The Schooners of Madagascar and the Brittany Shipwrights

Posted on by December 17, 2011

Photo: Philippe Aimar

Last month we posted about the Bugis schooners of Indonesia – Where the Age of Sail Never Ended – the Bugis Phinisi, an Appreciation. Recently AFP (Agence France-Presse) published an article about another region where the age of commercial sail still lives on, as well. The locally built schooners of Madagascar still play a key role in keeping the local economy functioning. AFP also posted a Youtube video showing the schooners being built on the beaches of the island off the coast of East Africa.

French schooners still set sail in Madagascar
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Congratulations to Australian Rear Admiral & General Robyn Walker

Posted on by December 16, 2011

Only months after allowing women to serve in frontline combat units, Australia has promoted  Commodore Robyn Walker to Rear Admiral, the nation’s first female admiral.  Admiral Walker will also serve as the Australian Defence Force surgeon-general.

Admiral and surgeon general?  Rear Admiral Walker has quite an impressive resume.  From the Australian Navy’s Health Services – Profiles (which has not yet been updated to reflect her announced promotion) :

Commodore Robyn Walker, RAN qualified as a medical practitioner in 1982 and spent the next nine years working in the public health system in Queensland, Australia. Prior to joining the Royal Australian Navy her final position was the Director of Hyperbaric Medicine at Townsville General Hospital. CDRE Walker joined the RAN as a direct entry medical graduate in 1991 with the intent to continue her career in diving medicine.
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Cargo Ship TK Bremen Blown Ashore on Kerminihy Beach in Southern Brittany, Leaking Oil

Posted on by December 16, 2011

The Maltese flagged 6,600 DWT dry cargo ship, TK Bremen, was stranded this morning in high winds on Kerminihy beach at Erdeven, in southern Brittany, near the port of Lorient, France. Some of the 220 tons of fuel on board is reported to be leaking, threatening a local nature preserve.  Winds of over 80 mph were reported today and some 320,000 homes were without electricity due to the storm.

Fuel leaks off cargo ship beached off French coast

Russian Fishing Vessel Sparta Listing After Striking Sea Ice in Antarctica

Posted on by December 16, 2011

Photo: Maritime new Zealand

The 157 feet long Russian fishing vessel, Sparta, with a crew of 32 aboard, was holed below the waterline after striking sea ice in the Ross Sea off Antarctica early Friday morning.  The vessel is reporting have a one foot hole, five feet below the waterline and is listing 13 degrees. The ship is trapped in ice, reported to be up to five feet thick. The crew is attempting to limit the flooding and has been jettisoning cargo to lighten the ship.  Crew who are not occupied in the attempt to save the vessel are reported to have taken to the liferafts.  AFP news agency reports that the crew is made up of 15 Russians (including the captain), 16 Indonesians and a Ukrainian.

Assistance from other ships may be difficult due to the thickness of the ice.  The Chiyo Maru No. 3, a sister ship to the Sparta, is 290 nautical miles away and heading toward the damaged ship but is not ice strengthened and may be stopped by the ice. The San Aspiring, a New Zealnd long-line fishing vessel which is reported to have some ice strengthening, is also en-route but is four or five days away. A Norwegian fishing vessel, Sel Jevaer, is just 19 nautical miles away, but is blocked by heavy ice and cannot from reach the Sparta.

Crew of stricken Russian fishing ship on lifeboats

Russian Ship Sparta – Crew attempts repairs on Antarctic-stranded ship

First Tsunami Flotsam Arrives on West Coast & Perfect Storm Flotsam Discovery in Ireland

Posted on by December 15, 2011

Richard Figueiredo of Pembroke, Mass., lost hundreds of lobster traps in the “Perfect Storm” of 1991. One tag has been found on a beach in Ireland.

Two stories about flotsam and ocean currents. The first flotsam from the earthquake and tsunami, which struck Japan on March 11, is beginning to arrive on the West Coast of the United States. A large black float, believed to have floated from Japan, was found recently on a Neah Bay beach, according to Seattle oceanographers Curtis Ebbesmeyer and Jim Ingraham.  About 25 million tons of debris from Japan is expected to make landfall on beaches from southern Alaska to California, Ebbesmeyer said.

First debris from Japanese earthquake/tsunami reaches Olympic Peninsula
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China’s First New-Old Aircraft Carrier Returns from Second Sea Trial

Posted on by December 15, 2011

Last Sunday the first Chinese aircraft carrier returned from its second round of sea trials. The as of yet unnamed carrier, which reports suggest will be christened Shi Lang, was originally the unfinished Russian aircraft carrier Varyag whose keel was laid in 1985. The carrier is reported to be still missing gear necessary to land planes on the deck, due to a refusal of Russia to sell the equipment to China.  (See our previous post – From Varyag to Shi Lang – the Long Strange Voyage of China’s New Twenty Year Old Aircraft Carrier.)

First Chinese Aircraft Carrier Successfully Wraps Up Second Stage Sea Trials

Building the Viking Longship Dragon Harald Fairhair

Posted on by July 14, 2012

In western Norway, an ocean going Viking longship is taking shape. Named the Dragon Harald Fairhair, (or in Norwegian Draken Harald Hårfagre) she is the largest Viking longship to have been built in modern times and is due to be launched in the Summer of 2012. Here is a fascinating video which looks at the construction of the ancient clinker-built ship.

Dragon Harald Fairhair – A glimpse from the shipyard

Great Moments in Maritime Porcelain – Kaiser Willhelm’s Urinal Found at Bottom of Baltic

Posted on by December 13, 2011

German maritime archaeologists believe that they have to have found a urinal used by Kaiser Wilhelm II in the wreck of the light-cruiser, Udine, lying on the bottom of the Baltic Sea. The Udine was sunk by the British in 1915.

Kaiser Willhelm’s urinal found at bottom of Baltic
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Schooner Spirit of South Carolina For Sale

Posted on by December 13, 2011

Sad news from the Palmetto State. The South Carolina Maritime Foundation plans to try to sell the schooner Spirit of South Carolina to pay off its mounting debts.  The foundation is reported to be being sued by a bank and a former landlord for more than $2 million in loans and thousands of dollars in back rent. Since 2007, over 9,500 students have participated in educational programs on the schooner.  See our previous post  – Spirit of South Carolina Tall Ship program.

Spirit tall ship for sale

Instead of a Jet Pack – the Zapata Water-Jet Flyboard

Posted on by December 11, 2011

I suppose for those who never got over not getting a jet pack for Christmas as a kid, the Zapata Racing water-jet Flyboard just might be perfect. It appears that if you connect one of these contraptions to a powerful jet ski and strap on the harnesses and hoses, that you can leap from the water like a porpoise and fly through the air, towing the jet ski behind you. As one who is always amazed that jet skiers do not kill themselves and others at an even higher rate than they already do, this rig just might increase the body count.  Safety concerns aside, it is fun to watch.

Flyboard Zapata

How Big is Too Big? The Strange Case of the Valemax VLOCs

Posted on by January 7, 2012

The Vale Brasil is the largest dry cargo ship in the world with a capacity of over 400,000 DWT.  It is the first of the Valemax class of  Very Large Ore Carriers (VLOC).   The Vale Brasil  was built with one purpose – to carry iron ore from Brasil to China.  As we posted last June, the ship was on her way maiden voyage from Brazil to the Chinese port of Dalian when she was diverted to discharge in Italy.  She apparently lacked permission to enter the Chinese port.  For China to refuse entry to the ship was a considerable and rather perplexing blow to Vale S.A, the Brazilian mining company which is the world’s largest producer of iron ore.  Including the Vale Brazil, Vale has 19 of these Very Large Ore Carriers (VLOC) in service or under construction at shipyards in Korea and China.
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Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Royal Barge Design Unveiled

Posted on by December 12, 2011

The first images of the design of the royal barge that will carry the Queen of England down the Thames during her Diamond Jubilee celebrations next year have been published. With no disrespect implied to the Queen, I am a bit disappointed. At first glance the design appears to be a tarted-up excursion boat. On second glance, that is exactly what it is. Apparently the high-end Thames excursion boat, the Spirit of Chartwell, has been donated for the purpose and is getting a royal makeover with a new color scheme, drapes and lots of gold leaf and bric-a-brac.

Queen’s Diamond Jubilee royal barge design unveiled
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The Gundalow Piscataqua Splashes into the Piscataqua River

Posted on by December 11, 2011

For over 200 years, gundalows – sail and oar powered cargo barges – moved on the winds and tides of the rivers and estuaries along the New England coast.  Yesterday, the brand new gundalow, Piscataqua, splashed into the the Piscataqua River off Peirce Island, in Portsmouth, New Hampshire.  The new gundlow was built by the Gundlow Company, a nonprofit organization founded in 2002 to acquire ownership of an existing gundalow — the Captain Edward H. Adams, built in 1982 and named in honor of the builder and captain of the last commercial gundalow.  The Captain Edward H. Adams was not licensed to carry passengers, so the gundalow Piscataqua was built, which is Coast Guard certified to carry 49 passengers.  The Gudalow Company plans a variety of sailing programs to help educate students and adults in the maritime heritage of the region while also focusing on contemporary coastal issues such as water quality, habitat restoration, conservation, and stewardship.

Launch of New Gundalow Piscataqua

Cutty Sark’s Masts Rise Again

Posted on by December 11, 2011

After being gutted by fire in 2007, the 1869 composite tea clipper Cutty Sark has been undergoing a methodical reconstruction.  She reached a milestone recently when her foremast was restepped in the ship.  The main and mizzen masts are expected to be stepped this weekend. The Cutty Sark is a composite ship in that she has wooden planking but iron frames and keel.  Ironically, the ship was almost destroyed during a restoration project when an industrial vacuum cleaner caught fire. The Cutty Sark will be officially reopened by the Queen in late April.  Thanks to Alaric Bond for passing the news along.

Cutty Sark in Greenwich has restored masts raised

Cutty Sark’s masts raised (Youtube video)

ROV Training on the Tanker Mary A. Whalen

Posted on by December 11, 2011

Yesterday we posted about the New York Police Department Harbor Unit’s use of ROVs to maintain security in the harbot.  We had missed an amusing post by Portside New York‘s Carolina Salguero on NPYD security training on the MARY A. WHALEN.  From her post:

The NYPD trained officers on how to use the new cameras on the MARY A. WHALEN during May of 2007.

An NYPD boat came along side, and an officer in sunglasses skipped over introductions and said “can we look at your bottom with an underwater camera?” 

I said, “I don’t show my bottom to just any guy… who’s asking?” 

Without the hint of a laugh, Detective Keith Duval handed over a card and said he was with the Counter Terrorism Division. 
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Videorays – the Submarine Drones of New York Harbor

Posted on by December 9, 2011

New York harbor was the sight of the first use of a submersible in combat.  On September 6, 1776, Eza Lee in command of the Turtle, a one man submersible designed by David Bushnell, attempted and failed to sink Admiral Richard Howe’s flagship HMS Eagle.   Today, modern submersibles are watching out for new underwater threats in the harbor.

The New York Police Department Harbor Unit now has at least six unmanned submersible drones, remote-operated vehicles, or R.O.Vs, to search the harborside and hulls of ships for explosives, weapons or narcotics.   The mission of the Harbor Unit has increasingly shifted to counter-terrorism and the drones have provided a new set of eyes to search for threats below the tide line.

Underwater Drones Giving More Eyes to Police Harbor Unit as Searches Grow
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Maxi Banque Populaire V Screaming Past Cape Leeuwin in Quest for Jules Verne Trophy

Posted on by December 10, 2011

Last February the crew of  the  130′ long by 120′ wide maxi-trimaran Banque Populaire V was forced to give up their attempt to the win the Jules Verne trophy for the fastest circumnavigation by sail when the trimaran struck an “unidentified floating object” while traveling at 37 knots, severely damaging a dagger board. On November 22,  2011, the Banque Populaire V set out again and has had much better fortune.   After only 18 days, the big tri has sailed past Spain, down the South Atlantic, around the Cape of Good Hope, across the Indian Ocean and now has cross the longitude of Cape Leeuwin, Australia.  They are currently almost four days and 2000 miles ahead of the position of the current record holder, the French trimaran Groupama 3,

Maxi-Trimaran Banque Populaire V
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HMS OCEAN – All I Want For Christmas

Posted on by December 9, 2011

HMS Ocean, a  Royal Navy amphibious assault ship, had planned for a seven week deployment but was diverted to Libya and  ended up being away for 225 days with 176 at sea. When they received word that they would be back in time for Christmas, they made this video of a Mariah Carey song.

All I Want For Christmas – HMS OCEAN


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Of Waves and Whales – Whaling and the Tsunami

Posted on by December 9, 2011

Within hours of the tsunami that struck northern Japan last March, the internet was abuzz with the somewhat bizarre suggestion that the earthquake and wave which followed might be some sort of cosmic retribution for Japanese whaling.  Regardless of what one thinks of that suggestion, the Japanese whaling industry was hard hit by the tsunami.  Several  villages, for which whaling had traditionally been their major industry, were virtually wiped out.  Japanese Town Mulls Future Without Whaling Industry

Nevertheless, the Japanese intend to continue what they refer to as “research whaling.”  This year, they plan on harvesting up to 900 whales, primarily minkes, which are not endangered.  The announcement that the government of Japan is providing the whalers with 2.28 billion yen ($37.6 million) from funds set aside for tsunami recovery has led to protests, within Japan and internationally.   Japan uses disaster funds for whaling
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Commander Etta Jones Found Guilty of Cruelty and Other Charges

Posted on by December 8, 2011

Last April, Commander Etta Jones was relieved of duty as captain of the amphibious transport dock ship USS Ponce. The Ponce‘s executive officer, Lt. Cmdr. Kurt Boenisch, was also relieved. A Navy report examining allegations made against Commander Jones substantiated the charges. She was found to be verbally abusive, to have given preferential treatment to female officers, and to have allowed hazing aboard ship, among other charges.  The full report can be found here.
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