18′ Oar Fish Found Off Catalina Island

Posted on by October 16, 2013
tolemour

Photo:Catalina Island Marine Institute

Oar fish are real “sea serpents.”  They can grow to be 50′ long and are the longest bony fish in the world.  As they live in deep water, they are rarely seen on the surface. Nevertheless, over the weekend, Jasmine Santana, a marine science instructor at the Catalina Island Marine Institute, found an 18’dead oar fish while snorkeling off the California coast.  With the help of 15 or 20 of the crew of sailing school vessel Tole Mour and institute instructors she carried the rare fish to shore.

18-foot-long oarfish found off California coast

“We’ve never seen a fish this big,” said Mark Waddington, senior captain of the Tole Mour, CIMI’s sail training ship. “The last oarfish we saw was three feet long.”

Gallipoli Veteran, HMS M33, to be Restored in Time for 100th Anniversary

Posted on by October 16, 2013

HMS_Monitor_M33Monitor HMS M33, only surviving warship from the Gallipoli campaign of World War I, has received £1.79m from the UK’s Heritage Lottery Fund to allow the ship to be restored in time for the 100th anniversary of the campaign.

GALLIPOLI VETERAN WARSHIP HMS M33 TO BE RESTORED IN TIME FOR CENTENARY

Monitor HMS M33 once shelled Turkish positions in the Dardanelles during the ill-fated campaign to advance up the peninsula, seize Constantinople and knock the Ottoman Empire out of World War 1.

Continue reading →

JEROS, Terminator Robots Shred Jellyfish Hordes with Rotating Blades of Death

Posted on by October 13, 2013

This sounds like the title of a made-for-TV movie from the SyFy channel.  JEROS, Jellyfish Elimination Robotic Swarm, are jellyfish-shredding semi-autonomous robots designed by Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) to round up jellyfish in nets and shred thousands per hour.  We recently posted about a Swedish nuclear power plant that had been shut down by a swarm of moon jellyfish.  JEROS could be the first line of defense against a jellyfish horde. Then again, depending on the jellies, it could make matters worse.

These Robots Hunt Jellyfish–And Then Liquify Them With Rotating Blades Of Death

Continue reading →

A Straight Line on a Spherical Earth – 20,000 Mile Great Circe Route

Posted on by October 12, 2013

rQlk4How far can you sail in a straight line without hitting land?  The answer appears to be an almost 20,000 mile voyage from Pakistan to the Kamchatka Peninsula in Russia.  The red line on the map, above, shows the voyage. 

OK, so the red line looks anything but straight. Nevertheless, it is a straight line as projected on a flat map.  The earth is anything but flat. Check out the video below to see the line projected on a spherical earth.  What we are seeing is a great circle route between Pakistan to the Kamchatka Peninsula in Russia, which happens to stay clear of land.  A great circle is an arc representing the shortest distance between two points anywhere on the Earth’s surface. Thanks to Patrick Anderson for uploading the video.

A straight line without hitting land from Pakistan to Russia

Second Migrant Boat in a Week Capsizes Near Lampedusa, 221 Rescued, at Least 27 Dead

Posted on by October 11, 2013

map-lampedusa-italyFor the second time in roughly a week, a smuggler’s boat overloaded with migrants from Africa has capsized in the Mediterranean off Sicily, near the island of Lampedusa.  At least 27 died, but 221 were rescued from the water.  The boat capsized 65 miles (105 kilometers) southeast of Lampedusa.

As we posted last Friday, another migrant boat sank last week in which 155 survived. The death toll from the previous sinking has risen to 232 with more than a hundred still missing.  An estimated 6,500 have died off Sicily attempting to flee from Africa between 2004 and 2013. Thanks to Alaric Bond for contributing to the post.

Another Migrant Ship Capsizes off Italy; 27 Dead

AC72 and the Evolution of the America’s Cup

Posted on by October 11, 2013

ac72For anyone in the New York Area I will be speaking at the New York Shiplore and Model-makers Club on Tuesday night at 7:30 PM on the “AC72 and the Evolution of the America’s Cup.” The AC72 catamarans which raced in the recent competition have been described as more flying machines than sailboats.  I will be examining how we got from the schooner yacht America of 1851 to the screaming AC72s of today, looking at the teams, the scandals, the upsets, and the technology that made this last America’s Cup so riveting.  It should be a fun evening.  If you are nearby on Tuesday, be sure to stop by  79 Walker Street, 5th floor — at 7:30 pm.

RN Officer Denies Steering Yacht Too Close to Tanker — Really?

Posted on by October 10, 2013

Two years ago during Cowes Race Week, the skipper of a 33′ sailboat cut across the bow of the 120,000 dwt tanker, Hanne Knutson, traveling down channel.  It did not end well. The boat was dismasted. Fortunately, no one died, though one of the crew on the sailboat suffered a head injury in the collision.

The case is now in court where the skipper of the sailboat, a Royal Navy lieutenant, Roland Wilson, 32, of Stanley, Perthshire is charged with violating maritime regulations including failing to comply with a “moving prohibited zone” of 1,000m (0.6 miles) in front and 100m (328ft) either side of a vessel greater than 150m (492ft). The Hanne Knutson is 260m (853ft) long. Lt. Wilson denies all charges. Unfortunately for the lieutenant, the collision was caught on video. Take a look and see if you think that the Royal Navy officer maintained a proper distance from the ship.

Cowes Week yacht crash skipper ‘too close’ to tanker

Yacht hit by tanker off Cowes, Isle of Wight

By Boat & Bicycle — Angus Expedition Rowboat with Bicycle & Trailer Aboard

Posted on by October 9, 2013

expeditionrowboatWe recently posted Pedaling on the Water which featured various versions of frames with inflatable pontoons on which one could bolt a bicycle and pedal across the water.   I recently came across a very different take on traveling by boat and bicycle. The Angus Expedition rowboat has enough capacity to allow the rower to carry along a full sized bicycle and a break-apart boat trailer. I love the idea of of pedaling to the water with a  boat in tow, rowing across a wide river or bay and then pedaling off on the other side.  Julie and Colin Angus towed their Expedition rowboats behind bicycles for over 3,000 km across Europe.  The Expedition rowboat can also be loaded with supplies for making long passages. Julie and Colin rowed these boats 7,000 km from Scotland to Syria.  The video, below, shows how it is done.  The Expedition rowboat and other boats Angus boats are available as kits.

Continue reading →

American Eagle For Sale — An Appreciation of a Classic Schooner

Posted on by October 8, 2013

American-Eagle-sailing-in-MThe schooner American Eagle is for sale.  I have long been an admirer of the  American Eagle from afar.   She was the the last fishing schooner built in Gloucester in 1930. After a long career, the old and tired fishing vessel was purchased by Captain John Foss in 1983, who spent two years rebuilding her and who put her in the cruise trade, where she has been delighting guests ever since.  In addition to being beautiful, she is also very fast.  The American Eagle has won the Esperanto Cup at the Annual Gloucester Schooner Festival an amazing ten times since 1986, winning the last two years straight.

Continue reading →

Happy World Octopus Day ! The Marvelous Mind of an Octopus

Posted on by October 8, 2013

According to the folks at the National Aquarium, today is the tenth annual celebration of World Octopus Day.  Strange that I didn’t have it marked on my calendar.  In honor of this auspicious eight-legged holiday we are reposting a a rather amazing video from from a website called “everybody loves cephalopods.”  (I know that I do, usually lightly fried.)  I have to admit that after watching this excerpt from a 30 minute presentation by Maggie Koerth-Baker that I am indeed fascinated by octopus brains.  Definitely worth a look.

Octopus Brains

A New Plan to Save the USS Olympia

Posted on by October 8, 2013

John F. Lehman and Christopher M. Lehman have a new plan to save the historic but endangered USS Olympia in Philadelphia.  John John F. Lehman served as secretary of the Navy and Christopher M. Lehman served as special assistant for national security affairs in the Reagan administration.  Rather than attempting to find a new home for the ship, they are suggesting permanently drydocking her in the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard, historic Dry Dock No.1.

Continue reading →

Vermont Sail Freight Project’s Ceres Setting Sail

Posted on by October 5, 2013

vermontceresIn April, we posted about the Vermont Sail Freight Project, a plan to build a sailing cargo barge to carry non-perishable produce down Lake Champlain to the Hudson River and onward to markets along the river and in New York City.  They were attempting to raise $15,000 to complete the barge, which was already under construction.  They succeeded in raising $16,754 and now, only six months later,  the sailing barge Ceres is about to set off on her first 330-mile journey downriver. She will be carrying produce from 30 different farms and will be making stops at historic river towns along the way, selling goods at “pop-up” markets along the riverside.  She is expected to arrive in New York harbor toward the end of the month and will be calling at the Navy Yard and South Street Seaport.  Click here to learn more.

Floating farmers market to revive historic trade route

Continue reading →

Pedaling on the Water – BayCycle, Shuttle-Bike, Akwakat, Hobie Mirage and More

Posted on by October 5, 2013

Recently, a young designer, Judah Schiller, generated considerable attention by riding his bike first across San Francisco Bay and then across the Hudson River in New York City.  He didn’t sink during either trip because his bike was clamped to a frame and two inflatable pontoon hulls.  His design is called BayCycle and the project is currently seeking funding on Indiegogo.

BayCycle

BayCycle may be the first amphibious cycle to pedal across San Francisco Bay and the Hudson River, but it is not the first bike to the boat show.   Continue reading →

An All Too Familiar Tragedy — At Least 130 Dead and 200 Missing Off Lampedusa

Posted on by October 4, 2013

lampedusaAt least 130 African refugees have died and 200 are still missing after an overloaded boat caught fire and sank off the Italian island of Lampedusa. More than 150 of the migrants have been rescued. Most of those on board were from Eritrea and Somalia, said the UN.

Italy boat sinking: Hundreds feared dead off Lampedusa

Sadly, this is only the latest such tragedy. In April of 2011 we posted about another overloaded boat bound for Lampedusa which sank with the loss of at least 130 dead  and 250  missing.  Lampedusa is an Italian island in the Mediterranean between Sicily and North Africa.  It has become a major transit point for immigrants from Africa, the Middle East and Asia wanting to enter Europe.  Overloaded boats bound for Lampedusa have been sinking with significant loss of life for years. Time magazine describes Lampedusa as “the Italian Island Thousands Are Dying to Reach.”

Continue reading →