Update: Submarine Secrets Espionage Plea Deal Falls Through

Posted on by August 18, 2022

Virginia Class Submarine

The Washington Post reports that a federal judge rejected plea bargains for a Navy engineer and his wife who allegedly tried to sell military secrets, saying the prison terms called for by the deals were too lenient for a couple accused of offering U.S. nuclear submarine data to a foreign government.

Last October, we posted about Navy nuclear engineer Jonathan Toebbe, and his wife, Diana Toebbe, who were arrested after attempting to pass detailed secret information about the US Navy’s Virginia-class submarine reactors to foreign agents. The Toebbes left a 16 GB memory card containing submarine documents and plans, hidden in half of a peanut butter sandwich in a plastic bag at an agreed location in West Virginia. They thought that they were giving the information to a foreign country in exchange for cryptocurrency payments. Instead, the FBI had intercepted their correspondence and impersonated foreign agents.

Continue reading →

Hunger Stones Emerge as Extreme Drought Drops Water Levels of Rhine & Other European Rivers

Posted on by August 17, 2022

Rhine river at low water levels in Bonn, Germany, August 16, 2022. Photo: REUTERS/Benjamin Westhoff

Extreme drought has dramatically lowered water levers in major European rivers, including the Rhine, Elbe, Loire, Danube, and Po. On the Rhine, river depths have dropped close to levels seen in the record drought of 2018. The shallow water resulting have prevented many vessels from navigating the critical European shipping route fully loaded. Barges are operating at roughly 25 % of full load capacity to avoid running aground.  Experts warn that the low water on major rivers could significantly damage Germany’s economy.

The Guardian notes that the Rhine, which runs about 760 miles from the Swiss Alps to the North Sea, is the second largest river in central and western Europe after the Danube. The majority of nearly 200 million tons of cargo shipped on German rivers – from coal to car parts, food to chemicals – is transported on the Rhine.

Continue reading →

Remains of Two Sailors Missing Since Pearl Harbor Attack Are Finally Identified

Posted on by August 15, 2022

Battleship West Virginia

Eighty-one years after the attack on Pearl Harbor, the identification of fallen US sailors is ongoing. Recently, the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency identified the remains of two sailors missing in action since Dec. 7, 1941. 

Petty Ofc. 2nd Class Claude Ralph Garcia died at age 25 while serving as a ship fitter aboard the USS West Virginia when Japanese forces attacked the U.S. naval base near Honolulu. Petty Ofc. 1st Class Keith Warren Tipsword, died at age 27, on the same ship.

Continue reading →

Wreck of USS Jacob Jones Found Off Isles of Scilly — First US Destroyer Lost to Enemy Action

Posted on by August 14, 2022

British divers have located the wreck of the USS Jacob Jones in over 100 meters of water, 40 miles off the Isles of Scilly. The ship, a Tucker Class destroyer, was sunk during World War I by a German U-boat on December 6, 1917. USS Jacob Jones was the first US destroyer ever to be lost to enemy action and went down in 8 minutes. 64 of her crew of 110 were lost in the attack.

As recounted by the Naval History and Heritage Command: Approximately one month after the United States declared war on Germany, the destroyer steamed to Queenstown [Cobh], Ireland, under Lieutenant Commander David W. Bagley with Division Seven of the Destroyer Force, the second group of destroyers to enter the war zone. Arriving at the British base on 17 May 1917, Jacob Jones operated out of Queenstown, patrolling the U-boat-infested western approaches to the British Isles. Later, as the Entente Powers instituted a worldwide convoy system, the destroyer escorted inbound and outbound convoys through the submarine danger zone.

Continue reading →

Update: Restoration of Ex-Presidential Yacht Sequoia to Begin Soon in Belfast, Maine

Posted on by August 13, 2022

Good news. The Bangor Daily News is reporting that the restoration of the ex-presidential yacht Sequoia will begin soon in Belfast, Maine.

We first posted about the saga of the ex-presidential yacht in 2016 when Delaware judge Sam Glasscock describes her then-current condition. “The Sequoia, an elderly and vulnerable wooden yacht, is sitting on an inadequate cradle on an undersized marine railway in a moribund boatyard on the western shore of the Chesapeake, deteriorating and, lately, home to raccoons.”

Three years later we posted again, about the 104′ long motor vessel being loaded aboard a barge to be transported to Maine for restoration.

Now, following the pandemic and supply chain issues, Todd French of French & Webb, a local custom boat building company described the progress in the restoration of the historic yacht to the Bangor Daily News. Continue reading →

Arctic Warming Four Times Faster Than the Rest of the World

Posted on by August 12, 2022

The rapid warming of the Arctic, a definitive sign of climate change, is occurring even faster than previously described. A new report by the Finnish Meteorological Institute concludes that the Arctic has warmed at about four times the global average rate over the last 43 years. Specifically, Arctic Circle — the area located above 66.5 degrees latitude — has warmed by more than 5 degrees Fahrenheit since 1979.

The Scientific American also reports that a separate group of scientists presented research at the annual meeting of the American Geophysical Union last December with similar findings. And just in June, another study by a different research team also cited a four-times Arctic warming figure (Climatewire, July 11).

Continue reading →

The Mortar Wreck: Oldest Surviving UK Shipwreck Near Dorset Coast

Posted on by August 11, 2022

Over 750 years ago, a medieval ship loaded with a cargo of limestone, carved gravestones, and mortars for grinding, sank off the Dorset coast a mile away from the nearest harbor.  Now the so-called Mortar Wreck has been granted the highest level of protection on the advice of Historic England.

The 13th-century wreck, discovered in Poole Bay in Dorset, is the oldest known protected wreck in English waters where hull remains can be seen. Tree ring dating of the wreck indicates that the timbers used to construct the hull are from Irish oak trees, felled between 1242-1265, during the reign of King Henry III.

Continue reading →

Update: Wayward Beluga Whale in Seine Dies in Rescue Attempt

Posted on by August 10, 2022

Photo: Twitter / Préfet de l’Eure

Sad news. We recently posted about a wayward beluga whale that had been found swimming over 100 km up the River Seine in France. After the dangerously thin whale refused food, an attempt to rescue the whale was undertaken. Sadly, the beluga died in the attempt.

BBC reports that rescuers spent nearly six hours lifting the 800kg (1,763lb) whale from the river using a crane and nets.

Continue reading →

Orcas Continue to Attack Sailboats Off Portugal & Spain — First Boat Sunk in Attack

Posted on by August 9, 2022

In 2020 and 2021, orca whales started attacking sailboats and fishing boats cruising off the Iberian peninsula and in the Mediterranian near the Strait of Gibraltar. Pods of juvenile orcas rammed sailboats and often grabbed their rudders or keels. More than 50 rogue orca attacks were reported in 2020 and 2021. So far, scientists are at a loss to explain the behavior.

This year, the attacks have continued. Last week, there was a report of a sailboat being sunk in an attack by a pod of orcas, 11 km off the port of Sines, Portugal. Five crew members were rescued by a fishing vessel in the coordination of the Portuguese Navy. This was the first reported case of a boat being sunk by an orca attack in the Atlantic.

Continue reading →

Update: Video of Jeff Bezos’ Yacht With Masts Stepped

Posted on by August 8, 2022

Last week, we posted about how the 417-foot-long, three-masted sailing yacht built for billionaire Jeff Bezos was towed out of the Oceanco shipyard in Rotterdam under the cover of darkness and moved to a shipyard in Greenport. The three masts were moved separately by barge. The yacht had been the center of months of controversy after the shipyard wanted to dismantle the center span of a historic railroad bridge to allow the yacht to access the North Sea. The superyacht with her masts stepped has too great an air draft to safely fit beneath the Koningshaven Bridge, known locally as De Hef.

Here is a video by Dutch Yachting of the yacht with the three masts stepped. From the Dutch Yachting:

As you might know, Jeff Bezos’s controversial Y721 yacht arrived at Greenport in Rotterdam without her masts last Tuesday. The fore, main and mizzen mast of the 127m/ 417ft schooner were transported and stepped last week, so we took the opportunity to have a closer look at Holland’s largest yacht and the World’s largest sailing yacht by boat yesterday. Footage by The Nautical Lady & Dutch Yachting.

Jeff Bezos’s 127m/ 417ft Y721 with her masts set

Thanks to David Rye for contributing to this post.

Béluga Perdu — Fears for Wayward Beluga Whale Lost in River Seine

Posted on by August 7, 2022

Photo: Twitter / Préfet de l’Eure

Thousands of miles from its natural habitat, a wayward beluga whale has been found swimming 160 km up the River Seine between the French capital Paris and the city of Rouen in Normandy. The dangerously thin whale is refusing food amid fears it could starve to death. The beluga has been offered herring and a cocktail of vitamins to help bring it back to health by stimulating its appetite.

The all-white beluga normally live in Arctic and sub-Arctic oceans, although they are known to sometimes venture into more southern waters and can survive for a short while in freshwater.

Continue reading →

62 Yr Old Sailor Rescued, Trapped for 16 Hours in Capsized Sailboat Off Spanish Coast, After Loss of Keel

Posted on by August 5, 2022

It has happened again. While sailing in a qualifying race for the upcoming transatlantic solo sailing contest Route du Rhum, 62-year-old French sailor Laurent Camprubi found himself trapped inside his sailboat after it capsized. The keel on his boat, the Jeanne Solo Sailor, sheared off and the boat capsized 14 miles (22 kilometers) from the Sisargas Islands off Spain’s northwestern Galician coast.

Camprubi sent out a distress signal and, remarkably, was able to survive in a pocket of trapped air for 16 hours until he was rescued by a Spanish search and rescue team. 

Continue reading →

Update: Jeff Bezos’ Yacht Towed Out of Shipyard Under Cover of Darkness

Posted on by August 5, 2022

After months of controversy, the 417-foot-long, three-masted sailing yacht built for billionaire Jeff Bezos slipped out of the shipyard in Rotterdam under the cover of darkness.  At 3AM on Tuesday, the Oceanco shipyard towed the yacht to the Greenport shipyard. The yacht’s three masts were moved separately out of the shipyard by barge. The masts are expected to be stepped at the Greenport yard.

In February, we posted Billionaire Bezos’ Really Big Boat and the Rotterdam Railroad Bridge, about how the Oceanco shipyard wanted to dismantle the center span of a historic railroad bridge to allow the yacht to access the North Sea. The fully rigged superyacht apparently has too great an air draft to safely fit beneath the Koningshaven Bridge, known locally as De Hef, which has a clearance of 131 feet over the Nieuwe Maas River.

Continue reading →

Happy 232th Birthday US Coast Guard!

Posted on by August 4, 2022

Alexander Hamilton suggested in The Federalist Papers that “a few armed vessels, judiciously stationed at the entrances of our ports, might at a small expense be made useful sentinels of the laws.”

When Hamilton became the first Treasury Secretary of the newly formed United States, he lobbied for the acquisition of 10 revenue cutters to assist in the collection of duties and to catch smugglers. On August 4, 1790, 232 years ago today, President Washington signed a bill establishing the Revenue Cutter Service, the precursor to today’s United States Coast Guard. Alexander Hamilton is considered by many to be the father of the US Coast Guard. An updated repost.

Continue reading →

Hot Sand Causing 99% of Sea Turtles to be Born Female

Posted on by August 3, 2022

Climate change is threatening the future of sea turtles. Whereas the gender of most animals is determined at fertilization, the sex of most turtles, as well as alligators, and crocodiles is determined by the temperature of the developing eggs. The hotter the sand where the eggs are buried, the more female turtles are hatched. Recent heat waves have caused the sand on some beaches in Florida to get so hot that nearly every turtle born was female.

Reuters quotes Bette Zirkelbach, manager of the Turtle Hospital in Marathon in the Florida Keys, saying, “The frightening thing is the last four summers in Florida have been the hottest summers on record.”

“Scientists that are studying sea turtle hatchlings and eggs have found no boy sea turtles, so only female sea turtles for the past four years,” Zirkelbach said, whose turtle center has operated since 1986.

Continue reading →

Great Lakes Schooner Denis Sullivan Laid-up, Voluntarily Gives Up COI, Maintenance Ongoing

Posted on by August 2, 2022

Last April, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinal reported that the 137-foot Denis Sullivan — the world’s only replica of a 19th-century three-masted Great Lakes schooner — will remain docked at Discovery World again this year, according to museum President and CEO Bryan Wunar. And its future at the museum is being reevaluated as Discovery World begins the process of seeking ways to use and care for the ship.

In July, there were erroneous reports that the ship’s Certificate of Inspection (COI) was taken away by the Coast Guard. Recently, the Friends of the Denis Sullivan provided a clarification on their Facebook page:

Continue reading →

Hope for the Global Food Crisis as First Bulker Loaded With Grain Sails From Odesa

Posted on by August 1, 2022

The handysize bulk carrier Razoni was one of roughly 80 international vessels that have been stranded in Ukraine for more than six months by the ongoing Russian invasion. Now, the Sierra Leone-flagged vessel has sailed from the port of Odesa bound for Lebanon, loaded with 26,527 tonnes of corn, under a safe passage deal described as a glimmer of hope in a worsening global food crisis.

Reuters reports that the sailing was made possible after Turkey and the United Nations brokered a grain and fertilizer export agreement between Russia and Ukraine last month – a rare diplomatic breakthrough in a conflict that has become a drawn-out war of attrition.

Continue reading →

DNA May Prove the Legend of the Wild Ponies of Assateague Island & the Spanish Galleon

Posted on by July 29, 2022

Two herds of wild ponies have lived for hundreds of years on Assateague Island, a 37-mile-long Atlantic barrier island that crosses the border between the states of Virginia and Maryland. The Virginia side of the island is just east of Chincoteague Island.

This week was the 97th Annual Chincoteague Island Pony Swim, where local wranglers, dubbed “Salt Water Cowboys,” swim the herd across to Chincoteague Island. Following a parade of the horses through the village, foals are auctioned off to help maintain the size of the herd at around 150, roughly the number of horses that the island can support. The remaining horses are then led back to Assateague Island.

Where did the ponies come from? Until recently, most historians and scientists have thought that the herd grew from horses left to graze by English settlers. Local folklore, however, told a different tale — that the ponies escaped from the wreck of a Spanish galleon. While the coast has seen many shipwrecks, there is no record of any such Spanish wreck carrying horses.

Continue reading →

Robot Dog Helps Christen NavyX’s “Maritime Sandbox” XV Patrick Blacket

Posted on by July 29, 2022

NavyX’s new maritime sandbox, XV Patrick Blacket, was christened today in Portsmouth, UK with the help of a robotic dog.

You might well ask, what is NavyX? What is a maritime sandbox? And what about the robotic dog?

Navy X

NavyX describes itself as “the Royal Navy’s Autonomy and Lethality Accelerator, which rapidly develops, tests, and trials cutting-edge equipment, with the aim of getting new technology off the drawing board and into the hands of our people on operations at a pace.”

NavyX has a new ship, the XV (Experimental Vessel) Patrick Blackett, that is described variously as a “maritime sandbox” and a “testbed ship,” intended to support trials of the latest tech and autonomous systems.
Continue reading →

UK to Phase Out Admiralty Paper Charts by 2026

Posted on by July 28, 2022

In 2019, the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA ) announced that it was phasing out the production of traditional paper nautical charts over a five-year period. NOAA intends to focus on improving the fully electronic navigational charts (ENCs) that they provide.

Now, the UK Hydrographic Office (UKHO) has announced it will stop producing Admiralty paper charts by late 2026 to likewise increase its focus on its digital navigation products and services. Admiralty charts are the most widely used paper charts globally.

Yachting Monthly reports that the UKHO will develop digital alternatives for sectors still using paper charts, in consultation with customers and stakeholders, including the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) as well as other regulatory bodies, hydrographic offices, industry partners, and distributors.

Continue reading →