The Final Demise of the SS C. W. Pasley

Posted on by April 14, 2013

The S.S. Pasley arrives in Yaquina Bay to be sunk circa 1950.

Concrete ships were constructed in both World War I and World War II when steel was in short supply.  They were not wildly successful, as they were limited in deadweight and had a tendency to crack.  (No concrete ships were built after the end of the wars.) Nevertheless they were extremely durable ships.

The S.S. C. W. Pasley and the S.S. Francois Hennebique, two concrete ships built in Tampa Florida by McCloskey and Company in 1944, have served as the foundations for the docks in Yaquina Bay, in Newport, Oregon for almost sixty years.    The S.S. Francois Hennebique is apparently in good shape but the S.S. Pasley is cracking, shifting and oddly, leaking oil. (One might have though that tank cleaning was in order before converting the ship into a dock.)  So 66 years after her keel was poured, the S.S. Pasley will be broken up and replaced by a more conventional pier.

Dock to replace WWII ship


Ship-spotting on a Monday Morning

Posted on by May 17, 2010

Will, over at the Tugster blog, is no doubt the preeminent New York harbor ship-spotter.  If one is so inclined, it is easy to spent far more time than one might have planned browsing his thousands of photographs – all well organized and accompanied by fascinating commentary.  On the other side of the Atlantic,  Fred Vloo’s Ship-spotting channel on You-tube is extremely well done.  His Shipspotting Rotterdam 15 mei features great footage of tankers, bulker carriers, tugs, pilot boat, launches and container ships of all sizes, including the 8,000 TEU Anna Maersk.

Shipspotting Rotterdam 15 mei

The Wavertree and Pioneer Turn 125

Posted on by May 16, 2010

On Saturday May 24th, the  Southstreet Seaport Museum in New York will celebrate the 125th birthdays of two fine ladies,  the full rigged ship Wavertree and the schooner Pioneer.

Built in 1885 in Southampton, England, the Wavertree was one of the last large sailing ships built of wrought iron.   Also in 1885 the cargo sloop Pioneer, built in Marcus Hook, Pennsylvania, was the first of only two American cargo sloops ever built with a wrought iron hull.  Ten years later she was rerigged as a schooner.  The Pioneer regulatory sails from the South Street Seaport.

Lt-Cdr Bobby Lawson – Swordfish Pilot who Attacked the Bismark

Posted on by December 13, 2016

Lawson (second from left) with other members of The Black-Hand Gang (from left) Eric Margetts, John Moffat, Buster May and Glan Evans

It was a classic contest between David and Goliath.  On May 27, 1941, the German battleship Bismark had just sunk the pride of the Royal Navy, the HMS Hood. As she was close to escaping into safe waters, she was attacked by a swarm of obsolete Fairey Swordfish biplanes launched from the carrier HMS Ark Royal.   Lt-Cdr Bobby Lawson, one of the Swordfish pilots,  recently died at 91.

Lt-Cdr Bobby Lawson
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Women Submariners – Pioneers Facing Many Challenges

Posted on by May 15, 2010

U.S. Naval Academy Midshipman Marquette Ried will train to be one of the first women to serve on submarines.

The US Navy announced recently that by January 2012 19 women will be assigned to four ballistic missile submarines.  The women officers will be facing challenges of logistics, operations and culture.

Women submariners: Trailblazers by timing, sub sailors by choice

Quiet Resistance to Women on Subs
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Tie the Knot Contest on the Schooner AJ Meerwald

Posted on by May 17, 2010

No, this is not a knot tying contest exactly. No bowlines, or Matthew Walker knots need be produced. This is a contest sponsored by NJWedding.com to win a chance to get married for free aboard New Jersey’s official Tall Ship, the A.J. Meerwald in Long Beach Island, NJ.
Want to get hitched this summer? Be the lucky couple to win a free wedding ceremony this July
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Tupaia, Captain Cook’s Polynesian Navigator – A New Book by Joan Druett

Posted on by May 13, 2010

I love when an author shines a new light on history that we all thought we already knew. Joan Druett in her new book Tupaia, Captain Cook’s Polynesian Navigator, appears to do just that.    A sneak peak from Joan Druett’s website at the book,which should arrive in the US in November.

Tupaia, Captain Cook’s Polynesian Navigator

From Polynesia comes the story of the unacknowledged Tahitian who was essential to the success, and subsequent fame, of Cook’s voyage on the Endeavour.

The name of this remarkable man was Tupaia.
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Russian Cruiser Aurora Turns 110

Posted on by May 12, 2010

The Russian Cruiser Aurora was launched 110 years ago this month. She is currently a museum ship in St. Petersburg, the city where she was built.

The Cruiser “Aurora”

The historical ship Aurora has been turned into a museum and is docked just a few hundred yards upstream from the Cabin of Peter the Great, opposite the “St Petersburg” Hotel. The cruiser, built in St. Petersburg between 1897 and 1900, took an active part in the Russo-Japanese War of 1904-05 and participated in the Tsusima battle, in which most of Russia’s Pacific fleet was destroyed. After the war the ship was used for personnel training and during the October revolution of 1917 gave the signal (by firing a blank shot) to storm of the Winter Palace, which was being used as a residence by the democratic, but largely ineffective Provisional Government.

During World War II and the 900-day Siege of Leningrad the guns of the ship were taken down and used on the front line of the city’s defenses. After the war the ship was carefully restored and used as a free museum and training ship for cadets from the nearby Nakhimov Navy School.

Thanks to Dave Shirlaw on the Marine History list for the heads up.

Smallest Maritime Museum In England

Posted on by May 12, 2010

We have already seen the two small ships of the Little Brig Sailing Trust.  Now Alaric Bond has passed along an article about Robert Carter of Plymouth and the  Smallest Maritime Museum In England, an only 12ft wide x 6ft museum, packed with nautical items.

Smallest Maritime Museum In England

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Moby, Mocha and the Whale Ship Essex

Posted on by November 20, 2014

People are often surprised to hear that Herman Melville’s masterpiece, Moby Dick, was inspired, at least in part, by the sinking of the whale ship Essex by a sperm whale.  By all accounts the sinking of the Essex  haunted  Melville  and  unquestionably supplied him with ending of his novel.

This was not the only inspiration for Moby Dick, however.  There was indeed a rogue white sperm whale, well know to whalers in the early 1800’s.    He was often seen near the island of Mocha, off southern Chile, and was nicknamed Mocha Dick.   Mocha Dick was said to have killed more than 30 men, and to have attacked and damaged 14 whaleboats and three whaling ships.

In May 1839 the Knickerbocker Magazine, a popular publication in New York City, published a lengthy article about Mocha Dick by Jeremiah N. Reynolds an American journalist and explorer.

MOCHA DICK: OR THE WHITE WHALE OF THE PACIFIC: A LEAF FROM A MANUSCRIPT JOURNAL.
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MV Moscow University – Why Anti-Piracy Efforts off Somalia Are Doomed to Fail

Posted on by May 12, 2010

Two news stories, days apart demonstrate, at least to me, why the current efforts to combat piracy off the coast of Somalia are doomed to fail.  We posted previously how the tanker MV Moscow University was recaptured from pirates by Russian special forces involving the close cooperation of the ship’s crew and military personnel. Continue reading →

Into the Deep: America, Whaling & the World – a Review

Posted on by May 9, 2010

A few days ago, we posted about Ric Burns’ new documentary, Into the Deep: America, Whaling & the World, which will be broadcast tomorrow, May 10, at 9PM on most PBS channel in the United States. I had the opportunity to watch the documentary – a review:

Into the Deep: America, Whaling & the World, is a sweeping and visually stunning examination of  American whaling from the colonial era though its demise in the early twentieth century.  It reminds us that before we acquired our addiction to petroleum, our primary source of oil was from the sea, by the hunting of the great whales.  The whaling ships didn’t just hunt whales, they were also self contained oil refineries and factories at sea.  They processed and prepared the the oil, baleen and whale bone and packaged it for sale.  The whalers, constantly searching the seas for new whaling grounds, were also the discoverers of  then unknown lands and islands in every ocean.   Before America became a world power,  American whalers carried the nation’s name and vision to every corner of the watery globe.
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Staten Island Ferry Crash this Morning – 37 injured

Posted on by May 8, 2010

37 Injured in Staten Island Ferry Crash

Dozens of people were hurt when a Staten Island Ferry crashed into a dock at the St. George terminal on Staten Island about 9:30 a.m. Saturday, the authorities said.  The ferry was the Andrew J. Barberi, the same one involved in a 2003 crash that killed 11 people.
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Ancient treasures set for auction in Indonesia

Posted on by May 7, 2010

Belgian treasure-hunter Luc Heymans holds a rare large vase from the Liao Dynasty

Ancient treasures set for auction in Indonesia

An ancient treasure trove salvaged from a 1,000-year-old shipwreck found by Indonesian fishermen is set to go under the hammer in Jakarta Wednesday with a minimum price of 80 million dollars.  Belgian treasure-hunter Luc Heymans said the haul was one of the biggest found in Asia and was comparable to the most valuable shipwreck ever found anywhere, that of the Atocha, a Spanish vessel which sank off Florida in 1622.
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Russian special forces capture oil tanker Moscow University

Posted on by May 6, 2010

Close cooperation between the ship’s personnel and the Russian military allowed Russian special forces to storm the captured tanker Moscow University without unduly jeopardizing the safety of the crew.

Russian special forces capture oil tanker
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Into the Deep: America, Whaling & the World – New Ric Burns Documenatry

Posted on by May 6, 2010

This  Monday,  May 10th, PBS’s American Experience series will broadcast Ric Burns’ new documentary, Into the Deep: America, Whaling & the World. It looks fascinating.

The history of the American whaling industry from its 17th-century origins in drift and shore whaling off the coast of New England and Cape Cod, through the golden age of deep ocean whaling, and on to its demise in the decades following the American Civil War.

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Piracy and Maritime Crime: Historical and Modern Case Studies

Posted on by May 5, 2010

The US Naval War College has published a collection of essays on Piracy and Maritime Crime: Historical and Modern Case Studies, edited by Bruce A. Elleman, Andrew Forbes, and David Rosenberg.  The essays look at piracy around the world and throughout history ranging from Thomas Jefferson and the Barbary pirates in the 18th Century to the ongoing conflicts with pirates off Somalia.   The thirteen essays are available free on line at the Naval War College Press.

No World Record for Jessica Watson?

Posted on by May 5, 2010

When Jessica Watson arrives back in Australia in a few weeks, she may be the youngest person to have circumnavigated the world non-stop, but she will not necessarily be granted the record for doing so.  According to the rules laid down by the World Sailing Speed Record Council a circumnavigation is defined as follows :

To sail around the World, a vessel must start from and return to the same point, must cross all meridians of longitude and must cross the Equator. It may cross some but not all meridians more than once (i.e. two roundings of Antarctica do not count). The shortest orthodromic track of the vessel must be at least 21,600 nautical miles in length calculated based on a ‘perfect sphere’.
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