Voyage of the Orphan Boys in the Vaccine Ship of 1803

Posted on by December 13, 2020

Today, the first doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine have begun to be distributed in the United States. It seems like a good time to look back at the voyage of the orphan boys in the vaccine ship that sailed from Spain in 1803.

Now know as the Balmis Expedition, it was officially called the Real Expedición Filantrópica de la Vacuna (Royal Philanthropic Vaccine Expedition) and was a three-year mission, from 1803 to 1806, to Spanish America and Asia led by Dr. Francisco Javier de Balmis with the aim of vaccinating millions against smallpox. It was the first large scale mass vaccination of its kind.

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A Video for a Pandemic Saturday : Jolie Brise – the Boat That Changed Tom Cunliffe’s Life

Posted on by December 12, 2020

This is a wonderful half-hour documentary hosted by Tom Cunliffe about Jolie Brise. Jolie Brise is a gaff-rigged pilot cutter/racing yacht built and launched by the Albert Paumelle Yard in Le Havre in 1913 to a design by Alexandre Pâris. Tom Cunliffe is a British yachting journalist, author, and broadcaster.

Here are his comments on the video: Here’s a ‘lock-down special’ released early for Christmas about one of the greatest cutters of them all, Jolie Brise. This boat truly changed my life. She deserves this professionally made, TV-quality show, so pour yourself a glass of the finest and shut the cabin door on the world for half an hour.

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MOL Signs Deal For New Wind Challenger Sail Assisted Collier

Posted on by December 11, 2020

Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, Ltd. (MOL) has reached a coal transport deal with Tohoku Electric Power Co., Inc., which will use a new 99,000 DWT collier equipped with a retractable wing sail propulsion system, known as the Wind Challenger. Construction of the vessel will start at Oshima Shipbuilding with the goal of going into service in 2022.

The new ship will feature a single retractable sail, mounted near the bow, which is expected to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases (GHGs) by about 5% on the Japan-Australia route or about 8% on the Japan-North America West Coast route, in comparison with a conventional vessel of the same class.

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Captain Amy Bauernschmidt Picked as First Woman to Command a Nuclear Aircraft Carrier

Posted on by December 10, 2020

The US Navy has selected Captain Amy Bauernschmidt as the first woman to command a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier. Capt. Bauernschmidt was selected for the position by the fiscal year 2022 aviation major command screen board. It has not been announced which of the Navy’s 11 nuclear-powered carriers Bauernschmidt will command.

Other officers who were picked for nuclear aircraft carrier command include Capts. Colin Day, Gavin Duff, Brent Gaut, David Pollard, and Craig Sicola.

Capt. Bauernschmidt also made history, when, in 2016, she became the first female executive officer of a nuclear aircraft carrier, the USS Abraham Lincoln.

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Humpback Whale in New York’s Inner Harbor

Posted on by December 9, 2020

Yesterday afternoon saw unusual traffic on the Hudson River in New York’s inner harbor.  A humpback whale was seen swimming in the Hudson, off Pier 84, on Monday afternoon. The whale is no stranger to New York waters. Gotham Whale‘s lead researcher Danielle M. Brown identified the whale as NYC0089, first spotted in 2018, and recently photographed on November 27th. For a slideshow of wonderful images taken by Bjoern Kils of New York Media Boat, click here.

 

What Happened on the Container Ship ONE Apus? A Glimpse at Parametric Rolling

Posted on by December 8, 2020

Last week, the container ship ONE Apus lost or had damaged over 1,900 containers in a storm in the Pacific. The lost or damaged containers representing close to 25% of the ship’s cargo. The casualty represents more containers than are typically lost in a year worldwide off all container ships, according to the World Shipping Council.

What happened on the ONE Apus? Why did so many boxes go over the side? It may be too soon to say. The ship just arrived in Kobe, Japan, and will be the subject of a detailed investigation as soon as the remaining damaged boxes are unloaded. That being said, one possible explanation is that ONE Apus experienced parametric rolling, a phenomenon that can induce violent rolling, particularly in large containerships.

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Radio Broadcasts Reporting Attack on Pearl Harbor 79 Years Ago Today

Posted on by December 7, 2020

An interrupted broadcast of a football game, a newsbreak during a performance by the New York Philharmonic, a weather report followed by an announcement from President Roosevelt that Japan had bombed Pearl Harbor. Reports of attacks on the Philippines. Here is a compilation of news reports from Sunday, December 7th, 1941, seventy-eight years ago today.

Pearl Harbor Attacks – As It Happened – Radio Broadcasts

Container Ship ONE Apus Sets Record for Boxes Lost Over the Side at Over 1,900

Posted on by December 6, 2020

The one-year-old, 14,000 TEU capacity container ship, ONE Apus, has set a dubious new record. It encountered severe weather about 1,600 nautical miles northwest of Hawaii while sailing from Yantian in China to Long Beach, California. In the violent storm, it is believed to have lost or damaged over 1,900 containers, a record for boxes lost over the side. Of these, 40 are believed to be Dangerous Goods containers. Container News suggests that the ship may have lost up to 25% of its cargo. The ship was diverted to Kobe, Japan for assessment.

To put the scope of this casualty in context, the loss on the ONE Apus appears to be greater than the total yearly loss of containers from all ships worldwide. Continue reading →

Vendee Globe: Sam Davies “Out of the Game” With Plans to Keep Sailing

Posted on by December 5, 2020

On December 2, Initiatives-Coeur, being sailed by Sam Davies off South Africa in the Vendee Globe Race, came to a crashing halt. Davies describes the collision: “ It was as if I had run aground on a rock at the time. The boat speed went from 20kts to zero.”  Davies had struck an unidentified floating object (UFO) which shattered the longitudinal stiffeners that support the boat’s keel. Davies herself suffered bruised ribs but was fortunately not seriously injured.

After determining that the repairs necessary to make the boat safe to sail in the Southern Ocean could not be performed at sea, Davies pointed Initiatives-Coeur’s bow toward Cape Town.  Because the rules of the Vendee Globe require that the racers compete unassisted, Davies has retired from the race. She is not however giving up on the voyage. When and if the boat can be repaired she intends to continue sailing hors course or “out of the game,” no longer in the race, but still endeavoring to complete the circumnavigation.

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UFOs and the Vendee Globe — Plus ça Change, Plus C’est la Meme Chose

Posted on by December 4, 2020

Of the 33 IMOCAs which started the Vendee Globe Race, four have officially abandoned. Two, Hugo Boss and Arkea Paprec, were damaged after striking Unidentified Floating Objects (UFOs). A third boat, Sam Davies’ Initiatives Coeur was also damaged by a UFO collision. Davies is now evaluating whether she will be able to stay in the race. Corum L’Épargne, sailed by Nicolas Troussel, quit the race after dismasting, and PRB sank after an apparent structural failure.

In considering the status of the race, the French phrase, plus ça change, plus c’est la même chose, ( the more things change, the more they stay the same) comes to mind. Looking back at the 2016-2017 Vendee Globe Race, little seems to have changed. Four years ago, UFOs were the largest single cause of damage to the fleet.

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Vendee Globe: Sam Davies’ and Sébastien Simon’s Boats Damaged by UFOs

Posted on by December 3, 2020

Unidentified Floating Objects (UFOs) continue to take their toll on the Vendee Globe Race fleet.  Yesterday, Sam Davies, sailing Initiatives Coeur, and Sébastien Simon, sailing Arkea Paprec, each hit UFOs which seriously damaged their boats. 

Davies reports: “I was sailing at speeds between 15 and 22kts and I was actually just making a hot meal after the gybe and doing the stack and everything and it was just starting to get dark. I hit something. I did not see anything. I did not know what it was. It was pretty much dark when it happened. But it was as if I had run aground on a rock at the time. The boat speed went from 20kts to zero. The boat nosedived on the impact with the keel. I knew it was the keel. I heard a crack coming from there. I and everything else flew forwards, including my dinner which has repainted the entire inside of my boat. Everything moved. I went flying into a ring frame, luckily, because that could have been worse. It was really violent. But luckily, I have just hurt some ribs. It is not serious but really painful. But I stopped the boat, dropped the main, and went to check around the keel, the bearings, and the bulkhead. The bulkhead, the main bearing bulkheads (which support the keel box) are intact as far as I can see. The keel bearings are intact. The longitudinal structure around the keel box is all cracked. That has taken the shock of the impact of when the boat moved, that is cracked on both sides.”  Continue reading →

USS Bonhomme Richard to Be Scrapped, a Glimpse Inside the Charred Wreckage

Posted on by December 2, 2020

The US Navy has decided to scrap the amphibious assault ship Bonhomme Richard, which burned for more than four days this summer in San Diego. The cost and time required to rebuild the gutted ship would be simply too great to justify. 

Rear Adm. Eric Ver Hage, commander of the Navy Regional Maintenance Center, told reporters Monday that the extensive damage to the flattop’s flight deck, island, mast and lower levels from the July 12 inferno would have required about 60 percent of the ship to be replaced.

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Vendee Globe: Le Cam Rescues Escoffier After Boat Breaks in Half in Roaring Forties

Posted on by December 1, 2020

Kevin Escoffier

High drama on the high seas. Kevin Escoffier was in third place in the Vendee Globe Race, sailing in the “Roaring Forties” about 840 miles south of Cape Town, when his boat PRB broke in half. He sent a brief message to his team at 1346hrs (UTC), saying: “I need assistance. I am sinking. This is not a joke.” He had just enough time to activate his EPIRB, don a neoprene survival suit, and to get to his liferaft before the boat sank beneath him.

Rescue services, including the MRCC Cape Town and French CROSS Griz, working with the PRB team and Vendée Globe race organizers, requested Jean Le Cam, the nearest competitor, in the boat Yes We Cam!, to sail to PRB’s last known position when the beacon was triggered.

When Le Cam arrived at the position (40°55 S 9°18 E) he initially spotted Escoffier’s life raft but then lost sight of it in the 5-meter seas and 20-25 knot winds. Yachting World reports: While Le Cam began initiating a search pattern, race organizers requested that three more Vendée Globe competitors – Boris Herrmann, Yannick Bestaven, and Sebastien Simon – divert to PRB’s last known position. By this stage, it was dark, with 3-5m waves, and blowing 22-25 knots.

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Dredging May Free the Replica “Lost Colony” Ship Elizabeth II

Posted on by November 30, 2020

For the last four years, the “Lost Colony” replica 16th-century ship Elizabeth II has been stuck in Manteo, NC. The ship, with a draft of 8 feet, has not been able to leave the harbor because the channel has not been in 14 years and has silted in places to depths of less than 5 feet.  It now looks like recently approved dredging will allow Elizabeth II to set sail again.  

The Elizabeth II is a replica ship inspired by one of the ships used in Sir Walter Raliegh’s ill-fated attempt to establish the first English colony in North America in the 1580s  on Roanoke Island on the Outer Banks in what is now North Carolina. Because of the disappearance of 120 colonists around 1590, the expedition is often referred to as the “Lost Colony.”  

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Alex Thomson on Hugo Boss Out of Vendee Globe Race

Posted on by November 29, 2020

After leading the fleet in the early days of the race, Alex Thomson, sailing on the IMCO 60 Hugo Boss, has withdrawn from the Vendee Globe single-handed around the world race.  Thomson has diverted to Cape Town, South Africa after suffering damage to the starboard rudder of the Hugo Boss. 

The Hugo Boss suffered structural damage to the bow last week. Thomson slowed the boat and made repairs to the bow with tools and material aboard. He then began racing again until suffering rudder damage. As the damage to the starboard rudder can not be repaired at sea, Thomson disconnected the starboard rudder and is relying on the port rudder to steer while sailing to Cape Town for repairs. 

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Maxi Edmond de Rothschild Attempt at Jules Verne Trophy Interrupted by UFO

Posted on by November 28, 2020

Yesterday, we posted about a head to head race between trimarans  Sodebo and Maxi Edmond de Rothschild/Gitana 17 attempting to win the Jules Verne Trophy. While the race for the trophy is against the clock, the two boats that sailed within hours of each other, sailing what amounted to a Maxi-match race, added a novel element to their attempt to beat the existing speed record for voyaging around the world under sail. The match race, however, between the maxi-tris has ended.  

After three days at sea, the attempt by the crew of the foiling trimaran Maxi Edmond de Rothschild has been interrupted by a high-speed collision with a UFO (an Unidentified Floating Object.) The trimaran is returning to port for repairs, intending to restart the race once the repairs are completed and a favorable weather window presents itself.

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Foiling Maxi-Trimarans Race Head to Head for Jules Verne Trophy

Posted on by November 27, 2020

Early Wednesday, two 100′ long foiling maxi-trimarans, Sodebo and Maxi Edmond de Rothschild/Gitana 17 set out to race around the globe to attempt to win the Jules Verne Trophy. Sailing within hours of each other, Sodebo crossed the starting line, which lies between the Créac’h lighthouse (Ouessant) and the Lizard in south-west England, at 0255 (CET). An hour and a half later, Edmond de Rothschild, followed.

Technically, the two tris are not racing each other. Each is racing the clock. The Jules Verne Trophy is awarded to the challenger who breaks the previous Jules Verne record of the round the world voyage under sail. The current record of 40 days 23 hours 30 minutes 30 seconds was set by Francis Joyon sailing IDEC Sport in 2017.

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Thanksgiving Repost — Whaling Ships, Sarah Josepha Hale, Mary’s Lamb & a Liberty Ship

Posted on by November 26, 2020

Happy Thanksgiving for those on this side of the pond and below the 49th parallel.  (The Canadians celebrated the holiday in October.) Here is a repost of a story I think is well worth retelling. 

Thanksgiving is one of the central creation myths of the founding of the United States. The story is based on an account of a one time feast of thanksgiving in the Plymouth colony of Massachusetts in 1621 during a period of atypically good relations with local tribes. Thanksgiving only became a national holiday in 1863.  Before the celebration spread across the country, Thanksgiving was most popular in New England. On 19th-century American whale ships, which sailed from New England ports, they celebrated only the Fourth of July, Thanksgiving, and Christmas. Of the three holidays, Thanksgiving may have been the most popular. On Norfolk Island in the Pacific, they also celebrate Thanksgiving, the holiday brought to the island by visiting American whaling ships.

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VB-10,000 “Golden Arches” Making Progress in First Cut in Golden Ray

Posted on by November 25, 2020

After being delayed by hurricanes, the pandemic, and a broken link in the cutting chain, the heavy-lift catamaran VB-10,000, nicknamed the “Golden Arches” is now making good progress on the first cut to slice the stricken car carrier, Golden Ray into sections that can be loaded onto a barge and hauled away to scrap.

In September of 2019, the car carrier Golden Ray lost stability and partially capsized as it departed the Port of Brunswick, GA, carrying about 4,200 vehicles. The ships and its cargo were declared a total loss. The VB-10,000 is now cutting the 660-foot long ship into sections by hoisting a heavy chain to rip through the ship’s hull.

Specialized Lift Ship Cuts Through Capsized Car Carrier Golden Ray

Sea the City Introducing Hot Tub Boat Tours to New York Harbor

Posted on by November 24, 2020

Photo: Will Van Dorp

Will Van Dorp, host of the Tugster blog, recently saw an odd craft on the Hudson River, heading up into the Morris Canal Big Basin toward Liberty Landing Marina. It appeared to be a catamaran with a rather blocky deckhouse aft and two raised hatches forward. On closer examination, the hatches with their raised coamings turned out to be two large hot tubs. Yes, hot tubs.

Sea the City, a New York harbor jet ski tour company, has broadened its menu of services to include a “hot tub boat tour” which they describe on their website as “a unique and luxurious way to enjoy NY Harbor. Bring your favorite wine or beer and get ready for the most instagramable moment of your life. You will sit in a beautiful, commercial spa while taking in amazing views of the Hudson River and Lady Liberty.”

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