A section of upper New York harbor, just north of Ellis Island, has been taken over for the Red Bull Air Race World Championship. Huge 20 meter air filled pylons sprang up over a three mile course and small, brightly colored planes flew between and around them at dizzying speeds, their engines whining in the wild loops and turns. At times it sounded as if the harbor was under attack by giant mosquitoes. As fans watched from the Liberty State Park shoreline and from a flotilla of boats, large and small, in the harbor. Fifteen pilots competed at speeds up to 230 miles per hours. Yesterday was the qualifying round. It was nothing short of breathtaking as the planes raced, one at a time, through the winding course. The race continues today. A quick video:
Don Sutherland, marine photographer and writer, died on May 24 of cancer. In the words of Carolina Salguero, Director, PortSide NewYork, “Don covered the working waterfront in this port like no other with an adoring eye, passionate voice and sharp wit. Our port has lost an irreplaceable chronicler and advocate.” His photographs are currently part of an exhibit, “TUGS!” at Mystic Seaport. His work can also be viewed online.
A memorial service has been organized on the deck of the tanker Mary Whalen for 6pm Tuesday 6/22. Guests can come by land or tug to northside Pier 9B, Red Hook, Brooklyn.
Donald Scott Sutherland – Obituary & Memorial Service information
Photo: Will van Dorp
As many of us were watching Reid Stowe sail into New York harbor from his 1,000 day plus journey, a team of four intrepid rowers were apparently setting out in their attempt to break the 114 year old record set by Harbo and Samuelson in 1896 by crossing the Atlantic in a rowing boat. Will from the Tugster blog snapped photos of the Artemis Ocean Rowing team as they set off on their third attempt.
From their website:
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We have been critical of the Sea Shepherds and their reality TV show, “Whale Wars,” which has not only demonstrated dreadful seamanship but has also encouraged illegal and dangerous vigilante violence. We have suggested that diplomacy is preferable to thuggery. That being said, diplomacy has its problems as well. The Times of London recently reported that lobbyists working for the Japanese are allegedly offering bribes, airline tickets and prostitutes in exchange for a vote for a new quota system to allow limited commercial whaling, which will be voted on at the upcoming meeting of the International Whaling Commission. The Japanese deny anything improper. I see the potential for a new reality TV show here – Whale Whore$ – Diplomats Acting Badly. Money, back-room deals and sex – definate possibilities.
The Virgin GB Row 2010 is one of strangest and most challenging rowing races in the world. As described on the Virgin GB Row 2010 website:
It’s 2,010 miles non-stop and unassisted rowing around Great Britain in some of the most dangerous tides on the globe, in the busiest shipping lanes and with some of the most unpredictable summer weather anywhere. Together all those hazards make this officially the toughest rowing race in the world – tougher even than rowing the Pacific or the Atlantic.
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It was a fun family event, in many respects. I showed up at the southwest corner of Manhattan, where I thought Reid Stowe on the schooner Anne would sail by and found a group of Stowe’s family and friends had gotten there already. His father, brother and sister were there. Several had flown up from the Carolinas. No doubt other family members were there as well, as were quite a number of friends. There were banners and drums and a good feelings as the prodigal returned. There was also a photographer from the New York Post, who was attempting without much success to photograph another even entirely, who was snapping photographs of the schooner and Reid’s family.
The wind was gusting out of the northwest, so Reid proceeded to tack his way up the harbor, sailing in company with the schooners Pioneer and Adirondack III, all led by the historic fireboat John J. Harvey blasting her water cannon in celebration.
Reid Stowe on schooner Anne returns to New York Harbor after 1151 days at sea
On April 21, 2007, Reid Stowe sailed from the Hudson River on the schooner Anne. His goal was to stay at sea for 1,000 days without touching a port or being resupplied. It would be the the longest sea voyage in history. Today, Reid Stowe is returning to the Hudson River after 1,152 days at sea and will be greeted by a flotilla of boats escorting him in to his first landfall in over three years.
Sophie Oldendorff on fire in Tampa
Busy days in the Gulf of Mexico. On the surface above the continuing Deepwater Horizon disaster yesterday, a drill ship attempting to contain the oil was struck by lightning and caught on fire shutting down containment operations. Reportedly, operations resumed today. BP: Oil containment efforts resume after ship fire.
Not too far away last weekend, the battleship USS Texas came close to sinking in the Houston Ship Channel. A stuffed rag and backup pump reportedly kept her afloat. Battleship Texas saved from near-sinking.
And on the other side of the Gulf today in Tampa the 742-foot Sophie Oldendorff’s self-unloading gear caught fire and took 100 firemen in 24 trucks and one fireboat four hours to get under control. Blaze on freighter at Port of Tampa finally under control
Yesterday was the 100th anniversary of Captain Scott‘s departure from Cardiff on his ill-fated expedition to reach the South Pole. The tall ship Stavros S Niarchos sailed across Cardiff Bay, reenacting the departure of Scott’s ship, the Terra Nova. The Royal Navy’s HMS Scott also participated in the ceremony. Click on the link below for a video. See also our previous post: The Saga of Robert Falcon Scott – Complex and Controversial
photo: Christina Sun
This August 26th will be the one hundredth anniversary of Mother Teresa‘s birth. The Empire State Building in New York City changes its lighting for major holidays and special events. The Catholic League has requested that the building be lit blue and white in honor of Mother Teresa’s hundredth birthday, but the building managers declined citing policy against “lighting for religious figures or requests by religions and religious organizations.” Outrage has ensued. Now the USS Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum has announced that they will be lighting the Intrepid in honor of Mother Teresa. Has no one noticed the irony of lighting a warship in honor of a champion of non-violence?
Zeb Tilton was a legendary schooner captain from Martha’s Vineyard. “Zeb-Schooner Life,” a documentary of his life and times is being screened tonight at 6:30 by the National Maritime Historical Society at the Hendrick Hudson Free Library in Montrose, NY. Commentary will be provided by Peter Stanford, President Emeritus of the NMHS. The documentary was produced by Detrick Lawrence Productions of Edgartown, MA, based on the book , Zeb, Celebrated Schooner Captain of Martha’s Vineyard, by Polly Burroughs. The film includes historic footage and photographs of Tilton and of his iconic schooner the Alice S. Wentworth.
When on a cruise vacation, I can imagine nothing less relaxing than worrying that the cruise line vacation planner might have given your home address to thieves, who were breaking into your house as you waited in line for the midnight buffet on the cruise ship.
Bethsaida Sandoval, a vacation planner for Royal Caribbean, has been charged supplying her husband with passenger information which he then used to burglarize their homes while the passengers were on vacation. Ms. Sandoval and her husband, John Lopez, have been each charged with 20 counts of burglary and one count of racketeering. She is no longer employed by Royal Caribbean.
Royal Caribbean employee accused of burglarizing customers’ homes while they were on cruises
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Frank Dye was a small boat cruiser who became something of a legend following his sea voyages in his 16′ Wayfarer open dinghy.
Frank Dye, who died on May 16 aged 82, was a cult figure among small-boat sailors for undertaking numerous voyages in his open 15ft 10in wooden Wayfarer dinghy Wanderer; these included passages from Scotland to Iceland and across the North Sea to Norway, and featured mountainous seas, gales up to Force 11 and numerous capsizes and broken masts.
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One hundred and six years ago today, June 15th, 1904, the Paddle Steamer General Slocum caught fire in the East River and burned killing an estimated 1,021 of the 1,342 people on board. The steamer was carrying members of St. Mark’s Evangelical Lutheran Church to a church picnic. It was the greatest loss of life in one event in New York City prior to the attacks of September 11, 2001.
Reg White, boatbuilder, sailor, and Olympic Gold Medal winner died of a heart attack on May 27, 2010, at age 74. He had just finished an sailboat race in Brightlingsea, UK.
Sailor and builder of revolutionary multihull boats whose international racing successes included a gold medal at the 1976 Olympics
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Last week, one of my favorite tall ships, the Portuguese Sail Training Ship Sagres visited San Diego, California. This weekend, on the Gulf Coast in Pascagoula, Mississippi, the US Navy christened the USS San Diego, a San Antonio-class amphibious transport dock ship. Not to be too critical of the grey-stack line, but the Portuguese Navy has the better looking ship.
Late last month, the secret was revealed – when Bob Ballard discovered the Titanic in 1985, he was actually on a secret mission to find two sunken US submarines, the USS Thresher and USS Scorpion, both of which had sunk in the Atlantic in the 1960s. Only after his team located and surveyed the two missing subs was he allowed to search for the Titanic, leaving only a twelve day window to located the sunken passenger liner.
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Titanic search was cover for secret Cold War subs mission
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Yukon protects Klondike shipwreck site
Just months after a team of archeologists revealed their discovery of a historic Klondike shipwreck in waters north of Whitehorse, the Yukon government has declared the sunken A.J. Goddard sternwheeler a historic site symbolizing the “sense of adventure” that gripped North America at the height of the 1890s gold rush.
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It is such a relief that we never really have to worry about the very wealthy among us running out of places to spend their money. Here may be but the latests example of where those with more money than sense can drop a seizable sum. The Strand Craft 122 promises to be a super yacht with a super car. Each 38 meter mega-yacht comes with a matching custom automobile.
M-V Ile de la Reunion Photo: Marc Thierry
The French fishing vessel, Ile de Reunion, plucked Abby Sunderland from her damaged sailboat on Sunday, 2,000 nautical miles off western Australia.