Ecuadorian Navy Raises Alarm Over Fleet of Chinese Fishing Vessels Near Galápagos

Posted on by July 30, 2020

Ecuador has raised an alarm after a naval patrol sighted a fleet of around 260 Chinese fishing vessels just outside the Galápagos protection zone. Naval patrols had been stepped up to monitor the Chinese ships. Chinese fishing vessels come regularly to the Pacific around the Galápagos, but this year’s fleet is one of the largest in recent years.

The Galápagos islands were declared a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1978. The waters surrounding the islands have been protected since 1998 by the Galápagos Marine Reserve, which spans more than 50,000 square miles around the archipelago. 

Chinese ships are currently in international waters to the just outside a 188-mile wide Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) around the islands, but their presence has already raised the prospect of serious damage to the delicate marine ecosystem, said a former environment minister, Yolanda Kakabadse.

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NYC Woman Dies in Maine’s First Fatal Shark Attack

Posted on by July 29, 2020

Julie Dimperio Holowach, 63, from New York City died Monday after being bitten by a great white shark while she was swimming approximately 20 yards off the western shore of Bailey Island, near the city of Portland, according to Maine Department of Marine Resources Patrick Keliher in a statement Tuesday.

Ms. Holowach, who was wearing a black wetsuit, was swimming with her daughter when she was attacked. Her daughter swam for the island and screamed for help. Two nearby kayakers brought the badly injured Holowach to shore, where she died before paramedics could arrive. 

After the attack, officials recovered a fragment of a tooth, which was positively identified as from a great white shark.

Shark attacks are very rare in Maine. The attack on Holowach is the first fatal shark attack on record in the state.

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With Pandemic Spiking, Hong Kong Restricts Crew Changes

Posted on by July 28, 2020

As Hong Kong braces for its third wave of coronavirus infections, local authorities are cracking down on allowing crew changes on ships, except for those loading or discharging cargo in the port.  The rule change could significantly affect shipping across the region.

Previously, merchant vessels could exchange crew while at a local anchorage. Recently, however, four imported cases of the virus involving seafarers were recorded in Hong Kong. Also, six ships at anchor, with approximately 100 sailors aboard, are now under quarantine after crew tested positive for the virus.  

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Remembering Larry Pardey, 1938 — 2020

Posted on by July 27, 2020

Lin & Larry Pardey sailing Seraffyn Photo: Facebook

Lin and Larry Pardey met in 1965. Lin was 21. Larry was 26. He was a sailor and shipwright and was beginning to build a 24′ engineless Lyle Hess designed cutter, to be named Seraffyn, in which he planned on sailing the world. Lin offered to help. They married in 1968.

In their 52 year marriage, they would sail over 200,000 miles together, circumnavigating the world both east-about and west-about. They would also write 12 books on their voyages, as well as on seamanship, and boat construction. With their mantra, “Go Small, Go Simple, Go Now,” they inspired an entire generation of cruising sailors.

Sadly, in recent years Larry has suffered from Parkinson’s and Parkinsonian dementia. He died last night. Lin posted this message on Facebook this morning.

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National Museum of the Royal Navy ‘Saved from Insolvency’ Due to Virus Lockdown

Posted on by July 26, 2020

The National Museum of the Royal Navy (NMRN) has announced that it has been saved from imminent insolvency by a promise of emergency government funding. The museum group includes Lord Nelson’s flagship HMS Victory and HMS Warrior at Portsmouth Historic Dockyard and the frigate HMS Trincomalee in Hartlepool, among vessels and exhibitions at seven UK sites. 

The museum said the closure of its sites due to the coronavirus lockdown had caused a £6.35m shortfall which would have resulted in its filing for insolvency within the next month had the emergency funding not been granted. NMRN will now able to begin to reopen its sites in Portsmouth, Gosport, Hartlepool, and Yeovilton and will be making announcements about dates for reopening, in the coming weeks. NMRN said the government had indicated it would give £5.4m to cover losses this financial year.

NMRN will not, however, be able to open its site in Belfast as HMS Caroline is governed by a different funding model via the Northern Ireland Executive.

Update: Golden Ray Removal Delayed & Salvage Animation

Posted on by July 25, 2020

Lasy week, we posted that the removal of the capsized car carrier Golden Ray was being delayed by an outbreak of coronavirus in the salvage team on the heavy-lift barge VB-10,000, nicknamed the “Golden Arches.”  Now with the onset of the hurricane season, the salvage operation has been postponed until at least October 1.  The Golden Ray capsized as it departed the Port of Brunswick, GA, carrying about 4,200 vehicles last September.

In the meantime, here is an animation of how the Golden Ray will be cut into eight sections that will be hauled off by barges to the scrapyard.  

Golden Ray Cargo Ship Salvage Procedure | 3D-Rendered Video

First North American to Circumnavigate Solo, Non-stop, Using Only Celestial Navigation

Posted on by July 24, 2020

Canadian Bert terHart recently completed a 267-day solo, non-stop circumnavigation of the world via the five capes on his 43′ sailboat using only traditional celestial navigation. He is the first North American to circle the globe solo and non-stop using only a sextant, a chronometer, an almanac, pen, paper, and charts with which to navigate.

While not using global positioning satellites to navigate, he did bring along an email equipped satellite phone and posted to a blog and an Instagram account. In addition to maintaining contact with friends and family,  he was also followed online by about 2,000 children from Kenya to New Zealand to New York from their classrooms.

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Greyhound, Tom Hanks Fights the Battle of the Atlantic

Posted on by July 23, 2020

Greyhound, a movie that was written by and stars Tom Hanks, tells the story of a destroyer captain fighting a German U-boat wolf-pack that is attacking a convoy of Allied ships in the North Atlantic. The movie was inspired by C.S. Forester’s novel, The Good Shepherd.

This is not my review. I had planned on writing a review but so far I have been unable to see the movie, which is streaming only on Apple TV. Not for a lack of trying, I attempted to sign up for Apple TV so that I could stream it on a PC, but I gave up after about 20 minutes, which included getting several “page not found” messages when I attempted to access Apple’s online support. So rather than post my own review, I am posting two videos.

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UK Nuclear Submarine in Near Collision with Passenger Ferry

Posted on by July 21, 2020

In November 2018, a Royal Navy nuclear submarine came within 50-100m of a collision with the Stena Superfast VII ferry near the entrance to Belfast harbor, according to an inquiry by the UK’s Marine Accident Investigation Branch.

The Guardian reports: The report, released on Thursday, said the submarine’s control room team had underestimated the ferry’s speed and overestimated its range, which led to the near-miss. The ferry, which was traveling from Belfast to Cairnyan, in Scotland with 215 passengers and 67 crew on board when the lookout spotted the submarine’s periscope close ahead. The officer on watch had to immediately turn the ship to avoid a collision.

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Update: Mayflower II Moves From Mystic to New London For Sea Trials

Posted on by July 20, 2020

Today, Mayflower II, a replica of the ship that carried the Pilgrims to Plymouth, MA, was towed to New London, CT for two weeks of sea trials and final outfitting before returning to its homeport in Plymouth.

In September of last year, we posted about the launching of the Mayflower II at the Mystic Seaport Museum‘s Henry B. duPont Preservation Shipyard. The 64-year-old ship underwent a more than three-year $11 million restoration at the seaport shipyard.

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Update: Facing Hurricanes, Removal of Car Carrier Golden Ray Delayed by Coronavirus

Posted on by July 18, 2020

The removal of the capsized car carrier Golden Ray is being delayed by the coronavirus. We recently posted about the VB-10,000, nicknamed the “Golden Arches,” the largest heavy-lift vessel ever built in the United States, that was getting ready to use chains to slice the Golden Ray into eight sections, to be placed on barges and towed away to be scrapped. The Golden Ray partially capsized as it departed the Port of Brunswick, GA, carrying about 4,200 vehicles last September.

The initial goal was to have the ship cut up and removed before the onset of the hurricane season beginning June 1.  That date slipped to September 1, still hoping to avoid the worst of the storms.

Now, the project has been delayed further by the coronavirus. The U.S. Coast Guard has confirmed that nine people directly involved with the removal of the cargo ship Golden Ray have tested positive for COVID-19. Everyone who has had contact with the nine individuals is now being tested for the virus.  If all goes well the project should restart within a week or two. 

Pandemic Update: Most of Maine’s Windjammers Not Sailing in 2020

Posted on by July 17, 2020

Schooner Heritage in better times

At the end of June, we posted that the Maine windjammer passenger fleet faced an uncertain season due to the pandemic.  Shortly thereafter, the State of Maine, working with the Maine Windjammer Association and others, agreed on a set of rules and guidelines to allow overnight windjammer cruises to start in July. That would generally be good news, except that the rules were very tough. The toughest was probably the state’s requirement that all out-of-state visitors must have a negative COVID-19 test result within 72 hours of travel.

So, while it may be possible to cruise this year, many, and indeed most, windjammers have decided to keep their sails folded and not sail in the 2020 sailing season.

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Will COVID-19 Destroy the Traditional Netherlands Sailing Fleet?

Posted on by July 16, 2020

The Netherlands has the largest, still operational, historical sailing fleet in the world, consisting of 400 traditional, authentic sailing vessels. There are real concerns that the historic fleet may be destroyed by the aftermath of COVID-19. With the fleet locked down in port, a significant component of the Netherlands’ maritime heritage is at risk. 

The Maritime Post reports: Due to the corona measures being taken in the Netherlands and worldwide the fleet is being threatened with becoming extinct. The owners are facing a revenue loss of up to 90% to 100% in 2020 and the outlook for 2021 is hardly any better. Without further financial support from the government, many businesses will face bankruptcy, which could result in the disappearance of these historical ships from the Dutch and international waters.

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Coast Guard Sexual Harassment — Pioneering Rescue Swimmer Sarah Faulkner Speaks Out

Posted on by July 15, 2020

We have posted in the past about the heroic and pioneering US Coast Guard Rescue Swimmer Sara Faulkner. She was the first of only a handful of women who have qualified and served as rescue swimmers. Faulkner joined the Coast Guard intent upon becoming a rescue swimmer, so she knew that she would be called upon to serve in the most extreme rescue situations. What she didn’t anticipate was almost two decades of sexual harassment and assault.

The Miami Herald reports that “once sent to do the job she loved, rescuing people from helicopter drops, Faulkner said she endured groping, licking, butt smacking, leering and crude sexual innuendos meant to humiliate her in front of colleagues.”

Now retired, Faulkner is speaking out against the abuse and being retaliated against for reporting the abuse. In the video below, Faulkner describes in her own words the harassment and abuse that she suffered.

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Dockside Ship Fires, From the Normandie to the USS Bonhomme Richard

Posted on by July 14, 2020

For a third day, the USS Bonhomme Richard continues to burn at the dock, despite the best efforts of hundreds of Navy and civilian firefighters to quench the inferno. The casualty raises the question, are dockside fires on ships worse than fires at sea? 

“As counter-intuitive as this sounds, I would much rather fight a fire at sea with a whole crew than fight it dockside,” said Bryan McGrath, a retired Navy commander told the San Diego Union-Tribune. “The ability to act quickly with a massive response and inhibit the spread is aided when you have all your people.”

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Fire Rages on Amphibious Assault Ship USS Bonhomme Richard, Close to 60 Injured

Posted on by July 13, 2020

On Sunday at around 8 AM Pacific Time, an explosion and fire were reported aboard the amphibious assault ship USS Bonhomme Richard dockside at the Naval Base San Diego. More than 24 hours later, the fire is still raging. Fifty-seven sailors, firefighters, and contractors are reported to have been injured in fighting the fire. Most of those injured suffered from heat exhaustion and smoke inhalation. Five are reported to be still hospitalized in stable condition. Of the approximately 1,000 crew, only around 160 were aboard the ship when the fire broke out.

The ship was undergoing maintenance when the fire broke out. All crew members have been accounted for. The cause of the fire is still unknown, although it is believed to have started in the lower cargo hold of the ship, known as the “Deep V,” according to a statement to reporters by Rear Adm. Philip Sobeck, commander of Expeditionary Strike Group 3.

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New USCG Cutter to be Named for Elizebeth S. Friedman, Pioneering Code Breaker

Posted on by July 12, 2020

The US Coast Guard will name the eleventh ship in its new Legend-Class National Security Cutter (NSC) program in honor of Elizebeth Smith Friedman, a pioneering code-breaker for the Coast Guard during the prohibition era and World War II.

Marine-Executive reports that Elizabeth Smith Friedman, known as “America’s first female cryptanalyst,”  is considered to the founder of the modern-day Coast Guard Intelligence Program. Her work with the Coast Guard began soon after the passage of the Volstead Act, which prohibited the manufacture, sale, or trade of alcohol in the United States. Liquor smugglers frequently made use of radios to coordinate their activities and began to encode their messages. Friedman was detailed by the Department of Treasury to the Coast Guard and between 1927 and 1930, she is estimated to have solved over 12,000 smuggling messages in hundreds of different code systems. Her work led to 650 federal prosecutions and she testified in 33 cases. 

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Time-Lapse of Comet Neowise

Posted on by July 11, 2020

On March 27, astronomers discovered a new comet that they designated C/2020 F3. The comet was located using NASA’s space telescope, the Near Earth Object Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (NEOWISE), the comet is being called Neowise. While not one of the brighter comets, like Hale-Bopp, the great comet of 1997,” nevertheless Neowise should be visible with the naked eye until early August. Let’s hope that the ancient lore of comets as harbingers of doom does not apply. We have had enough ill-fortune in 2020 already.  

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