Cmdr. Andrew Coles of HMS Astute Relieved of Command

Posted on by November 27, 2010

Photo: AFP/Getty Images

Not a great shock, but Cmdr. Andrew Coles has been relived of his command of  HMS Astute, the Royal Navy’s newest and “stealthiest” submarine which very publicly  ran aground last month near the Skye bridge off the Isle of Skye.

Officer relieved of command over grounded sub

“Commander Coles will continue to serve in the Royal Navy and he will be reappointed to a post where his talents and experience can be used to best effect,” a ministry statement said. “A new commanding officer will be appointed as soon as possible.”

Thanks to David Rye for the heads up.

Update: Boozy teens’ midnight trip goes 1300km astray

Posted on by November 27, 2010

Photo: Tai Fredricsen

On Thursday, we posted about three Tokelauan teenage boys who had attempted to row the sixty miles between two small Pacific islands, became lost and drifted  for fifty days across nearly 1,000 miles of the Pacific  in a small aluminum skiff.   A more complete story is now coming about how the three boys, two aged 15  and one 14, found themselves in this predicament. It all started with a girl.

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HMS Invincible For Sale – the Perfect Holiday Gift?

Posted on by November 27, 2010

HMS INVINCIBLE

The holiday shopping season is in full swing. But what can you get for the person who has everything? Why not a used aircraft carrier? Just because the Royal Navy won’t be able to launch ship-borne fixed wing aircraft for the next decade doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t be able to!

HMS Invincible is for sale by tender.  Admittedly the ship is a bit of a fixer-upper. She is almost thirty years old and her generators and pumps are described as generally unserviceable or not working.  The most likely buyers are steel scrap yards.  The ship may be seen by appointment only between 29th Nov 2010 and 10th Dec 2010. Bids are due by 10:00am Wednesday, January 5, 2011.

Sale by Tender – HMS Invincible
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Pirates (OK, Not Real Pirates) Drop Anchor in Key West

Posted on by November 27, 2010

In my grumpier moments, I object to celebrating Disneyfied pirates, especially given that piracy is, after all, still a serious problem and not merely a quaint relic of the 16th and 17th centuries.  Then again, I can’t be grumpy all the time.   “Pirates in Paradise”, the ten days of “pure piratical escapades celebrating Key West’s rich & colorful maritime heritage” sounds like lots of fun, particularly if enough rum is involved.

Pirates in Paradise
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Pirates Who Attacked US Navy Ship Convicted, While French Command Ship is Attacked Again

Posted on by November 25, 2010

USS Nicholas

Five Somali pirates who attacked the USS Nicholas, an Oliver Hazard Perry-class frigate,  in a wildly misguided attempt to hijack the ship in a late night attack last April, were convicted of piracy in a court in Virginia.  The prosecution said that this is the first piracy conviction in an American courtroom since 1819.  The pirates face mandatory life terms.
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Thanksgiving at Sea – Holiday Roundoup

Posted on by November 25, 2010

Today is celebrated as a day of Thanksgiving in the United States.  At the Old Salt Blog we would like to express our sincere thanks and gratitude to all our readers and contributors, who make putting together the blog such fun. We do appreciate it.

No one agrees when or where the first Thanksgiving celebration took place in North America.  Most point to the Plimoth Colony in Massachusetts in 1621 while some argue for St Augustine, Florida in 1565.
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At TEDX: Jorne Langelaan, The new age of sail

Posted on by November 25, 2010

TED (Technology Entertainment and Design) is a global series of conferences focusing on “Ideas Worth Spreading.”   An upcoming TEDxAmsterdam conference will feature Jorne Langelaan, one of  the founders of Fair Transport Shipping. With their brigantine Tres Hombres, they are attempting to demonstrate that windpower may be a solution to sustainable cargo shipping.  Lagelaan will be speaking at the conference on November 30th.

Jorne Langelaan, The new age of sail
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Three Teenagers Found Alive after Fifty Days adrift in Pacific Ocean

Posted on by November 27, 2010

Photo: Tai Fredricsen

Three boys had attempted to row the sixty miles between two small Pacific islands. Instead they became lost at sea and drifted  for fifty days across nearly 1,000 miles of ocean in a small aluminum dinghy, surviving on raw seagull and fish, until they were rescued yesterday.  The three boys, ages 14 and 15,  are reported to be in remarkably good health.

Three teenagers, who survived on raw seagull and fish, found alive after FIFTY DAYS adrift in tiny dinghy in Pacific Ocean
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After 67 years, the truth of HMS Dasher tragedy is revealed

Posted on by February 6, 2015

In 1940 and 1941, Moore McCormack Lines took delivery of four Rio class C3 Class passenger/cargo liners from Sun Shipbuilding.   They were the Rio Hudson, the Rio Parana, the Rio de la Plata and the  Rio de Janeiro.  In May of 1942, they were all requisitioned by the US government and converted to small aircraft carriers known as “baby flat-tops.”   Three were given to the Royal Navy and one was retained by the US Navy.   The Rio Parana, renamed HMS Biter, had a difficult service life, being hit by a torpedo from one of her own aircraft and then later being damaged by fire while in port.  The Rio de Janeiro, however had the most tragic history.  Renamed HMS Dasher, she sank after an explosion during aircraft refueling on March 27, 1943, with a loss of 379 out of 528 crewmen.    At the time, the cause of the explosion was covered up.  Now author and historian John Steele and his wife Noreen have written a book, The American Connection to the Sinking of HMS Dasher, examining the causes of the tragic sinking.

After 67 years, the truth of HMS Dasher tragedy is revealed
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Sea Shepherd Farce Continues with New Toy Boat and Movie Star

Posted on by November 23, 2010

Paul Watson and his merry band of bumbling pirates, the Sea Shepherds, stars of the “reality” TV show, Whale Wars, have a new high speed toy boat and have recruited Michelle Rodriguez, the actor who played the kick-ass helicopter pilot in the hit movie, Avatar, to join them at some point, her schedule permitting, on a voyage in the Southern Ocean.  Nothing like a flashy boat  and Hollywood tough-girl glamor when violating international law on “reality TV.”
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The Big U to become a dockside casino? What are the odds?

Posted on by November 23, 2010

Photo: MICHAEL S. WIRTZ

They are two projects in trouble.  One is a group of ship enthusiasts trying to save the rusting hulk of an historic passenger liner and the other, an Indian tribe trying to save a long-delayed casino project.

Yesterday, the SS United States Conservancy proposed moving the SS United States upriver to become part of the new Foxwoods/Harrah’s casino project on the Delaware River in Philadelphia.  So far, the casino group has shown no interest in the proposal, facing challenges and deadlines of its own.
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Tasting the Shipwreck Champagne and Brewing Shipwreck Beer

Posted on by November 22, 2010

Last July, we posted about Baltic Bubbly – ‘World’s oldest champagne’, bottles of champagne thought to pre-date the French Revolution found in a shipwreck on the Baltic seabed.  Recently there was a tasting of one of the bottles of the historic champagne in Mariehamn.  The champagne was judged to be quite palatable and is expected to fetch up to £40,000 a bottle at an upcoming public auction.

Bottles of beer were also found at the same shipwreck.  Last week, Finnish authorities said that they would allow one or several modern breweries to replicate the recipe of beer.

Shipwreck champagne could fetch £40,000 a bottle

Minsento’s Deep Green Underwater Kite

Posted on by November 23, 2010

Minesto, a spin-off of the Swedish-based Saab Group, has a new approach to harnessing tidal energy – underwater kites.   They have recently raised an excessive of €2 million in new capital to test the company’s underwater kite generator design, Deep Green, off the coast of Northern Ireland.

Deep Green Tidal Kites: The Newest Underwater Green Energy Initiative
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Fire on the Carnival Splendor – What did it cost?

Posted on by November 21, 2010

What did the fire on the Carnival Splendor cost Carnival Corporation?  No one really knows exactly, but Carnival announced that they estimate a cost of 7 cents per share.   Based on the number of outstanding shares from their 2009 10k, on a fully diluted basis, that puts the estimated cost at around $56 million dollars.   Most of this is presumably lost revenue from the cruise operations. The Splendor will be out of service until mid January, 2011.

HMS Ark Royal on her Final Voyage Home

Posted on by November 21, 2010

Thirty years ago HMS Ark Royal was built on the River Tyne at the Swan Hunter shipyard.  Last Friday, she sailed home for the last time to be decommissioned and ultimately scrapped.  As she moved up river, spectators said their final goodbyes to the ship known as the Mighty Arc.

Poignant final journey for pride of the Royal Navy
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“Arctic Adventures Aboard the Wanderbird”

Posted on by November 20, 2010

For anyone around New York harbor this afternoon and evening, Captains Rick and Karen Miles will be presenting a  slide show of  their “Arctic Adventures Aboard the Wanderbird” at 4pm and  7pm  in the Brooklyn Cruise Terminal, Pier 12, Red Hook, Brooklyn. The slideshow covers their cruise this summer of 6,000 miles from Maine to Greenland to Lat 72N.

Wanderbird is a 90′ converted North Sea trawler, now refitted as an expedition cruise vessel accommodating 12 passengers.  The cruises and the accommodations look wonderful. Wanderbird is on her south for the season to the island of Culebra, where she will be offering week long cruises.  Will over at the Tugster blog has some great shots of Wanderbird in New York harbor, here and here.

Thanks to the good folks at PortSide New York for the heads up about the slide show.

The Silent Spill – Exxon Reaches Settlement Over Newtown Creek Oil Spill

Posted on by November 20, 2010

Photo: Jeff Riedel

No one knows exactly how much oil was spilled at Newtown Creek, an industrial canal between the boroughs of  Brooklyn and Queens in New York harbor, but the best estimates are between between 17 million and 30 million gallons, which is more oil than was spilled by the  Deepwater Horizon blowout and three times larger than the Exxon Valdez spill.   Oil refineries, storage and transfer facilities along the creek  are believed to have leaked the oil into the  ground over many decades, polluting the soil, groundwater and sending oil seeping into Newtown Creek.   Last Wednesday, Exxon agreed to a settlement to clean up the spill.   Video of a cruise up Newtown Creek, after the jump.

Exxon Reaches Settlement Over Newtown Creek Oil Spill
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Cruiser Olympia to Stay Open, At Least For Now

Posted on by November 20, 2010

Photo: CLEM MURRAY

The troubled Independence Seaport Museum in Philadelphia announced on Monday that it would continue to keep the cruiser ex USS Olympia open though the end of the year and shift to a three day schedule through the end of March.

Spanish-American warship spared, at least for now
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Falls of Clyde – Video Tour & Interview & Have You Voted Yet?

Posted on by November 18, 2010

April M. Williams hosts the “Where Are You Today?” Travel Blog.  She recently posted a video tour of the Falls of Clyde and an interview with Bruce McEwen, president of the Friends of the Falls of Clyde.  The Falls of Clyde, built in 1878, is the only surviving iron-hulled four-masted full rigged ship and the only surviving sail-driven oil tanker in the world.    Have you voted for the Falls of Clyde yet?   There is still time. Read more after the jump.

Preserving Last Iron Hulled Tall Ship Honolulu Hawaii


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