The Live Science blog reports that whale watchers in Japan were recently treated to a rare wildlife encounter when they saw, not one, but two white orcas swimming side by side.
The pair and their pod were spotted by a group on a Gojiraiwa Kanko Whale Watching boat off the coast of Rausu on the northernmost of Japan’s main islands called Hokkaido on July 24, according to a Facebook post.
Last May, we posted about a threat by Norwegian Cruise Line (NCL) to pull its ships from Florida ports after the Florida legislature passed a law prohibiting businesses from asking whether employees or customers have been vaccinated against Covid-19, contradicting certain CDC guidelines to resume cruise operations. The law, championed by Gov. Ron DeSantis, slaps businesses with a fine of $5,000 per violation for asking customers to prove they were inoculated against the coronavirus.
NCL’s intended policy is to require 100% vaccinations for guests and crew members in each port it sails out of around the world. NCL subsequently sued the State of Florida over the law.
On Sunday, a preliminary injunction was granted by U.S. District Judge Kathleen Williams in Miami to allow NCL to require that passengers show proof of a COVID-19 vaccination before boarding any of its ships in Florida.
Last week, a wall of ice, representing an iceberg, collapsed at the Titanic Museum Attraction in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, injuring three guests. The injured were taken to a local hospital. The extent of the injuries was not revealed.
From the attraction Facebook page: Immediately following the accident, Titanic Museum Attraction was closed, and as of the morning of Tuesday, Aug. 3, we reopened to ticketed passengers. The iceberg wall does not currently exist, and the affected area has been blocked off, for the time being. We anticipate it will take at least four weeks for the iceberg to rebuild.
USS Little Rock
We posted back in February, about the Navy’s plans to decommission four relatively new Littoral Combat Ships (LCS). Congress granted approval to decommission two, the USS Independence and the USS Freedom. The Independence was decommissioned on July 29, 20201 and the Freedom is slated to be decommissioned on September 30, 2021. The ships are 11 and 13 years old, respectively.
The two ships were the first LCS built of two variant classes. The Freedom-class ships are 388′ long monohulls, while the Independence-class ships are 418′ long trimarans.
In its new budget proposal, the Navy wants to decommission an additional four LCS — USS Fort Worth, USS Coronado, USS Detroit, and USS Little Rock. The last two ships, both Freedom-class, were only commissioned in 2016 and 2017, respectively.
Jon Morrow Lindbergh died recently at the age of 88. He was an American underwater diver who worked as a United States Navy demolition expert and as a commercial diver. He was also a pioneer in cave diving and was one of the world’s earliest aquanauts in the 1960s. He was one of the children of aviators Charles Lindbergh and Anne Morrow Lindbergh.
His father, Charles Lindbergh, was the first to fly solo non-stop across the Atlantic from New York City to Paris on May 20–21, 1927. In doing so, he became a worldwide celebrity. In 1932, Anne and Charles Lindbergh’s first child was kidnapped and murdered in what would become known as the “crime of the century.” Jon Lindbergh was born on August 16, 1932, only five months after the death of his older brother.
We had a lovely stay in the old seaport village of Stonington, CT on our recent cruise. In honor of our visit, here is a repost from a few years ago about the Battle of Stonington that was fought two hundred and seven years ago next week. In a three-day battle, the militia at Stonington armed with only two cannons drove off a 100-gun four-ship Royal Navy flotilla during the War of 1812.
Stonington, Connecticut, is a small village on the extreme eastern coast of the state. In the center of the village, two 18 pound cannons are on display in the fittingly named Cannon Square. On their tampions, blocking the ends of the cannon’s muzzles, is the date 1814, when the two cannons, manned by local militia, almost miraculously drove off a British force of four Royal Navy ships under the command of Captain Sir Thomas Hardy, Nelson’s flag captain on HMS Victory at the Battle of Trafalgar. The battle may not have been of any great strategic importance, but was one of a series of American victories in the last days of the War of 1812.
In September, we posted about a Swedish consortium that included Wallenius Marine has designed Oceanbird, a five-masted sailing car carrier, that, if built, will be the largest sailing cargo ship that the world has ever seen.
Last month, Alfa Laval and Wallenius Marine announced that they would form a 50/50 joint venture – AlfaWall Oceanbird – that will supply innovative wind propulsion solutions for cargo vessels and other ship types. The plan is to have the first Oceanbird system onboard a vessel within five years.
Happy Coast Guard Day! In honor of the day, a post about the former Coast Guard lighthouse tender, USCGC Lilac, a museum ship located on the Hudson River in New York City. The Lilac is America’s only surviving steam-powered lighthouse tender.
At the end of May, we posted “Celebrating Lighthouse Tender Lilac’s 88th Birthday in Audio and Visual Arts” about a temporary public art installation on the historic ship. Here is a follow-on video describing 88 Lilac, the two-part installation, as well as providing a tour and summary of the history of the lighthouse and buoy tender.
The Lilac has now reopened for tours at Pier 25 in lower Manhattan. Click here to learn more.
On Friday, the schooner Mary E, owned by the Maine Maritime Museum in Bath, was knocked down and flooded while sailing off Doubling Point Light on the Kennebec River, just downriver from the museum. All 18 passengers and crew were rescued from the 73-foot schooner, pulled from the water by boats from Sea Tow, Bath Iron Works security, and good samaritans.
The schooner has now been recovered and returned to the museum dock. An investigation into the accident is ongoing.
We recently sailed to Block Island, a picturesque windswept island, roughly a dozen miles off the coast of Rhode Island. A haven for vacationers, Block Island also features the first commercial offshore wind farm in the United States. Five 6MW turbines spin three miles south-est of the island generating enough electricity to power 17,000 homes. The wind farm is small by international standards but is an important first step.
It is fitting that Block Island hosts the first US offshore wind farm, as it has a history of utilizing wind power that stretches back over 200 years. An updated repost.
The Howard Steamboat Museum recently posted a video “A River, a Family, and a Shipyard: The History of the Howard Family of Steamboat Builders” that tells the story of James Howard and the Howard Family, who were the most successful steamboat builders in American history. James Howard established his boatyard in Jeffersonville, Indiana in 1834. By 1890, half of the steamboats on the western rivers were built by the Howards.
A River, a Family, and a Shipyard: The History of the Howard Family of Steamboat Builders
Thanks to Hope Wright for pointing out the video on Facebook.
Virginia Class submarine
The US Navy christened one of its newest Virginia-class attack submarines, the USS Hyman G. Rickover (SSN 795), during a 9 a.m. EDT ceremony Saturday, July 31, 2021, at General Dynamics/Electric Boat, in Groton, Connecticut.
From the Navy press release:
The future USS Hyman G. Rickover (SSN 795) is the second nuclear-powered fast attack submarine in recognition of Adm. Rickover. The first Hyman G. Rickover (SSN 709) was commissioned at Submarine Base, New London, in Groton, on July 21, 1984. SSN 709 and its crew deployed 12 times until its decommissioning in December 2007. Over the years, its decorations included the Atlantic Fleet Golden Anchor Award, Submarine Squadron Eight’s anti-submarine warfare white “A” and engineering red “E” awards and the prestigious Sixth Fleet “Hook ‘Em” award for anti-submarine warfare excellence.
Last August we posted “Did an Arsonist Torch the USS Bonhomme Richard?” The Navy has concluded that the answer is yes, as it has charged a seaman apprentice with deliberately starting a fire last year that destroyed the amphibious assault USS Bonhomme Richard, one of the worst blazes to engulf an American warship outside of combat.
The sailor was a member of the crew when the fire broke out last July and faces a hearing that will determine whether there will be a court-martial.
For almost a decade, Reza Baluchi has been trying to run across oceans in his hydro pod, a homemade bubble contraption with a metal frame that looks and is intended to function as a human hamster wheel.
As reported by the New York Times, a man popped out of the top hatch of the contraption, a makeshift human hamster wheel. He had made it only 25 miles on what was supposed to be a 1,000-plus-mile journey from St. Augustine, Fla., to New York, using the power of his two legs and, if all had gone according to plan, the Gulf Stream.
Bruce Kirby died recently at the age of 92. He was a Canadian-born, self-taught yacht designer known for a range of projects from one-designs to America’s Cup yachts. He also was a three-time Olympian sailor. Kirby began his career as a journalist, becoming Editor of One-Design and Offshore Yachtsman, now Sailing World.
Bruce Kirby may be best remembered for his design of the Laser in 1970, which began as a sketch, described as a “doodle,” made while talking on the phone. More than 250,000 of the boats have been built worldwide since 1970, making Kirby’s creation one of the most influential sailboat designs of all time. The Laser, now called the ILCA, for the International Laser Class Association, is used for men’s and women’s single-handed events in the Olympics.
Sail-world comments that the Laser proved to be one of only three iconic designs in sailing history, which had a dramatic impact on the sport, the other two being the Windsurfer and Hobie Cat.
The New York Times notes that Mr. Kirby came to call his original legal pad drawing the “million dollar doodle.” The royalties he received allowed him to leave his day job, launching him into an eclectic boat-design career that touched every corner of the sport, from the America’s Cup to junior sailing to cruising craft for shallow estuaries, and established him as one of the world’s pre-eminent boat designers.
Kirby died at his home in the village of Rowayton in Norwalk, Conn. His wife, Margo Kirby, confirmed his death.
Thanks to Larry Witmer for contributing to this post.
The Hawaii Department of Transportation’s Harbors Division put out a second request for proposals (RFP) for the “removal of the derelict sailing vessel Falls of Clyde from Honolulu Harbor.” A previous RFP issued in late April was later canceled after a review had found “not all state processes were followed.” The new RFP requires that bids be submitted by August 2nd.
The Star Advertiser reports that the contractor will need to comply with any and all federal, state, and county laws, statutes, and regulations including, but not limited to environmental and historic preservation acts, as well as consultations with federal agencies and other requirements.
We recently posted about the latest round of red tide to hit the Gulf Coast of Florida. Florida red tide is caused by the blooming of the dinoflagellate Karenia brevis. K. brevis produces neurotoxins that can cause respiratory problems in humans and attack the central nervous systems of fish and other wildlife. In the latest outbreak, over 1,200 tons of dead fish and other marine life have washed up on Florida’s Gulf Coast.
Now, scientists are testing a new and novel approach to battling the toxic algal bloom — spraying the red tide with a clay slurry.
A short video of Tradewind Voyages’ Golden Horizon sailing at night between Poole & Portland. Golden Horizon is the largest square-rigged sailing ship in the world. A 272 passenger, five-masted barque, she is 532 feet (162 meters) long, with a 60 foot (18.5 meter) beam and will have a sail area of 68,300 square feet (6,347 square meters). By comparison, the tea clipper Cutty Sark set less than half as much sail at around 3,000 square meters. The ship was inspired by the France II of 1912.
Joshua Zeman has directed a newly released documentary, The Loneliest Whale — the Search for 52. It is a fascinating muddle of a film, well worth watching if you can overlook the mix of myth, legend, and social media sentimentality that overlay an otherwise intriguing tale.
To start with the story — during the Cold War, the US deployed a vast array of hydrophones to listen for Russian submarines. In 1989, they picked up a sound at 52 Hz, which was originally suspected to be a submarine by default, because no known whale called at that frequency. Blue and fin whales typically call out at 10-30 Hz. It also didn’t sound anything like a humpback whale, known for its long and wide-ranging songs from 40-800 Hz.
Nevertheless, it was a whale as determined in 1992 by Dr. William A. Watkins, a pioneer in marine mammal acoustics. It was just like no whale that he had ever heard before. He would spend the next twelve years tracking the unique whale’s calls in the North and Central Pacific until his death in 2004. He published a paper shortly before he died describing his research into the 52 Hz whale.
At this point, the story took on a life of its own. Continue reading
The Sea Venture was the flagship of the Third Supply mission to the Jamestown Colony that was wrecked in Bermuda in 1609. A 300-ton ship commissioned by the London Company, she was one of the first single timbered merchantmen built in England, and also the first dedicated emigration ship. Sea Venture‘s wreck is widely thought to have been the inspiration for William Shakespeare‘s play The Tempest.
The wreck of the Sea Venture on the uninhabited islands of Bermuda also led directly to Bermuda’s colonization. Now, Bermuda is celebrating the landing.