Update on the Cutty Sark – Fiasco or just “Berthing” Pains?

Last September we posted about an article in the TelegraphCutty Sark restoration turning into a fiasco.   Thanks to Alaric Bond for passing on an update recently published in the Private Eye.  The restoration of the Cutty Sark, after a major fire in 2007, was supposed to be completed by 2009.   Currently, it appears that the renovation will be completed no earlier than 2012. The project is also over-budget and there is a real concern that the “restoration” will do permanent and serious damage to the historic ship.

CUTTY SARK’S BERTH PAINS
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Captain Don McIntyre and the Talisker Bounty Boat Recreate Bligh’s Epic Voyage

At the end of last April we posted about an expedition led by Australian Don McIntyre to recreate the epic 3,700 nautical mile voyage of Captain Bligh and his crew across the Pacific in an open boat in 1789 following the famous mutiny.   McIntyre and his crew of three set out to recreate the conditions Bligh faced.  The sailed in a 25 foot open boat, surviving on a “starvation diet” of two ship’s biscuits and a bit of tinned beef a day.  They relied on 18th century navigation  but, like Bligh, sailed without charts.   After a seven week voyage where they were almost capsized in gale force winds, narrowly avoided  running up on a reef, and spent hours daily bailing out the small boat, they arrived safely in East Timor yesterday.

‘Mutiny’ sailor on surviving seven weeks starving at sea

The Merchandising Begins – Teen Sailor Jessica Watson’s Book and Album


Jessica Watson’s book True Spirit will be published in August in Australia and in October in the United States.  It was also recently announced that she will be releasing an album as well.  Fast work given that she only returned in the middle of May.

Teen sailor Jessica Watson to release an album

The young sailor claims that music helped her get through the months she was alone onboard Ella’s Pink Lady. It was also a source of comfort during the more challenging times.
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18th Century Ship Found Buried at New York’s World Trade Center Site

Workers excavating at the new World Trade Center site in lower Manhattan have uncovered the remains of an 18th century wooden merchant ship. The ship was found 20 feet below street level,  is roughly 30 feet in length and was probably buried intentionally as land fill.  It was found in an area outside that which had been previously excavated for the original World Trade Center complex and appears to have remained undisturbed since it was buried in the mid to late 1700s.

18th-Century Ship Found at Trade Center Site
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Building a New Rainbow Warrior – Remembering the Bombing 25 Years Ago

Rainbow Warrior III

Twenty five years ago this week, French government agents attached limpit mines to the hull of the Greenpeace ship Rainbow Warrior, in Auckland harbor in New Zealand to stop the ship from protesting French nuclear testing in Moruroa. The exploding mines sank the Rainbow Warrior, killing Fernando Pereira, a photographer.  Two French agents were arrested by the New Zealand Police and were charged with arson and murder for which they would serve only two years.

Last week Greenpeace  commemorated the anniversary of the bombing by starting construction of a new, low-carbon, Rainbow Warrior III.

Greenpeace begins construction of new Rainbow Warrior, marking 25th anniversary of bombing
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George Steinbrenner, Ship Owner and Shipbuilder who also owned a Baseball Team

George Steinbrenner, died today of a massive heart attack at the age of 80.  He was best known as the owner of the New York Yankees but belonged to a family of shipowners. Kinsman Marine Transit was once one of the largest bulk carrier operators in the Great Lakes.  In 1962 he became president of Kinsman.  Five years later Kinsman merged with American Ship Building Company and the Steinbrenner family took a controlling interest.  In 1973, George Steinbrenner bought the New York Yankees.
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Schooner, Building a Wooden Boat on Martha’s Vineyard – A Review

In late May,  we posted about the publication of a beautiful new book by Alison Shaw and Tom Dunlop, Schooner – Building a Wooden Boat on Martha’s Vineyard.   We recently had the opportunity to read the book.  Our review:

Schooner – Building a Wooden Boat on Martha’s Vineyard details, in prose and photographs, the story of the design and construction of the schooner, Rebecca of Vineyard Haven, the largest wooden vessel to have been built on Martha’s Vineyard since the days of Abraham Lincoln.    Continue reading

Paul, the Octopus Oracle, Retires On Top

Paul, an octopus, was a recent sensation when he accurately predicated the outcome of eight World Cup games in a row; as many games as he has legs.  Now the World Cup is over and Paul, a resident of the Sea Life aquarium in Oberhausen, has retired from the oracle business and is returning to his previous job of entertaining aquarium guests.  Paul would predict the outcome of games when two clear plastic boxes were put in his tank, each with the flag of the competing team and a mollusk inside.  Paul would make his prediction by choosing which of the mollusks to eat first.
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Blue Whales in Monterey Bay

Whale watchers were stunned last week to see 28 blue whales feeding on krill in Monterey Bay. Blue whales are the largest animal ever to live on earth and are also highly endangered with an estimated population of only 10,000 compared to over half a million a few decades ago.   A second season of plentiful krill seems to have lured the whales in the bay.    Whale watchers also saw a pod of 30-35 humpback whales feeding in the bay as well.

Plentiful krill lures dozens of blue whales to Monterey Bay

Summer Sunset Schooner Regatta in New York Harbor

At the end of the recent holiday weekend I was amazed to see what at first looked like a schooner race in New York harbor.  Six large schooners were all short tacking down the channel against a gentle southerly breeze.   I soon realized that this was no organized race but was instead an informal gathering orchestrated by the setting sun.  Five large schooners and one frequent visitor all offer sunset cruises in New York Harbor. They all sail to roughly the same place, out past the Statue of Liberty, and all sail at close to sunset. In a single stroke the harbor suddenly is filled with sails. Here is a short video of a recent evening.

Six Schooners on Sunset Sail in New York Harbor, July 9th, 2010

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Oak Jam from HMS Victory?

Oak flavored jam?

Wood from HMS Victory bottled as a jam in a jar

Admiral Lord Nelson led HMS Victory out of a few sticky situations, but now the ship finds itself in a bit of a jam.

Off-cuts of wood from the Portsmouth-based historic ship have been infused with fruit and brandy and processed to make a plum and oak flavoured jam.   Jars of the spread can be bought for £5 from a London art gallery – and without a splinter in sight.
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Hot Times on the Charlotte Maersk – Fire Reported Contained

Charlotte Maersk (photo: Scanpix)

A fire in deck containers stowed forward of the house on the 8,000 TEU containership,  Charlotte Maersk, is reported to be contained.   The fire broke out on Wednesday as the ship was passing through the Straits of Malacca bound for Oman.   The ship is currently anchored off the Malaysian coast.   All crew are reported to be safe and unharmed.

Fire on Maersk ship under control

A company spokesperson said, however, that they were not certain when the fire, now in its second day, would be put out entirely.

Maersk spokesman Michael Christian Storgaard said the ship’s crew and crews from nearby ships were working to cool containers surrounding the fire in order to prevent it from spreading.

Irony Watch: One Whale Not Skimming Oil & Another That May Be, Unfortunately

A sad irony that doesn’t actually involve whales.   The converted Ore/Bulk/Oil ship named A Whale has not yet proven effective in skimming oil from the water, though modifications and testing continue.

‘A Whale’ oil skimmer testing extended a week

Unfortunately, whale sharks, which are no more whales than the converted OBO, may be proving more effective at oil skimming.  Recently more than more than 100 feeding whale sharks were spotted within 60 miles of the Deepwater Horizon blow-out.  Whale sharks, the biggest fish in the sea,  are filter feeders, scooping up plankton and small fish with their mouths as they swim just beneath the surface. Scientists are concerned they will swallow large amounts of toxic oil and die.

Whale sharks, ocean’s biggest fish, may be latest victims of Gulf Coast oil spill

Sail Tampa Bay 2010

Gloria

Sail Tampa Bay 2010 is a five day festival, which starts today, celebrating Tampa Bay’s rich maritime history. The festival centerpiece is a visit by three sail training ships – the U.S. Coast Guard cutter Eagle, three-masted Columbian training barque Gloria and the Uruguayan navy training ship, the staysail schooner Capitan Miranda.

Tall ships sailing into Tampa
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“A Collision at Sea…” the Most Famous Thing Thucydides Never Said

Thucydides is often said to have first written, “A collision at sea can ruin your entire day, ”  in his epic history, The Peloponnesian War. While the statement is unquestionably true, Thucydides never wrote it.   Today the New York Times’ Fred Shapiro attempts to  trackdown the origin of the mis-quote: Quotes Uncovered: When Ships Collide.

Herb Caen of the San Francisco Chronicle wrote about this on Feb. 14, 1971. He said: Continue reading

The New Generation of Narco Submarines

Until recent the narco subs used to smuggle cocaine into the United States were submarines in name only, as they were not designed to dive underwater and resurface. Last week, however, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration and Ecuadorian authorities seized a 108 foot long (33 meter) fiberglass narco submarine with a  conning tower, periscope and air conditioning system which could dive to a an estimated depth of 65 feet.  The submarine was found at a jungle shipyard in Ecuador near the Colombian border as it was preparing for its first voyage.  It was described as the first fully-operational submarine built for transporting multi-ton quantities of cocaine ever to have been seized by government authorities.

Narco sub could have submerged to 65 ft

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Revolutionary War Sister Ships Cannons on EBay

Thanks to Alaric Bond for pointing out this wonderful auction on EBay.  No bids yet but there are still five days left.   I would love to own these beauties but can’t figure out where I would put them or what I would do with them.  It would be awfully tempting to fire them from time to time.  Probably upset the neighbors.  Difficult to tell whether they are authentic.

Revolutionary War Sister Cannons
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