A fascinating video about the legacy of shipbuilders of Essex, Massachussets being carried on by the Essex Historical Society and Shipbuilding Museum. Thanks to Peter Lane for pointing it out. See also our previous posts, The Shipbuilders of Essex and Launching the Schooner Ardelle – Essex Side Launch.
Upper Block 07
Remember when ships were built from the keel up and launched by sliding down the building ways into the water with a satisfying splash? OK, maybe I am showing my age. These days ships are built like LEGOs, massive LEGOs, of course, but still large blocks to be welded together to finally float gently for the first time in a drydock. The massive blocks don’t have to even be built in the same place.
This came to mind on seeing that the last structural block for the Royal Navy’s new aircraft carrier, HMS Queen Elizabeth, is being moved from the building yard to the assembly yard. The massive chunk of steel, piping and electronics is prosaically named, Upper Block 07, and contains the main bridge of the ship. The block will move by barge from the BAE Systems shipyard in Portsmouth, where it was fabricated, to the Rosyth Dockyard on the Firth of Forth in Scotland, for the final assembly with the rest of the ship. HMS Queen Elizabeth will be the first of the Royal Navy’s two new Queen Elizabeth-class aircraft carriers and is scheduled for sea trials in 2017 and flight trials in 2017. Thanks to Alaric Bond for passing along the news.
A powerful magnitude 8.0 earthquake off the Solomon Islands in the South Pacific triggered a tsunami of up to 5 feet high, damaging several villages and leaving several people missing, presumed dead. Five villages on Santa Cruz and neighboring islands were reported to have been struck, two or three of which were severely damaged. Thanks to Alaric Bond and Phil Leon for contributing to this post.
Earthquake and Tsunami Hits Solomon Islands
Perhaps the old adage, “be careful what you wish for” should be “be careful what you fish for.” That was the lesson learned recently by a group of marlin fisherman off the coast of Panama after their intended catch capsized their boat. Thanks to Phil Leon and Cynthia Drew for contributing to this post.
Giant Marlin Manages to Capsize a Fishing Boat Off the Coast of Panama
Marlin Sinks Fishing Boat? Vessel Capsizes After Hooking Huge Fish
In late January we posted about the “Shackleton Epic Expedition,” led by Australian Tim Jarvis, shoving off from Elephant Island in the lifeboat Alexandra Shackleton, in an attempt to reenact the incredible 1916 voyage of Ernest Shackleton and his six man crew in a decked-over lifeboat, across 800 miles of the Southern Ocean to South Georgia Island. On Sunday, Jarvis and his crew hauled the Alexandra Shackleton ashore on the beach at Peggotty Bluff, South Georgia Island, the same location where Shackleton and his men landed nearly 100 years ago. The reenactors will now attempt to climb mountainous ridge that runs the length of the island to reach the site of the whaling station where Shackleton sought help for his stranded expedition. Video of the landing after the jump.
Shackleton explorers reach landfall in expedition recreation
Acciona – Upside Down without a Keel
The high-tech canting keels on the Vendée Globe Open 60 racing sailboats continue to be problematic, at best. On Sunday, Javier Sanso’s boat, Acciona, capsized, when his keel broke off. Sanso was rescued today. Also today, Jean-Pierre Dick crossed the finish line despite having lost his keel toward the end of January. Dick was fortunate enough to avoid capsizing and sailed close to 1,000 NM without a keel to finish the race. Mike Golding currently in sixth place is also having keel problems. His keel has not broken off but the has lost a forward fairing causing his keel box to leak.
Capsize leaves Javier Sanso drifting in liferaft awaiting rescue in Vendée Globe
The 113 years old topsail schooner Kathleen and May, now berthed in Liverpool, may be on her way Asia, unless money can be raised from a local source to keep the retired merchant schooner in Great Britain. The schooner was the first ship to be listed on the National Historic Ships Register. There is currently a bid on the old ship by an unnamed Asian source for £ 2.3 million. The owner, Steve Clarke, has been forced to sell the schooner due to declining health.
Historic schooner could be ‘gone for good’
Kathleen and May ~ Wooden Hull Three Masted Top Sail Schooner
Photo: Brian DeForest
In November we posted about the Old Orchard Shoals Light, off Staten Island, NY, which was completely destroyed on October 30th by Hurricane Sandy. The 130-year-old Robbins Reef Lighthouse, on the other side of the island survived the storm, but still suffered significant damage. As reported by the Staten Island Advance: The back door of the 46-feet-tall “sparkplug” or “bug light” was blown in and the door frame and moldings were lost. Several feet of seawater sloshed into the first floor, destroying tools and other material; railings were bent and heavy granite paving stones were shifted. The Noble Maritime Collection, which acquired the unmanned lighthouse in 2011, is seeking help to raise around $20,000 to repair the lighthouse.
More about the lighthouse from the Noble Maritime Collection:
In December of 2011, we posted about the Zapata Water-Jet Flyboard, a sort of personal jetpack connected to a powerful jet ski. Now, just over a year later, we learn that the Flyboard World Cup competition took place in Doha, Qatar on the third weekend of October attracting 50 competitors from 17 countries. it appears that a new fringe sport may be developing.
Emma Mærsk in Port Said 2/213
On Friday night, the Emma Mærsk, one of the world’s largest container ships, suffered flooding in the engine room and lost power as it was in the northern end of the Suez Canal. Tugs were dispatched and the 1,300 foot long 14,700 TEU container ship was safely towed to a berth in Port Said. Reports suggest that the flooding was caused by damage to a port side stern thruster. The ship is single screw with both bow and stern thrusters.
In December, Totem Ocean Transport Express (TOTE) ordered two new LNG powered container ships from NASSCO shipyard in San Diego. Late last month they also signed a contract with NASSCO to convert two existing roll-on/roll-off ships to LNG fuel. These ships will be the largest ships in the world powered primarily by Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG). The contracts raise the question – is LNG the fuel of the future for shipping?
For roughly the past hundred years, since shifting over from coal, most ships have burned “residual fuel.” Known by various names; 6 Oil, Bunker C, and heavy oil; it is dirty and cheap. Well, over the past few years, it has no longer been as cheap but it has gotten no cleaner. A few years ago, a headline appeared in US and international newspapers – “How 16 ships create as much pollution as all the cars in the world.” The headline was an overstatement but was accurate in at least one regard – residual fuel is very dirty and ships that burn residual fuel produce a lot of sulfur dioxide and particulate pollution.
In September, a 16 foot long 3,500-pound female great white shark was tagged by researchers off Cape Cod. The shark was nicknamed Mary Lee. Since then Ocearch, the group tracking the shark, have followed Mary Lee on a remarkable journey. The shark swam as far south as Jacksonville Beach, FL in January, causing some alarm as she swam within 200 feet of the beach. Now she has traveled north again and is heading back toward Cape Cod.
Ken Wilman, his dog Madge and their smelly find Photo:Manchester Evening News
There is some very interesting beachcombing going on these days in the UK. Two weeks ago, we posted about four large, barrel-shaped pieces of lard that washed up on the beach at St.Cyrus nature reserve in Scotland. Locals opined that it smelled “good enough to have a fry up with,” which convinced me never to try fried food in that part of Scotland. Now, Ken Wilman, who was out walking his dog on a beach in Lancashire, found a 6 pound smelly lump of what may be ambergris, the “whale vomit” valued in the manufacturing of perfume. He has been offered £43,000 for the lump by a French dealer, though others have valued it at between £100,000 – 180,000. Thanks to Irwin Bryan for passing the story along.
Dog walker finds smelly lump of whale vomit on beach that’s worth £100,000
New energy is coming to Fukushima, the region in Japan best known for a nuclear disaster following the Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami of 11 March 2011. The nuclear meltdown at the Fukushima Daiichi was largest nuclear disaster since the Chernobyl meltdown of 1986, and only the second to measure Level 7 on the International Nuclear Event Scale. Now, the world’s largest wind farm is set to begin construction this July, 16 kilometers off the coast of Fukushima. The offshore wind farm will comprise 143 wind turbines capable of generating 1 gigawatt of electrical power. The wind farm is part of Fukushima’s plan to become completely energy self-sufficient by 2040, using renewable sources alone. The prefecture also plans to build Japan’s largest solar energy park.
The Greater Gabbard farm off the coast of Suffolk, UK is currently the world’s largest offshore wind farm with 140 turbines generating 540 megawatts of power.
Every year in the village of Taiji, Japan there is a yearly hunt which results in the slaughter of over a thousand dolphins. Despite international protest including a 2009 documentary film, the Cove, which graphically displayed the mass dolphin killing, and won an Academy Award as best Best Documentary Feature in 2010, the yearly slaughter continues. Now approach is being tried. A petition is circulating addressed to Jacques Rogge and the International Olympic Committee requesting that Japan’s Tokyo 2020 Olympic bid not be considered until the Japanese government agrees to end the brutal Taiji dolphin drive hunt and makes it illegal to hunt dolphins in Japan. Click the link below to learn more and to sign the petition. It costs nothing and may do considerable good. Thanks to Scott Powell for passing the word along.
PETITION: Challenge Japan to END Taiji Dolphin Hunt for Tokyo 2020 Olympic bid