I remember when America’s Cup racing was fairly tame – beautiful 12M yachts gliding in light air in the waters of Rhode Island Sound. Times have indeed changed. The new AC45 wing-sailed catamarans recently underwent two weeks of testing in Auckland, New Zealand.
America’s Cup test sessions: a brave new world
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The Glenlee, a three-masted baldheaded steel-hulled barque, launched on December 3, 1896, has moved to a new home on the River Clyde in Glasgow at the new Riverside Museum.
Tall ship Glenlee moves to new home on the Clyde
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The Russian barque Sedov, the world’s largest sailing ship, is celebrating her 90th birthday in 2011.
A nuclear leak on the Russian icebreaker Taimyr forced it to attempt to return to the port of Murmansk.
Nuclear leak in Russian icebreaker
RUSSIA launched an urgent rescue mission overnight after one of its atomic-powered icebreakers developed a nuclear leak in the frozen seas of the Arctic and was forced to abandon its mission.
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In March we posted about the birthday of Claude Choules, the last combat veteran of World War I. He has now died in Perth, Australia at age 110.
Last WWI combat veteran Claude Choules dies aged 110
The world’s last known combat veteran of World War I, Claude Choules, has died in Australia aged 110.
Known to his comrades as Chuckles, British-born Mr Choules joined the Royal Navy at 15 and went on to serve on HMS Revenge.
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Linda Collison’s new book Surgeon’s Mate, the second book in the her Patricia MacPherson nautical series, was recently been released. Astrodene’s Historic Naval Fiction interviewed Linda Collison about her new book, which we are reposting with permission. We reviewed Collison’s previous book, Star Crossed, here, and have been looking forward to her latest.
We will be posting a review of Surgeon’s Mate next week. In the mean time, check out Astrodene’s Historic Naval Fiction May Newsletter.
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My first thought was if that is a remora there must be quite a shark out there someplace. Obviously a different type of remora. The Remora 6000 is a Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV) that can operate at depths up to 6,000 meters. It recently retrieved the black box (which is actually orange) from the wreckage of Air France Flight 447 which crashed into the Atlantic June 1, 2009 en route from Rio de Janeiro to Paris, killing all 228 people aboard.
Last week the Navy relieved the commanding officers – Commander Jay Wylie of the guided missle destroyer, USS Momsen; Commander Etta Jones of the amphibious transport dock ship, USS Ponce; and Captain Donald Hornbeck in command of Destroyer Squadron 1. The Navy has not fired ten commanders so far this year. In 2010 the Navy dismissed 17 ship commanders.
Captain William Kidd
The notorious pirate Captain William Kidd was executed three hundred and ten years ago this month, yet is far from forgotten. A new exhibit is opening on May 20th at the Museum of London Dockyards – Pirates: The Captain Kidd Story. Also the wreck of the Quedagh Merchant, abandoned by Captain Kidd, is being dedicated as a “Living Museum of the Sea” by Indiana University and the government of the Dominican Republic.
Museum of London Docklands to host new Pirate exhibition
The exhibition, which is timed to coincide with Kidd’s execution on 23 May 1701 in Wapping, will explore the myths and mysteries surrounding common perceptions of pirates.
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A well done video providing an interesting perspective on sail training.
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Last week we posted that the Ohio River may be too high to allow the running of the Great Steamboat Race on May 4th. The river has just kept rising. Tonight the Army Corps of Engineers will blow up a Mississippi River levee, flooding farms in southern Missouri to save a flood-threatened Illinois town upstream near the junction of the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers. A legal challenge by the Missouri attorney general to stop the destruction of the levee failed Sunday, allowing the Corp to proceed with the plan.
Record-breaking floods force engineers to blow up Mississippi River levee
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US naval special forces commandos are called SEALs, referring to their ability to operate at SEa, in the Air and on Land. Yesterday Navy SEALs were called upon to capture or kill Osama Bin Laden who was hiding in a mansion in Abbottabad, a garrison city of 100,000 about 65 miles north of Islamabad, Pakistan. In an operation reported to be carried out by 20-25 Navy SEALs, Bin Laden was killed after a forty minute firefight. Bin Laden’s body was subsequently buried at sea from the aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson.
Osama Bin Laden Killed By Navy SEALs in Firefight
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May 2nd is International Scurvy Awareness Day! The festivities appear to be sponsored by a group calling itself Lime Strong. I am not sure whether this is an individual or a marketing arm for lime growers. Whichever it may be, we are happy to support scurvy awareness.
Photos : Veendam Eng.Dept
In early January we posted about Holland America Lines’ MS Veendam hitting a Southern Ocean storm, encountering waves of over 30 meters and winds of 70 knots. At the time there was no reported to the ship or injuries to passengers or crew. That report, as least as far as the ship is concerned, was premature. Maasmond Maritime recently posted photos of the MS Veendam receiving a new “nose” in Bahamas Shipyard after been damaged during heavy seas near the Falklands.
The first of May is traditionally called May Day and is related to the Celtic festival of Beltane and the Germanic festival of Walpurgis Night. The English have been known to break out in fits of Morris Dancing around May Day. In many countries May Day is celebrated as International Workers Day or Labor Day.
Mayday as a distress call over radio is much newer. The Mayday callsign was originated in 1923 by Frederick Stanley Mockford (1897–1962). A senior radio officer at Croydon Airport in London, Mockford was asked to think of a word that would indicate distress and would easily be understood by all pilots and ground staff in an emergency. Since much of the traffic at the time was between Croydon and Le Bourget Airport in Paris, he proposed the word “Mayday” from the French m’aider. “Venez m’aider” means “come help me.”