Soren Larsen’s South Pacific Challenge

Posted on by March 29, 2012

The good folks on the brigantine Søren Larsen are offering a “South Pacific Challenge,” a Youtube video competition where you can explain in a short video why you need to change your life and what a South Pacific voyage on the Søren Larsen would mean to you.   Visitors to their web site will have the opportunity to vote on the uploaded videos. Two winners will be chosen to feature in a professionally filmed documentary about their life changing voyage from the Cook Islands to Samoa on the Søren Larsen.  Entries must be submitted by Friday, April 20th 2012, at 3pm EST.  Click here to learn more.

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Captain Robert Falcon Scott – Heroic Leader or Tragic Bungler?

Posted on by March 29, 2012

No one is exactly sure when Captain Robert Falcon Scott and his four of his fellow explorers died on their failed Antarctic expedition.  Today is observed as the centenary of the deaths because March 19, 1912 was the last entry in Scott’s journal.  Since his death, Scott has been both lionized and roundly condemned.  Depending on who one listens to, Scott was a heroic explorer or a tragic bungler.  A commemorative service at St Paul’s Cathedral today is expected to draw 2,000 Scott admirers from all over the world, while Norwegian Roald Amundsen, who beat Scott to the South Pole by a month and returned without losing a man, is largely forgotten outside of Norway.  Scott is also far better remembered than his colleague and rival Ernest Shackleton. See our recent post, Recreating Sir Ernest Shackleton’s Epic Lifeboat Voyage.

Captain Scott centenary: Storm rages around polar explorer’s reputation
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Major Gas Leak at Total Elgin Platform in the North Sea – Why it Matters

Posted on by March 28, 2012

The Elgin platform in the North Sea, 150 miles (240km) off Aberdeen, suffered a serious natural gas on Sunday.   It is expected at take several weeks, in the best case scenario, to shut off the leak. Some estimates suggest that it will take 6 months to control the leak.   The platform is operated by Total SA.  The leak is reported to be from a well, known as G4, that was drilled in 1997 and has now been shut for about one year.  The leak is estimated at 9 million cubic meters of gas per day or three percent of Britain’s natural gas output.

The U.K. coastguard has established exclusion zones around the area and Shell has evacuated some personnel from its nearby Shearwater platform and Noble Hans Deul drilling rig and suspended drilling operations as a precautionary measure. Shipping was being ordered to keep at least two miles away and there was a three-mile exclusion zone for aircraft.

Total considers relief well to end Elgin gas leak
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Historic Tanker Mary A. Whalen Desperately Needs a Home

Posted on by March 28, 2012

As we have posted before, PortSide New York, based on the historic coastal tanker, Mary A.Whalen,  is one of the absolutely best waterfront educational organizations in New York harbor.  For the last six years, the Mary A. Whalen has never had a permanent home.  Now it needs to find one by April 30th.  If not, the old tanker may be scrapped.

Refurbished oil tanker looking for new home


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Yacht Tabasco 2 Disabled off Nova Scotia – 1 Dead, 2 Injured & 3 Missing

Posted on by March 27, 2012

Canadian Cormorant helicopter

UPDATE:  The Canadian government is now treating the casualty as an attempt at human smuggling.  Toews links N.S. yacht accident to ‘human smuggling’

There are reports of a tragic and strange sailboat accident off Canada’s Nova Scotia coast.  Nine men, reported to be from Eastern Europe, were on a 35 foot sailboat, the Tabasco 2, which became disabled and was drifting in high seas, 148 kilometres south of Cape Sable Island.  Three of the sailboat’s crew are reported to be missing. One man is reported to have died.

Three of the sailboat’s crew were picked up by a passing tanker, the FSL Hamburg.  Three other hypothermic and injured crew members were helicoptered to Yarmouth Regional Hospital.  One of the three died in transit. The other two are said to be in  serious condition.   A Canadian Cormorant helicopter and a Hercules aircraft were involved in the rescue with refueling support from a U.S. Coast Guard jet.

Yacht accident off Nova Scotia leaves 1 dead, 2 injured

What to See at the Bottom of the Sea – the Barren, Desolate Lunar Plain of the Challenger Deep

Posted on by March 27, 2012

On January 23, 1960, Jacques Piccard  and USN Lieutenant Don Walsh spent twenty minutes at the bottom at Challenger Deep in the  bathyscaphe Trieste.  Unfortunately, their landing on the sea bed stirred up a cloud of silt which reduced visibility to zero, and they could not see anything.  On March 26th, James Cameron spend three hours on the bottom of the Challenger Deep and saw very little, because there was apparently little to see.  He described it as a “barren, desolate lunar plain.”    He did see a few small amphipods—shrimplike bottom-feeders.  Then again, no one who climbs Mount Everest expects to find an apple orchard at the summit, either.  Thanks to Phil Leon for contributing to this post.

Cameron brings back tales of “desolate” sea bed but no souvenirs

Restoring the Felicity Ann and the Memory of Ann Davison

Posted on by March 27, 2012

The Northwest School of Wooden Boat Building in Port Hadlock, WA, is restoring a forgotten piece of sailing history –  the Felicity Ann, a 23′ wooden boat, launched in 1949.  In 1952-1953, Ann Davison, at 39, sailed  the Felicity Ann single-handed across the Atlantic, becoming the first woman ever to do so.

The project is a partnership between Northwest School of Wooden Boat Building, the Community Boat Project and WSU Jefferson County 4-H. From the Felicity Ann website:
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James Cameron Returns From the Challenger Deep – “Heck of a Ride”

Posted on by March 26, 2012

Last night, James Cameron became the first person ever to dive in a one man submarine to the very bottom of the ocean, the Challenger Deep in the Mariana Trench, 35,755 feet (5.8 nautical miles) below the surface.  He is only the third person to  ever dive the Challenger Deep and is the first person in over fifty years to do so.  A short video of his return to the surface following his epic voyage to the absolute bottom:

Raw Video: Cameron: “Heck of a Ride”

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James Cameron Begins Challenger Deep, Mariana Trench Dive

Posted on by March 25, 2012

Last week we posted about James Cameron’s preparation for his attempt to dive to the bottom of the Challenger Deep in the Mariana Trench. Reports are that he is now attempting the dive in his one man submarine, described as a “vertical torpedo.”  If successful he will be the first person in over 50 years and only the third person in history to dive to the bottom of the the Challenger Deep, the deepest part of the ocean.  Thanks to Phil Leon of the heads-up.

James Cameron begins Mariana Trench deep-sea dive

The Costa Concordia’s “Black Box” – A Look at Voyage Data Recorders

Posted on by March 25, 2012

What really happened on the Costa Concordia in the final hours leading up to and following her grounding and sinking off Giglio on January 13, 2012?  The first step in definitively answering that question began in early March when an Italian judge directed court appointed experts to examine the ship’s voyage data recorder, the so called “black box.”  The examination is expected to take 90 days, so the first results will be presented to the court sometime in early May.

But exactly what is the “black box” taken off the Costa Concordia?  
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Recreating Sir Ernest Shackleton’s Epic Lifeboat Voyage

Posted on by March 24, 2012

In 1916, Ernest Shackleton and five sailors set off on an 1300 kilometer voyage to South Georgia Island, across some of roughest waters in the world, in the James Caird, a 6.9 meter lifeboat, in a desperate attempt to reach help and to arrange the rescue of the twenty two men left behind on Elephant Island.  Now, the Shackleton Epic Expedition led by Tim Jarvis has constructed a replica of the James Caird, named the Alexandra Shackleton, in honor of the explorer’s granddaughter.   The expedition will attempt to recreate Shackleton’s truly epic voyage later this year.  Thanks to Alaric Bond for passing along the news.

Polar explorer’s 800 mile lifeboat journey is recreated

An extraordinary adventure

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Japanese Fishing Trawler, Carried Away by Tsunami, Found Drifting Toward British Columbia

Posted on by March 24, 2012

Photo: Canadian Department of National Defense

A 150′ foot long fishing trawler carried away last March by the tsunami off the east coast of Japan has been spotted drifting in the Pacific Ocean, 120 miles off Haida Gwaii, British Columbia, Canada.  About 5 million tons of debris were swept into the ocean in by the magnitude-9.0 earthquake and tsunami which struck Japan.  The trawler is reported to have been used for squid fishing, and was moored in the port of Hachinohe, in the Aomori prefecture, when the tsunami hit.  Thanks to Rick Sterling on the Facebook “All Things Nautical” group for pointing it out.

Japanese boat washed away in tsunami spotted more than a year later

Re-Living History on the SS American Victory

Posted on by March 23, 2012

The waters around Tampa Bay may appear to step back in time tomorrow as the World War II Victory ship SS American Victory leaves the dock for her first cruise in nearly three years. The critically acclaimed “Re-Live History Cruise”  will feature reenactors, WWII airplane fly overs, and historical ceremonies as well as a DJ, live entertainment, and food and drink.

During World War II, 531 Victory ships were built in the United States. The S.S. American Victory is one of the few ships of her class to have survived.  In addition to serving in the Pacific in the last days of World War II, she also carry food and machinery from the United States to Europe under the Marshall Plan and later would carry military supplies in the Vietnam War.  She has been a museum ship in Tampa, FL since 1999.

Five More Bodies Found in the Wreckage of the Costa Concordia

Posted on by March 22, 2012

Divers have found five more bodies in the wreckage of the Costa Concordia which ran aground and sank on January 13, 2012 off the island of Giglio, Italy. The presumed death toll remains at 32, with only two of the roughly 4,200 passengers and crew still missing.  Salvage of the ship is expected to take close to a year.

Divers find 5 more bodies in Costa Concordia wreckage

The Two Frigates Hermione – Part 2 : l’ Hermione, 1780 – Freedom’s Frigate

Posted on by March 22, 2012


If HMS Hermione, commissioned in 1783, became a symbol of Royal Navy cruelty and bloody mutiny, the French light frigate l’ Hermione, commissioned in 1779, would become a symbol of American independence.  On March 21, 1780, the 23 year old Gilbert du Motier, better known as the Marquis de Lafayette, stepped aboard l’ Hermione to sail back to America with the then secret news that France was committing 5,500 men and five frigates to help George Washington and his forces.  With this new French aid and the assistance of the young Major General Lafayette, the Continental forces under General Washington would defeat the British General Cornwallis at Yorktown eighteen months later, effectively winning independence from Great Britain.

Now l’ Hermione, “freedom’s frigate,” has been reborn in the Charente-Maritime in Rochefort, France where the original ship was built.  The new frigate has been under construction since 1997 and preparations are now being made for its launch. More than three million visitors have watched the construction of the replica frigate. When completed, there are plans to sail the ship to Boston, reenacting the fateful voyage carrying the Marquis de Lafayette.  The video below is a light-hearted tour and inspection of the new frigate nearing completion.

Hermione

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Thanks to Frank Hanavan and Alaric Bond for pointing out l’ Hermione.

The Two Frigates Hermione – Part 1: HMS Hermione, 1797 – Brutality, Murder and Mutiny

Posted on by March 22, 2012

There were two frigates, both named Hermione, both launched within a few years of each other.  The British HMS Hermione would become a symbol of cruelty and bloody mutiny, whereas the French Hermione would carry the young Gilbert Motier, better known as the Marquis de Lafayette on a crucial voyage to assist a rebellion against the English Crown in its North American colonies. Neither ship has been forgotten.  The mutiny on the HMS Hermoine has become a fixture in nautical fiction, whereas the French Hermione is being reborn in a shipyard in Rochefort sur mer.

The British frigate, HMS Hermione was commissioned in 1783 as 32-gun fifth-rate frigate.  Five captains served competently on her quarterdeck until in in February 1797 — the year of the Spithead and Nore mutinies — Captain Hugh Pigot was given command.  Within a year, HMS Hermoine was the scene of the bloodiest mutiny in British history. The excellent video by Maritime Great Britain tells the tale:

1797 – Mutiny Aboard HMS Hermione

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Vanishing Sail – A Documentary about West Indian Commercial Sail

Posted on by March 21, 2012

Thanks to Dexter Donham for pointing out this trailer for Vanishing Sail, a documentary still under production and expected to be out in 2013.  Filmed in the Grenadines, Vanishing Sail looks at the sailing vessels that once were both the lifeblood of Caribbean commerce. From their website: Mixed with rare archive footage and interviews with the last old Caribbean sea captains, the documentary combines dramatic sailing scenes with narration and an original soundtrack to tell the story of trading by sail in the West Indies and it’s legacy in the islands today.

Vanishing Sail

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Record Year for Ship Scrapping & ex-Exxon Valdez Heading for Scrap Yard

Posted on by March 21, 2012

The twenty eight year old bulk carrier Oriental Nicety was recently sold for scrap for $16 million.  The ship was originally a tanker and has four owners and as many names. She is best known as the Exxon Valdez, the single hull tanker that ran aground on Bligh Reef in Prince William Sound on March 24, 1989, spilling more than 36,000 long tons of crude oil. It was the worst domestic maritime oil spill prior to the BP Deepwater Horizon rig disaster of 2010 which spilled over 560,000 tons of oil.

Exxon Valdez is sold for scrap
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Winnie Breegle, WWII WAVE and Code Talker Speaks of Her Service

Posted on by March 21, 2012

Winnie Breegle WAVE Code Talker

Earlier this month, 90 year old Winnie Breegle spoke at the 2012 Women’s History Month celebration at the Naval Surface Warfare Center in Panama City, FL. She had quite a story to tell.  Not only was she a WAVE (Woman Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service) in World War II but she was also a “code talker,”  trained to understand Navajo code as a cryptographer.

In World War II, the code talkers were largely a group of more than 400 Marines who were bilingual Navajo speakers. By using a spoken Navajo code, they were able to dramatically speed up communications while being undecipherable to the Japanese.  Most code talkers were Navajo, but as there were too few Navajo speakers, a program was set up to train WAVES to understand the code talkers.  Winnie Breegle was one of the WAVES to become a code talker.

WWII WAVE, Code Talker, Keynote Speaker at NSWC PCD Women’s History Month
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CBC’s Land and Sea – Pirates and Privateers, Now Online

Posted on by March 20, 2012

We posted previously about “Pirates and Privateers,” a documentary on CBC’s Land and Sea.  The 20 minute documentary is now available on-line. It presents a distinctive view of piracy and privateering from the perspective of the Canadian Maritimes, not often seen by those of us to the South. Well worth the time to watch.

Pirates and Privateers