No. 18 Kyotoku-maru – the Ghost Ship of Kesennuma

Posted on by March 23, 2011

“The newest landmark in the tsunami-stricken city of Kesennuma.”

Ghost ship haunts tsunami-hit Japanese city

The newest landmark in the tsunami-stricken city of Kesennuma is a massive fishing trawler that was swept up at sea and came to rest on one of the main roads to City Hall. The No. 18 Kyotoku-maru ship, with a red and blue hull and a “safety first” slogan painted just above its bridge, looms over a landscape of homes and business splintered by the March 11 tsunami and then set ablaze in an ensuing fire.
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Sinking of the Yongala – March 23rd, 1911

Posted on by March 23, 2011

Today is the 100th anniversary of the tragic sinking of the passenger ship SS Yongala in a cyclone off Australia with the loss of 122 lives.

Yongala Centenary Expedition

CAIRNS tourism pioneer Charles Woodward is today heading for the shipwreck that claimed the life of his great grandmother Mary – and all her fellow passengers – exactly a century ago.
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Tallship Soren Larsen – New Zealand March 2011

Posted on by March 23, 2011

The calendar says that Spring is here on the banks of the Hudson River, but it is nevertheless snowing outside.  On mornings like this it is good to be reminded of warm seas and white sails. The good folks on the Soren Larsen recently posted a video that does just that.

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“Super Moon” Blamed for Five Groundings

Posted on by March 22, 2011

The Super Moon over Glastonbury Tor, Somerset

We posted a few days ago about Saturday’s “Super Full Moon” the first time in almost twenty years that full moon coincided with perigee, the passing of the moon’s orbit closest to the earth.   Now the “Super Moon” is being blamed for causing five ships to run aground.  We are a bit skeptical of the claims.

‘Blame it on the super moon!’ Five ships run aground off British coast as lunar phenomenon lowers tide
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Update: Bulker Olivia Still Leaking Oil, Threatening Bird Life on Nightingale Island

Posted on by March 22, 2011

Photo: Sean Burns

Last Wednesday the bulk carrier MV Olivia ran aground on Nightingale Island in the Tristan da Cuhna archipelago in the South Atlantic.  See our previous post. By Friday, she had broken up in heavy seas with 1,500 tonnes of heavy fuel oil in her bunker tanks.   The spilled oil is threatening wildlife, including nearly half of the world population of endangered Northern Rockhopper penguins.  There is also serious concern that if the vessel was harboring rats that they could be an even greater threat to land birds on previously rodent-free island.  Poison and bait stations are being sent to the island.

Oil still leaking from the Oliva at Tristan’s Nightingale Island

Return of Seals to New York Harbor and the Unexpected Migration of Harp Seals

Posted on by March 22, 2011

Photo: Janet Jordon

When I first came to New York  thirty five years ago, the closest thing to wildlife in the waters of the harbor were what we referred to as “Hudson River trout” – condoms that had been flushed through the New York sewer system into the river,  that seemed to swim in and out with the tides.  Fortunately things have changed considerably since then.  Last April we posted about a harbor seal which chose to sunbathe in the Hudson River on the remains of an old Jersey City dock, directly across from Manhattan.  For over a hundred years there had been no seals in New York harbor until in 2006 when they began to return.  This year there is a colony of seals  on Swinburne Island,  just outside the mouth of the inner harbor. Seal watching boats have been running every weekend.  Seal watching season ends in New York by about the end of April when most seals migrate north.
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Lecture on Modern Piracy at the New Bedford Whaling Museum

Posted on by March 21, 2011

A very interesting presentation at the New Bedford Whaling Museum on Tuesday evening for those in the area.

Commander Andrew J. Norris, USCG, will examine modern piracy in the next Sailors’ Series lecture on Tuesday, March 22 at 7:30 p.m. in the Cook Memorial Theater, New Bedford Whaling Museum.
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On this day in History – the Birth of the Dutch East India Company

Posted on by March 21, 2011

On March 20th, 1602 the Vereenigde Oost-Indische Compagnie, the VOC, or in English, the United Dutch East India Company was established as a chartered company.   It would dominate European trade with Asia for almost 200 years.

Dutch East India Company
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Claude Choules – Last World War I Combat Veteran Celebrates 110th Birthday

Posted on by March 21, 2011

Claude Choules, the last surviving combat veteran of World War I celebrated his 110th birthday with family and friends in Perth earlier this month.   Though he served in two World Wars, the first in the Royal Navy and the second in the Australian Navy, he hated war according to his son, who said that he only marched in Anzac Day parades when he was ordered to.

Claude Choules, last World War I veteran ‘hated war,’ says son

He’s the last known male survivor of more than 70 million military personnel during WWI, after American veteran Frank Buckles passed away on Sunday also aged 110.
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Relaunching of the Thames Sailing Barge Cambria

Posted on by March 20, 2011

Last November, we posted about the rebuilding of the last commercial Thames sailing barge, Cambria. The reconstruction is nearing its completion. Tomorrow, Monday 21st March, 2011, the Cambria will be relaunched into Faversham Creek, and move downstream to Iron Wharf to complete fitting-out.

CAMBRIA News: Today is the our day
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Rum’s in the family – Ipswich distillery inspired by privateer ancestor

Posted on by March 20, 2011

Photo: Mark Teiwes

We can only wish them the best of luck and look forward to trying their rum.

Rum’s in the family – Ipswich distillery inspired by privateer ancestor

It seems Andrew Cabot has inherited not only his name, but some business sense and a taste for rum from his ancestor.
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Bulker MV Oliva Breaking-up on Nightingale Island, Tristan da Cunha

Posted on by March 7, 2019

The Greek-owned 75,000 tonne bulk carrier, MV Oliva ran aground  on March 16th at 04.30, at Spinners Point, on the far north-west promontory of Nightingale Island, a 4 square kilometer island in the Tristan da Cunha archipelago in the South Atlantic.   The crew of 22 have been taken to safety on Tristan da Cuhna.   As of Friday, it was reported that the MV Oliva was breaking up and that all or part of  part of her 1,500 tonnes of heavy fuel oil was spilling into the water around Nightingale Island.   The MV Oliva was in transit from Santos, Brazil to Singapore with a cargo of soybeans.   A salvage tug is on its way from Cape Town and is expected to arrive at Nightingale on the 21st.

Tristan da Cunha is the most remote inhabited archipelago in the world, lying 2,816 kilometres (1,750 mi) from the nearest land, South Africa, and 3,360 kilometres (2,088 mi) from South America.  There is considerable concern about the environmental and economic impact of the grounding.
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Super Full Moon!

Posted on by March 19, 2011

Tonight the moon will rise larger and brighter than it has in almost twenty years.   It will be a super “perigee moon” when the appearance of the full moon coincides with the passing of the moon closest to the earth.

Super Moon

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Artist Required for The Tall Ships Races 2011 onboard Gaff Ketch Swan

Posted on by March 19, 2011

This sounds like a wonderful gig for the right artist.

Artist required for The Tall Ships Races 2011 onboard Swan

In a first for The Tall Ships Races, the former herring drifter Swan will host an artist in residence for the whole of The Tall Ships Races 2011. In a project called, ‘LK 243 Undersail’, the Swan Trust with partners, Shetland Arts and Taigh Chearsabhagh Arts Centre, North Uist has received funding from Creative Scotland and Scotland’s Islands Fund. The project will focus on Swan, its crew, the host ports and the people involved in The Tall Ships Races 2011.
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Shipwreck Furniture

Posted on by March 18, 2011

Just reading in Treehugger about Nic Kruger, a furniture designer, in Knysna, South Africa, who runs Shipwreck Furniture, which makes  tables, benches and shelves from timber recovered from shipwrecked boats.  Very interesting stuff.   Not sure that it goes with the decor in my house.  Then again, most of the time, my office looks a bit like a shipwreck, so who knows.    To check out their portfolio of furniture click here.

 

Interview with a Multi-millionaire Pirate

Posted on by March 18, 2011

The son of a fisherman, who moved on to selling khat, Saeed Yare became a pirate only two years ago and  “earned” over $2.4 million in 2010 in ransom of ships and crews.  It is estimated that piracy is inflicting a $12-billion toll on the global economy.

Somali pirate: I made $2.4 mln from ransoms in 2010
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Happy Maewyn Succat’s Day

Posted on by March 17, 2011

Maewyn Succat

We have been posting a lot about piracy and kidnapping recently.  Today is a reminder about how little things change over the centuries.  Somewhere around the year 400 AD, a lad of 16, named Maewyn Succat, was kidnapped by pirates from his home in Britain and was taken as a slave to Ireland.  He was a slave for six years, during which time he converted to Christianity.   He finally escaped and returned to his family in England.  He  became a priest and studied at a seminary in France.   When he was almost 60, he returned to Ireland.  By then Pope Celestine I had given him the name “Patercius” or “Patritius.”    We know him better these days as Patrick.   He did alright in Ireland.   He founded over three hundred churches and apparently had a way with snakes.   Today is his feast day.  Happy St. Patrick’s Day to all.

Tom Hanks to Play Captain Richard Phillips in Maersk Alabama Hijacking Movie

Posted on by March 17, 2011

It is being reported that Tom Hanks will play Captain Richard Phillips in a new movie about the attempted hijacking of the Maersk Alabama by Somali pirates in 2009.    The movie, based on Phillip’s book , A Captain’s Duty: Somali Pirates, Navy SEALS, and Dangerous Days at Sea, is being produced by Kevin Spacey and the team from “The Social Network.”

Tom Hanks to play heroic captain Richard Phillips

 

 

Update: Wisdom, the Albatross, Survives Tsunami

Posted on by March 17, 2011

Last week we posted about a Laysan albatross, nicknamed Wisdom, who, at at least 60, is the oldest known wild bird and who also recently became a mother again, delivering a healthy chick.   The BBC has now reported that while the tsunami killed thousands of albatrosses and other endangered species at a wildlife sanctuary north-west of Hawaii,  Wisdom was among the survivors.  Perhaps that shouldn’t be too surprising.  She is one tough old bird.

Japan tsunami: Thousands of seabirds killed near Hawaii