Jeffrey Allison, 73, Circumnavigates the Arctic Clockwise

Posted on by October 13, 2011

Jeffrey Allison is a fascinating gentlemen. Now 73, from  Middleton Tyas in the UK, he only started sailing when he retired from a career in engineering. Since then, he has sailed across the Atlantic six times, as well transiting the Panama Canal, and sailing the Pacific, Indian and Arctic Oceans. He has just returned from a 40 day circumnavigation of the Arctic. Allison and his crew, Australian crewmate Katherine Brownlie, 28, are the first to circumnavigate the Arctic in a clockwise direction. Two yachts previously circumnavigated the Arctic counter-clockwise in 2010.

Allison made a previous attempt to circumnavigate the Arctic in 2009 but was arrested by the Russian coastguard for allegedly crossing into Russian territorial waters.

British sailor first to circumnavigate the Arctic Circle

“Don’t Give Up the Ship” – One of the Odder Naval Battle Cries From a Forgotten War

Posted on by June 1, 2020

We are rapidly approaching the bi-centennial of the War of 1812, a largely forgotten conflict which was, in many respects, a continuation of the American War of Independence from Great Britain. The war was characterized by American incompetence and bumbling on land and surprising success on the seas. The early days of the war were marked by American victories at sea in which three American heavy frigates defeated and burned or captured three British frigates in single-ship battles.  In the battle between HMS Shannon and USS Chesapeake in June of 1813, however, the Americans would not be so fortunate.  The Shannon captured the Chesapeake.
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Glow-in-the-Dark Lantern Shark Can Also Become Invisible

Posted on by October 12, 2011

Lantern sharks, a type of small dogfish sharks, are well known for their bioluminescence, indeed that is how they were given their name.  Researchers have recently discovered that the rare splendid lantern shark can adjust its coloration and lighting so as to become effectively invisible to predators.  Harry Potter apparently is no the only one with an invisibility cloak.

Lantern Sharks Can Become Invisible, Glow-In-The-Dark

 “The photophores replace the down-welling light from the sun, which is absorbed by the shark’s body,” lead author Julien Claes explained to Discovery News. “The silhouette of the shark therefore disappears when seen from below.”

Update: MV Rena – Increasing Oil Spill and Container Loss

Posted on by October 11, 2011

Photo : Maritime New Zealand

Bad weather is adding to an already bad situation as salvage and clean up crews struggle to staunch the flow of oil from the container ship, MV Rena, which has been grounded on Astrolabe Reef in New Zealand’s Bay of Plenty near Tauranga for the last week.  Reports say that one of the main bunker tanks has been breached, dramatically increasing the volume of oil spilled.  An estimated 130 – 350 tonnes of oil have leaked as of Tuesday morning, making this the the largest maritime oil spill in New Zealand’s history .  30 containers are also reported to have fallen off the ship.

Crew of MV Montecristo Rescued from Pirates by NATO

Posted on by October 11, 2011

The Italian owned bulk carrier, MV Montecristo, was hijacked by pirates off Somalia on Monday.  The ship’s crew retreated to a protective citadel “safe room” ahead of the pirates.  Today RFA Fort Victoria and USS De Wert, acting as part of NATO’s counter piracy operation stormed the ship and rescued the crew, which was unharmed. A British Ministry of Defense spokesman said, “10-15 Royal Marines were involved. The pirates are now in NATO custody. No special forces were involved.”   Thanks to Alaric Bond for passing the story along.

UK Forces Free Ship’s Crew From Somali Pirates

Diving HMS Hermes

Posted on by October 10, 2011

Last Friday we posted about the USS Arthur W Radford as an artificial reef.  Thanks to Alaric Bond for passing on this video of the wreck of  HMS Hermes, which is a popular dive site off near Batticaloa, Sri Lanka.   HMS Hermes, commissioned in 1924, was the first ship designed and built as an aircraft carrier. Previous aircraft carriers had been conversions of other ships. She was sunk in 1942 by Japanese aircraft during World War II with a loss of over 300 men.

HMS Hermes 2011

Columbus, Eratosthenes & Posidonius

Posted on by October 10, 2011

Eratosthenes

Happy Columbus Day to those in the United States and Happy Thanksgiving to those in Canada.

On Columbus Day, it seems appropriate to consider the role of  error in discovery.  While many of us were taught in school that Columbus proved that the world was round, that is a rather shoddy myth. The ancient Greeks understood that the world was round by the 6 century BCE.   Indeed the  Libyan mathematician, Eratosthenes, calculated the circumference of the globe to be 250,000 stadia. Let’s put aside the fact that no one agrees on the length of a stadia, literally the length of a stadium.  If one uses the Egyptian stadia, Eratosthenes’ estimate of 25,000 miles came within just 100 miles over the actual circumference at the equator (24,901 miles).  Eratosthenes, in fact, made several mathematical errors but they cancelled out.
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Kick ’em Jenny – Rocking Out Underwater

Posted on by October 9, 2011

Watch This Space Photo:Blah Bloh BLog

A quick quiz.  Is Kick ’em Jenny a rockbilly singer, a Dutch Celtic Symfo-Folk band or an active submarine volcano on the floor of the Caribbean Sea?  The answer appears to be yes to all three.

Kick ’em Jenny is a Dutch rockabilly singer who performs with the Real Deal.  Kick ’em Jenny is also a Dutch Celtic Symfo-Folk band.  (One can only hope that the rockabilly and Celtic Symfo-Folk bands don’t get double-booked.)  KIck ‘Em Jenny is also an active  submarine volcano in the Eastern Caribbean.   The Caribbean Yacht Charter Blog recently posted about the volcano – “The Caribbean May Soon Have a New Island.”   The word “soon” may be a bit optimistic, unless one is thinking in geological terms.
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Hurricane Irene Breaks Up USS Arthur W Radford – Recently Sunken Artificial Reef

Posted on by October 8, 2011

USS Radford on her way to becoming an artificial reef

Just last August, the USS Arthur W. Radford, a Fletcher-class destroyer which served in the Gulf War, was sunk as an artificial reef in the Atlantic Ocean off Cape May, NJ. The 563-foot destroyer was the longest vessel ever sunk as an artificial reef on the Atlantic coast.

Recently local divers were shocked to find that Hurricane Irene apparently broke the sunken ship in two and carried the larger section over 200 feet from its original location.  Some are speculating that the hurricane damage may make the ship more interesting to sport divers.  Thanks to Dave Shirlaw of the Marine History List for pointing out the story.  And thanks to Reno Pankau Verstaendig for pointing out that I initially had the wrong destroyer!

Irene ripped USS Radford, sunk for a reef off Cape May

Fourth Annual Wooden Boat Festival at the Independence Seaport Museum

Posted on by October 7, 2011

Gazela

This Saturday the Fourth Annual Wooden Boat Festival will be held at the Independence Seaport Museum on the Delaware River in Philadelphia.   The festival will kick off with a Parade of Sail featuring the tall ships Gazela and AJ Meerwald as well as the Philadelphia Fire Department’s fire boat.

Wooden Boat Festival sails into Philadelphia
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Dock Dogs and Diving Horses

Posted on by May 11, 2015

Some new competitive sports are better than others. I am not sure how I feel about dock dogs competitions. Still it has to be an improvement over diving horses which were wildly popular in the US in the 1880s. Remarkably there is at least one diving horse still performing.  But first, from Time magazine: DockDogs: The Sport Where Canines Catch Big Air


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Oil Spill from MV Rena – A Small Leak or Looming Environmental Disaster ?

Posted on by October 6, 2011

Helicopter Spraying Dispersant on Oil Spilled from MV Rena Photo: Alan Gibson

Depending on what one reads, the oil spill associated with the grounding of the MV Rena on Astrolabe Reef off Tauranga, New Zealand is either a “small leak” or a “looming environmental disaster.”  Conceivably, depending on the integrity of the ship’s hull, both may be right.

The Herald Sun reports that “salvage company representatives had reported the leak and said it had been stopped with only a small amount going into the water,”  while the NZ Herald reports that the “ship is haemorrhaging oil into the sea off Tauranga.”  Radio New Zealand is reporting somewhere between the two other reports, noting that “Maritime New Zealand believes the fuel tanks are still intact and heavy fuel oil leaking from the vessel appears to be from pipes. It is not clear how much has leaked into the sea.”
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Putin and the “Discovery” of his Ancient Jars

Posted on by October 6, 2011

Putin and his jars

Nothing really surprising about this story but I do find it amusing.  In August, it was reported that Vladimir Putin,  the Prime Minister of Russia and novice scuba diver, just happened to “discover” two jars dating back to the sixth century BCE when scuba diving off the Taman Peninsula along the Russian coast. The media were, of course, in attendance.

Putin finds ancient jars while scuba diving
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MV Rena Aground on Astrolabe Reef off Tauranga, New Zealand

Posted on by December 28, 2020

The Liberian flagged container ship, MV Rena, ran aground on the Astrolabe Reef off Tauranga, New Zealand yesterday, flooding two cargo holds.   The ship is loaded with approximately 2,100 containers and has around 1,700 tonnes of heavy fuel.  There has been no spillage of the heavy fuel. Hydraulic oil was reported to have leaked and to have created a visible sheen on the water but was dissipating. The crew of 23 have remained aboard the ship. The ship has developed a 10 degree list but is stable on the reef.

Rena Grounding – Wednesday 5 October pm

The Strange and Tragic Delivery of the Russian Submarine Nerpa

Posted on by October 5, 2011

Next month, the Russian nuclear submarine, Nerpa, will be delivered to the Indian Navy, which has leased the submarine for a reported $900 million from the Russians for ten years with an option to buy.  The delivery of the new nuclear sub to India, which will be renamed INS Chakra, has been long, strange and ultimately tragic.
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