SS Normandie’s Steam Whistle Blows Again at the Seaport

Posted on by June 8, 2010

PHOTO CREDIT DNAinfo/Julie Shapiro

Last Thursday, the mellifluous blast of the SS Normandie‘s steam whistle once gain reverberated across the piers of the South Street Seaport in New York.   The blowing of the steam whistle celebrated the anniversary of the arrival of French luxury liner to New York seventy five years ago.   A new exhibit at the South Street Seaport Museum also celebrates the grand old ship – DecoDence: Legendary Interiors and Illustrious Travelers Aboard the SS Normandie.
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Happy World Ocean Day – But How Should We Be Celebrating ?

Posted on by June 8, 2010

One fish, two fish, dead fish, no fish?

Today is the second annual celebration of World Ocean Day!  The only thing that is unclear to me is what and how we should be celebrating.  From the World Oceans’ Day website:

“In 2009 The Ocean Project started an annual tradition associated with World Oceans Day. We launched “Wear Blue and Tell Two” as a new way of celebrating our world’s ocean on June 8th.

The main idea behind “Wear Blue and Tell Two” is to have people associate the color blue with World Oceans Day each year. We also are interested in helping each person multiply their positive reach by telling friends or colleagues two interesting facts about the ocean or ways one can take take personal action to help.”
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Women on Subs – Not all that New

Posted on by June 7, 2010

Norway's Solveig Krey, the world's first female submarine commander

Julian Stockwin made a comment on Twitter this morning (what is the past tense of “to tweet?” by the way) regarding women on submarines.  He noted that Norway has had women serving on submarines for decades.   Indeed, the US will be at least the sixth country to allow women to serve in the Silent Service.  Norway was the first in 1985, followed by Denmark in in 1988 and Sweden in 1989. Australia followed suit in 1999 while Germany and Canada allowed women onboard in 2001 and 2002 respectively.  Spain also allows women to serve aboard subs, which does pose a new range of challenges.
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1982 Maine Built Schooner Rachel B. Jackson for Sale on E-Bay

Posted on by June 7, 2010

The schooner Rachel B. Jackson was on sale on E-Bay this morning.   The minimum bid was $175,000 with a “Buy it Now” price of $225,000.    The bidding ended at around 8:00 this morning EST without any bids having been made.   The schooner is described on her website:

The Rachel B. Jackson was built in Maine in 1982 and is a working replica of an 1890s coastal schooner. Her sturdily built mahogany planking, oak frames, pine decks, shining brass fittings and exotic wood cabinetry recall the workmanship of days gone by.
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The Saga of Robert Falcon Scott – Complex and Controversial

Posted on by June 6, 2010

British explorer Robert Falcon Scott was born today in 1868.  He died, along with his four companions, on the way back from the South Pole in 1912.   They had successfully reached the pole, only to learn that they had been beaten by Roald Amundsen’s Norwegian expedition.

Scott’s legacy has been marked by controversy. Long hailed as a hero, in recent years, some have portrayed him as a bungler.   The Scott expedition ended in tragedy while Amundsen arrived first and returned safely, without losing a man.  Nevertheless, Amundsen is largely forgotten and Scott still fascinates the public.  Two new exhibitions opened yesterday which feature Scott’s ill-fated expedition.   Edward Rothstein writes in his review of an exhibition, Race to the End of the Earth, which opened yesterday at the American Museum of Natural History, in New York:
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Pelicans, Back From Brink of Extinction, Face Oil Threat

Posted on by June 5, 2010

Though the pelican is featured on the state flag, by the early 1960s, brown pelicans had been pushed to extinction along the Louisiana Gulf Coast by DDT and other pesticides. In 1968 pelicans were reintroduction to Louisiana from colonies in Florida. Despite ups and downs,  the pelicans have slowly returned. Last year the brown pelican was taken off the endangered species list. With the Deepwater Horizon disaster, that could all change, once again.

Pelicans, Back From Brink of Extinction, Face Oil Threat
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Women sweep top-sailor honors in US Navy

Posted on by June 5, 2010

Women sweep top-sailor honors

For the first time, the Navy’s four sailors of the year are women, Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Gary Roughead announced Thursday. Roughead noted the achievement as part of a number of milestones for women in the fleet at the 23rd annual Women’s Leadership Symposium. They are: Continue reading →

The Lost Camera and the Sea Turtle

Posted on by June 4, 2010

I am not making this up.

In the middle of May, a gentleman, whose internet nickname is Aquahound, found a camera in an underwater housing that had washed ashore in Key West.   There were still photos and video on the memory card dating back to November of last year.   From the photos and his understanding of the currents, he surmised that the camera must have originated in Aruba.  There was video footage on the memory card from January,  which he found quite disturbing.
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Pride of Baltimore Sailing in the Great Lakes this Summer

Posted on by June 3, 2010

I am a huge fan of the “sharp-built” privateers that came to be known as Baltimore clippers.  They look fast sitting still and under sail, they are nothing less than breathtaking.   The Lynx, a replica Baltimore clipper, which was just up in New Hampshire, will be sailing on the east Coast and in the Great Lakes this summer as part of the Great Lakes United Tall Ships Challenge.     We have just learned from Dexter Donham of Sailing Ship Adventures that the Pride of Baltimore II, a fellow Baltimore clipper, will be sailing the Great Lakes as well.   Guest crew berths are apparently still available.

Pride of Baltimore II

Cornelis Drebbel’s Amazing Submarine at the Royal Navy Submarine Museum

Posted on by October 28, 2013

I’ve just finished reading Julian Stockwin’sInvasion, the tenth of his Kydd series, which features among its cast of characters, Robert Fulton and his Nautilus of 1800. While the Nautilus is often called the first “practical” submarine, it was not the first.  It was preceded by Bushnell’s  Turtle of 1775 and, perhaps the most remarkable of all, by Cornelis Drebbel‘s submarine of 1620, a wooden craft covered with greased leather and propelled by oars (!)

A replica of Drebbel’s remarkable craft will be on display at the Royal Navy Submarine Museum in Gosport in the UK, with a special presentation on June 3rd, in which actors from the Portsmouth theatre group, Groundlings, will play Dutch inventor Cornelius Van Drebbel and his assistant in a comical sketch using the actual replica Drebbel submarine.

World’s First Submarine Comes to Life in Half Term
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Ballyvaughan’s Festival of Valleys with Wine Transported by the Ketch Bessie Ellen

Posted on by June 3, 2010

In response to our post, Tall Ships Hit By Slumping Economy,  Will from the Tugster blog and Captain Peter from Nautical Log commented about the potential synergies of tall ships carrying cargo in addition to passengers.   Well great minds, and all that.  An example of what both these gentlemen were referring to took place last weekend in Ballyvaughan, Ireland in County Claire, at the Festival of the Valleys, which “celebrate[s] the very best of traditional Irish and Mediterranean culture and cuisine. This unique event … merge[s] the unique environment of the Burren with glorious splendour of the Mediterranean.”    Fittingly enough, the wine for the festival was delivered by the Ketch Bessie Ellen,  one of the last remaining examples of a West Country Trading Ketch, from the festival director’s own vineyard in the Languedoc-Rousillon area of southern France.

Ballyvaughan to welcome historic tall ship – full of wine

Tall Ships Hit By Slumping Economy

Posted on by June 2, 2010

Not surprising news given the economy but disturbing nevertheless.

Flagship might sail elsewhere: Highlander Sea’s future uncertain

The tall ship Highlander Sea, a longtime symbol of Port Huron, is not expected to hit the waves this summer. What’s more, its time representing the city could be winding down.   Rich Engle, vice president and chief operating officer of Acheson Ventures, said officials are exploring options for the 154-foot gaff-rigged topsail schooner, including the possibility of selling it.
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Dunkirk Little Ships struggle back

Posted on by June 2, 2010
Mary Scott under tow

Mary Scott under tow

The English Channel is still the Channel and the 60 or so “little ships” of Dunkirk haven’t gotten any younger.  The flotilla of some 60 of the original “little ships” were delayed in their return to Ramsgate after reinacting the crossing to the Dunkirk evacuation of 70 years ago.   Several of the vessels required assistance after mechanical breakdowns.  Thanks to the Tall Ship & Traditional Sail Professionals Linked in group for pointing out the article.

Dunkirk Little Ships struggle back

Hurricane Season Begins Today

Posted on by June 1, 2010

Hurricane season officially begins today, though Tropical Storm Agatha blew in from the Pacific a day or two early and killed 150 people in Guatemala and opened up a huge sink hole in Guatemala City.   Scientists with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) said last week that the Atlantic hurricane season could be the busiest since 2005,  the year when when Katrina and Rita caused massive destruction the Gulf Coast.  NOAA predicts that the 2010 season may spawn as many as 23 named tropical storms, including up to seven major hurricanes.  Of course, the ongoing oil spill that is currently causing other forms of damage to the Gulf Coast could cause additional problems of its own.

Reminiscent of the old Chinese curse, “may you live in interesting times,” this should be a very interesting hurricane season.