an Arctic submarine base.  Norway’s Olavsvern Naval Base just outside the city of Tromsø, has been on the market since January 2011, but for the last several weeks has been listed for sale on a Norwegian web site.  The base, Norway’s  only submarine base north of the  features  a large dock and a deep-water berth as well as a fuel depot, a tunnel system and emergency power system, all designed to withstand a nuclear attack.  Overall the base includes 13.500 square meters of buildings and a 25.000 square meter mountain plant.  You must provide your own submarines, however. No subs are included in the deal.  Also, the electric bills are reported to be rather large.  On the other hand, as pointed out in the Geekologie blog, a secret Arctic submarine base would confer “instant evil villain” status to the owner.

Arctic submarine base for sale

Banners in the Breeze – Clipper Round the World Fleet

The crews sailing in the Clipper Round the World Race represent over 40 nationalities. You can get a sense of the international makeup of the fleet by the banners and flags that they fly now that they have arrived in port.  Here is a short video I shot yesterday of the ten boat fleet in Liberty Landing marina in Jersey City, immediately across the Hudson River from lower Manhattan.

Banners in the Breeze – Clipper Round the World Fleet at Liberty Landing, New York Harbor

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Clipper Round the World Fleet Arrives in New York Harbor, Unofficially

The ten boat fleet of the Clipper Round the World Race will officially and formally arrive in New York harbor on Sunday, June 3rd to coincide with the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee.  As Sir Robin Knox-Johnston sails the Suhaili, the 32ft yacht on which he became the first person to sail single-handed non-stop around the world in 1969, up the Thames River in the Diamond Jubilee Pageant, the ten racing yachts of the Clipper Round the World Race fleet will sail up New York Harbor to the North Cove.  Their arrival is expected to be covered live by the BBC.  Among his many exploits, Sir Robin Knox Johnston was the founder of the Clipper Round the World Race in 1996 and is the chairman of Clipper Ventures, which organizes and runs the race.

Until then, the Clipper fleet will hang out, unofficially, in Liberty Landing marina in the Morris Canal Big Basin in Jersey City, immediately across the the Hudson River from North Cove.  The ten boats will have been in the harbor for almost a week prior to their “official” arrival.
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On Board the Pelican of London, a Diamond Jubilee Thames Pageant Tall Ship

On Sunday, June 3rd, the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Weekend will culminate with a seven-mile flotilla of 1,000 ships and boats making up the biggest gathering on the Thames in 350 years. One of those vessels will be the sail training ship Pelican. The Pelican, a 148ft long three-masted barquentine, is one of our favorite ships. She is square rigged on the main mast but fore and aft rigged on the fore mast and mizzen — a modern hybrid between a traditional square rig and the mixed square and fore and aft rig of the Barbary coast Xebecs. A short video of the ship shot by The Telegraph. Thanks to Malcolm Mendey for pointing it out on Facebook. See also our previous post – Tall Ship Pelican For Sale.

Exclusive: on board the Pelican of London, a Diamond Jubilee Thames pageant Tall Ship

Fukushima Radiation Found in Tuna Off California Coast

It is really all just one big ocean. Low levels of nuclear radiation from the tsunami-damaged Fukushima power plant have turned up in bluefin tuna off the California coast, 6,000 miles from the damaged Japanese nuclear reactors.  Small amounts of cesium-137 and cesium-134 were detected in 15 tuna caught near San Diego in August 2011.  The radiation levels were 10 times higher than those found in tuna in the same area in previous years, but still low enough so that the tuna are considered to be safe for human consumption.  The tuna, which spawn off the coast of Japan and the Philippines often migrate to the coast of California.

Bluefin tuna caught off California contains radiation from Japan’s Fukushima plant

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For the Love of Sea Music – Mystic Seaport’s 33rd Annual Sea Music Festival

Mystic Seaport has put together a wonderful short video where lovers of sea music speak of just it means to them, just in time for the Seaport’s upcoming 33rd Annual Sea Music Festival from June 7-10, 2012 in Mystic, Connecticut.  The three day festival features music from maritime cultures around the world and includes concerts, special performances for children, instructional workshops, and a unique opportunity to witness sea music at work aboard the Museum’s historic vessels.

For the Love of Sea Music

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The Pearl No. 7 and the Bridge Too Low

This seems like a suitable post for a Monday morning. The tide was high, the bridge was low and the ship was light.   Captain Guo Lai, 48, was in command of the brand new luxury cruise liner, Pearl No 7, on her maiden voyage from the shipyard, when they passed under a suspension bridge on the Oujiang River near Wenzhou City, Zhejiang Province, China.  Or at least most of the ship made it under. The ship’s two funnels were sheared off when the clearance between the ship and the bridge turned out to be negative. The Pearl No. 7 has the capacity for 1,000 passengers and cost $44 million to build.   She has now returned to the shipyard, Wenzhou Mingzhu Yacht Co., Ltd., for funnel repairs.

Bridge too far: Bungling cruise liner captain crashes luxury liner on maiden voyage after ‘not realising how tall ship was’

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The Unfortunate Economics of Tall Ships

The old cliche that a boat is a hole in the water into which you pour money applies far too well to tall ships. They are expensive to build or restore and chronically costly to maintain and keep running.  It should come as no surprise that most of the ships in the recent Parade of Sail at OpSail New York were training vessels funded by the navies of various governments.

Recently, the schooners Virginia and the Spirit of South Carolina have fallen on hard times. The historic schooner Ernestina ex. Effie M. Morrissey, the official “tall ship of Massachusetts” is in dire straits, needing significant repairs to keep her afloat. The  replica HMS Bounty has been actively for sale for some time and the brigantine Pelican is also actively for sale. The list of vessels in financial distress or actively for sale, goes on and on.  Recently Aaron Applegate,  writing for HamptonRooads.com, looked at the economics of “tall ships.”

Economically, tall ships are a tall order
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Whales Give Dolphins a Lift

Scientists have observed, in two different locations off the Hawaiian islands, humpback whales giving dolphins “rides” on their heads. A dolphin will swim up over the top of the humpback whale’s head. The humpback will then gently lift its head allowing the dolphin to slide down its back. In one encounter the dolphin and the whale repeated the “ride” six times in succession. The actions of both dolphins and whales appeared to be slow and gentle showing no signs of aggression. They appeared to be involved in inter-species play, which is extremely rare in the natural world.  Thanks to Wojtek ‘Voytec’ Wacowski for pointing it out on Facebook.

Science Bulletins: Whales Give Dolphins a Lift

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Update: MV Rena – Cover-up Revealed and Jail Time for Captain and Second Officer

On October 5, 2011, the containership MV Rena ran aground on Astrolabe Reef off Tauranga, resulting in one of the worst maritime environmental disasters in New Zealand history.  Yesterday, in a New Zealand court, the captain, Mauro Balomaga, and second officer, Leonil Relon, were found guilty of a total of eleven charges and each was sentenced to seven months in jail.   In addition to poor seamanship, the captain and second officer attempted to cover up their actions by altering the ship’s GPS log, its passage plan and its computer records to mislead the investigators.

Rena: The cover-up revealed
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Weird Beachcombing News – Beach Rocks Set Woman’s Shorts On Fire

Not quite too sure what to make of this. Of all sports, beachcombing seems like one of the safest.  Apparently, a woman, beachcombing with her family on a San Clemente Beach in Southern California, pocketed a few rocks which may have contained naturally occurring white phosphorus.  Friction between the rocks may have caused an ignition, setting the woman’s shorts on fire and resulting in severe burns to the woman’s leg.

Rocks Set Fire In Pocket: Woman Burned By Beach Rocks That Spontaneously Combusted In Her Pants

 

The “Gresham Ship’’ – Elizabethan Shipwreck on the Move

Cannon showing the mark of Sir Thomas Gresham

Shipwrecks tend to be pretty stationary. They are not prone to wandering about.  Now, however, an Elizabethan shipwreck dating from 1574, which was recovered from the River Thames in 2003, is on the move.  The remains of  the 16th-century “Gresham Ship’’ are set to be transported 160 miles to Stoney Cove in Leicestershire on June 1 and lowered into a lake.  The move is being  co-ordinated by the Nautical Archaeological Society, which will use the ship as an “underwater classroom’’ to train the next generation of nautical archaeologists.

Elizabethan shipwreck to be moved to Leicestershire
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The Navy’s MMOWGLI (Massive Multiplayer Online Wargame Leveraging the Internet)

The US Navy’s newest strategic weapon may be a Massive Multiplayer Online Wargame.  If it works for HALO and gears of War, why not the Navy?  The project is a joint effort between the Office of Naval Research (ONR), Naval Postgraduate School (NPS) and Institute for the Future (IFTF).  The approach is to “crowdsource ideas and strategies that may provide insight to some of the Navy’s toughest problems.”

The game’s first round was “piracyMMOWGLI” in Summer of 2011 and focused on countering Somali piracy. The next round, energyMMOWGLI, is launching this month.  As the name suggests, this game deals with energy, specifically asking the question, “How can the Navy best meet future energy demands?” The game is focused on reducing fossil fuel dependency.  ironically, as pointed out by TPM,the timing of the new game’s launch is somewhat unfortunate given that the Republican-led House Armed Services Committee voted last week to effectively prohibit the Department of Defense from purchasing any alternative fuel that costs more than petroleum. That effectively eliminates biofuels, at least for the near future.”  Of course, biofuels are only one component of energy policy, but they could play an important role.
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Maersk Texas Attacked by Pirates, Probably – Pirates Driven off by Somebody

Photo: Maksim Ivanov MarineTraffic.com

Simply trying to keep up with what is going on the battle against piracy is not as easy as it might appear.

For example, Maersk Texas, a US flag cargo ship came under attack by pirates in the Gulf of Oman on Wednesday around noon local time, or at least that is what Maersk says.  The European Union’s counter-piracy force said it had reviewed the incident and determined there was “no case of piracy and it’s a false alarm,” according to Timo Lange, a spokesman for the Northwood, England-based EU Navfor.  Maersk says that the pirates, attacking in multiple skiffs, were driven off by armed guards aboard the ship.   The Iranian Navy, however, says that they drove off the pirates, who fled only after Iranian naval vessels appeared on the scene.

Everyone does agree that no one was hurt aboard the Maersk Texas and that she proceeded on her voyage.  We hope that the rest of the voyage proves uneventful. Thanks to Phil Leon for the heads up.

Greenport Tall Ships Challenge 2012 – Memorial Day Weekend

New York harbor is not the only port on the North-Eastern coast of the United States with a wealth of tall ships over Memorial Day Weekend.  Greenport, New York  is hosting the Greenport Tallships Challenge 2012.   Greenport, on the easterly tip of Long Island, is the second stop on the Tall Ships America’s 2012 TALL SHIPS CHALLENGE Race Series. The sail began in Savannah, Georgia. The participating ships raced up the East Coast to Greenport, Long Island, and then will head off to Newport, Rhode Island (July 6-9) and Halifax, Nova Scotia (July 19-23).

The ships participating include HMS BountyPicton Castle, the privateer schooner Lynx, the privateer schooner Pride of Baltimore II, as well as the schooners Roseway, Unicorn, and Summerwind.    All vessels will be open to visitors and the Roseway will offer sail excursions.
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Fire on Nuclear Submarine USS Miami in Maine Shipyard

Photo:Elizabeth Dinan/www.seacoastonline.com

Crew responded to a fire on the nuclear submarine, USS Miami at around 5:40 PM last night at the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard in Kittery, Maine.  This morning, the Navy reports that the fire has been put put. Three shipyard firefighters, two civilian firefighters and two crew members are reported to have received minor injuries.  There were no weapons aboard the submarine and the reactor had been shut down for several months prior to the fire breaking out.  The USS Miami (SSN-755) is a United States Navy attack submarine of the Los Angeles class. She was commissioned in 1990. Groton, CT is her home port.

Fire on nuclear sub at Maine shipyard hurts 7