Captain Wanted for 172 Year Old Whaling Ship, Charles W. Morgan – No Captain Ahabs Need Apply

Posted on by September 6, 2013

morgan1Mystic Seaport is looking for a new captain for the newly rebuilt whaling ship, Charles W. Morgan. The whaler first sailed in 1841 and is scheduled to undertake a  three month voyage next summer.  The captain must have a 500-ton Near Coastal Master license and have 10 years of command experience on traditional sailing vessels with extensive knowledge in square-rig sailing.

Additionally, he or she must have skills in managing people and the press, as the sailing of the historic ship is expected to attract considerable attention.  Dana Hewson, the museum’s vice president for Watercraft Preservation and Programs, said of potential candidates for the job, “They have to be absolutely qualified to manage this artifact, which has national and international importance. They also have to embrace the role of the public nature of this endeavor.”  No Captain Ahabs need apply.

Wanted: captain for 172-year-old whaleship

Toshiba Tall Ships Festival at Dana Point

Posted on by September 5, 2013

danapointfestivalThe Ocean Institute is celebrating its 29th year hosting the Toshiba Tall Ships Festival at Dana Point, CA.  The festival kicks off with a tall ships parade at sunset tomorrow, September 6th with festivities continuing through the weekend.  Participating ships include the brig Pilgrim, the topsail schooner Spirit of Dana Point, the twin brigantines Irving Johnson and Exy Johnson, the three masted schooner American Pride, the topsail schooner Californian, the schooner Curlew, and the gaff-topsail schooner Bill of Rights.  There will be music, food, arts and crafts, ship tours, historical reenactments and battle cruises. Click here to learn more.

Tugs, Tugs and More Tugs – Photos from the Race and the Waterford Tugboat Roundup

Posted on by September 5, 2013

bryensousiefinalversionthumbThese are good times for tug boat fanatics in the North East.  On Labor Day, there was the running of the 21st Annual Great North River Tug Boat Race on the Hudson River in New York City, sponsored by the Working Harbor Committee and beginning tomorrow and continuing through the weekend is the 2013 Waterford Tugboat Roundup, at One Tugboat Alley in Waterford, New York, near Albany.

If you missed the Labor Day race, there are lots of great photos and video of the event.  Will, over at the Tugster blog, has a great assortment of photos. See here, here and here. So does John Skelson and the Working Harbor Committee blog.

The Waterford Tugboat Roundup is a festival of food, music, historical tours, tugboat tours, crafts, and Saturday fireworks. There will be tugboat parades and competitions including line tossing and Nose to Nose Push-off, where the skill of the captains, the strength of the boat and the power of the engines are put to the test.

Australian Salt Water Crocodiles – Kayaker Trapped on Remote Island & Swimmer Who Wasn’t As Lucky

Posted on by August 19, 2014

croc2Saltwater crocodiles are close enough to living, breathing, terrifying sea monsters. Capable of growing to over 20 feet long and weighing a tonne, they are the the largest of all living reptiles and the largest riparian predator in the world.  Saltwater crocodiles were in the news recently in recent stories from Australia.  The first was frightening, but ended well, while the second was tragic.

Ryan Blair, a kayaker from New Zealand, was dropped off by boat on the remote Governor Island in Northern Australia off the Timor Sea.  When Blair attempted to paddle the three miles back to the mainland, he was intercepted by a 20 foot long crocodile. He managed to paddle back to the island but found himself trapped as every time he attempted to leave, the crocodile returned.  After two weeks, Blair was finally rescued when he was spotted by boatman Don MacLeod from the small nearby town of Kalumburu. MacLeod said the crocodile was “very, very, very large,” one of the biggest he’d seen in the area.

‘Very, very, very large’ crocodile traps tourist for two weeks on Australian island 

Sean Cole, 26, was not so lucky. While at a birthday party on the Mary River, about 65 miles from Darwin in Australia’s Northern Territory, he ignored signs to stay out of the water. Cole and another man swam across the river. On their way back, Cole was was attacked by a crocodile. Sometime later, the police recovered his body.

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Gloucester Schooner Festival and Great Provincetown Schooner Regatta 2013

Posted on by September 3, 2013

Another year and I still did not manage to get up to Gloucester for the Schooner Festival and Race. Oh well. Maybe next year I’ll drag my catboat up for the catboat races.  Congratulations to all the captains and crews who competed in the Mayor’s Cup with special congratulations to Captain John Foss on American Eagle,  Captain Matt Suphin on Tyrone, and Captains Russ & Heidi Mead on Tillicum 1, winners of the Esperato Cup, the Ned Cameron Cup and the Betty Ramsey Plate, respectively.

This morning was the start of the Fisherman’s Cup Race from Gloucester to Provincetown, which kicks off the Great Provincetown Schooner Regatta, which begins today and runs through Friday.  Click her for a schedule of events.

A beautiful evocation of this year’s parade of sail in Gloucester by Marty Luster.

Parade of Sail

Diane Nyad – First Person to Swim from Cuba to Florida, 110 Miles, Without a Shark Cage

Posted on by September 2, 2013

AP-Cuba-Swimming-to-FloridaDiana Nyad has succeeded in swimming the 110 miles from Cuba to Key West, FL, across the Straits of Florida.  She is the first person ever to do so without a shark cage.  The swim took 53 hours and she emerged from the water on a Key West beach at 2PM, dazed, sunburned and swollen.  Her message to her waiting supporters was to never give up.  Ms. Nyad is 64 years old and this is her fifth attempt to swim the passage. Prior attempts were thwarted by winds and currents, mechanical failure on support boats and by severe jellyfish stings.

Diana Nyad Nearing 5 Mile Countdown to Key West in Epic Cuba-to-Florida Swim

Posted on by September 2, 2013

diana-portraitDiana Nyad is nearing the five mile countdown to Key West on her epic 112 statute mile swim from Cuba to Florida. If she completes the swim, she will be the first person to swim from Cuba to Florida without a cage, wet suit or flippers.  Nyad is 64 years old.  This is her fifth attempt to swim across the Florida Straits.  The last several attempts have been thwarted by jellyfish stings to her face and mouth.  In this attempt, Nyad is using a special mask to prevent jellyfish stings to her tongue — a key factor in her failed attempt in August 2012.

John Bartlett, Nyad’s navigator, who has been on the escort boat Voyager throughout the swim, comments “Diana has stopped numerous times to tread water trying to restore herself….The greatest variable here is the extension of human endurance; how long will it take her to make those last 100 strokes at the end, and all the ones from here to then?”

The last miles could be the most difficult.  Dr. Kot, one of Diana’s two team doctors, reported this morning at around 7:30 AM that Diana’s tongue and lips are swollen causing her speech to be slurred. He and Dr. Covington are concerned about Diana’s airways, but did not intervene.

Diana has said this is her final attempt. She posted on her website that she wants to prove “it’s never too late to chase your dream.”

See our previous posts about Diana Nyad’s prior attempts at completing this epic swim.

Failed Attack on Container Ship Cosco Asia in the Suez Canal

Posted on by September 1, 2013

COSCO_ASIAThere are reports of an unsuccessful attack on the Cosco Asia, a 10,000 TEU container ship, which was transiting the Suez on Saturday night. As reported by the BBC: Canal authority head Mohab Mamish said a “terrorist element” targeted a Panama-flagged vessel on Saturday, but it was undamaged. There were reports of two blasts, but details of the attack are unclear… The unconfirmed reports said there were two explosions at 12:30 GMT on Saturday as the ship, Cosco Asia, passed through the waterway.

Under Fire in Libya – the Continuing Saga of the Ore/Oiler “A Whale”

Posted on by August 31, 2013

The strange saga of “A Whale” continues. The ship is reported to have recently come under fire by a Libyan Navy patrol boat, as it attempted to enter the Es Sider terminal in Northern Libya, apparently without clearance. The ship turned away from the port and no significant damage was reported.  Libya has warned that it will attack and destroy any tanker illegally exporting oil, which the defense forces believe the charterers of “A Whale” were attempting to do.  This is only the most recent mis-adventure for this misbegotten ship.

In July we posted, The Sorry Saga of the Ore/Oiler A Whale – From Miracle Skimmer to Bankruptcy & Abandoned Sailors. It is an odd tale about “A Whale” a 319,000 DWT Ore/Oiler which arrived on the Gulf Coast during the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in 2010. Its owners claimed that it was the world’s largest and highest tech oil skimmer. On testing however, it didn’t actually skim any oil, so it was sailed away. We next heard of “A Whale” a few months ago when it was reported that its now bankrupt owner, the TMT Group, had abandoned the crew without pay, food or water.  Subsequently, it was reported that the crew was paid and fed.  We can only hope that the owners of “A Whale” find her paying cargo and otherwise keep her out of trouble in the future.

Libyan Forces Alleged to Have Fired at Oil Tanker

Labor Day Festivities – Festival of Sail in San Diego and 21st Annual Great North River Tug Boat Race and Competition in New York

Posted on by August 30, 2013

Great activities on the water, on both coasts, this Labor Day weekend. In San Diego, the annual Festival of Sail began yesterday with a Parade of Sail and continues through Monday with lots of great activities. as described by San Diego Magazine, “Festival of Sail is the LARGEST Tall Ship festival on the west coast and is hosted at the Maritime Museum of San Diego, transforming the North Embarcadero into a nautical theme park for 4 adventure filled days.” Click here to learn more.

On the banks of the Hudson River in New York City, the Working Harbor Committee is sponsoring the 21st Annual Great North River Tug Boat Race and Competition on Labor Day, September 2.   A Parade of Tugs passes by Pier 84 at 10:00 AM with the race starting at 10:30.  Click here to learn more.

Dick Newick – Revolutionary Multihull Designer

Posted on by August 30, 2013

Dick Newick, the brilliant multihull designer, has died at 87.  His designs, particularly his trimarans,  revolutionized the world of multihull sailing.  His designs are remarkably graceful, simple, light and astonishingly fast.  In a very real sense, the history of multihull design can be divided into Before-Newick and After-Newick. Before-Newick, trimarans were ugly and boxy. Newick’s designs, when they first arrived in the 70s and 80s, seemed almost other-worldly, with sweeping lines and amas that rested lightly on the water.

The first Newick design to catch the world’s attention was not a trimaran but a proa.  Newick designed Cheers, for  Tom Follett who placed third in the Observers Single-handed Trans-Atlantic Race (OSTAR) of 1968, the first multihull to place in the race. Soon Newick designed trimarans were winning ocean races around the world.   In 1980 Phil Weld sailed, Moxie, a Newick designed trimaran to win OSTAR, the first American ever to do so. Weld set a new race record of 17 days 23 hours and 12 minutes.

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29th Annual Gloucester Schooner Festival – Labor Day Weekend August 30 to September 1, 2013

Posted on by August 29, 2013

Photo: Doug Mangum

The 29th Annual Gloucester Schooner Festival, in all its glory, is being held again over Labor Day weekend with waterfront tours, public lobster bakes, fireworks, and of course, many lovely schooners. Sunday begins with a parade of sail before the beginning of the start of Mayor’s Race for the Esperanto Cup, Ned Cameron Trophy and Betty Ramsey Trophy off Eastern Point. Click here to learn more.