Movie to Be Made About Robert Smalls’ Daring Hijacking of CSS Planter

Posted on by February 25, 2019

On May 13, 1862, Robert Smalls, a 23-year-old slave, who served as the pilot of the Confederate armed transport, CSS Planter, seized the steamer, sailed it out past the batteries and forts of Charleston harbor and turned it over to the Union naval blockade. Smalls would go on to become the first black captain of a U.S. Navy vessel, a South Carolina State Legislator, a Major General in the South Carolina Militia, a five-term U.S. Congressman and a U.S. Collector of Customs. 

Smalls’ daring hijacking of the CSS Planter, sailing directly beneath the guns of Fort Sumter, showed both considerable skill as a pilot, as well as nerves of steel. It is the sort of tale that often inspires the comment, “Someone should make a movie about that.”  With luck, now they will. Last month it was announced that Charles Burnett, director of the classic film “Killer of Sheep,” will develop a new film with Amazon called “Steal Away,” about the true story of Robert Smalls. 

The Wrap reports that this is Burnett’s first film project since receiving the Governors’ Award from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences last year. Two of his films, “Killer of Sheep” and “To Sleep With Anger,” have been added to the Library of Congress’ National Film Registry. Cotty Chubb and George Plamondon will produce the film, with Andy Froemke writing the script. Continue reading →

Ocean Plastic Innovation Challenge — Save the Ocean! Win Valuable Prizes! (Really)

Posted on by February 24, 2019

Each year more than 9 million tons of plastic makes its way into the oceans of the world. Plastic debris in ocean garbage patches is growing exponentially. By one estimate, there will be more plastic than fish in the ocean by 2050. 

What can be done? The Ocean Plastic Innovation Challenge is looking for answers. It is a year-long competition to seek innovative ideas from the public to address the problems of ocean plastics. They are offering $500,000 in prize money and at least $1 million in investment dollars to the winners.

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Pyrosomes — Weird & Wonderful Giant Sea Worms

Posted on by February 23, 2019

Here is a wonderful video of a 26′ long pyrosome, a translucent worm-like creature, videoed off the coast of New Zealand. Pyrosomes, which can grow up to 30′ long are, of course, are not actually worms. They are not even single animals but a colony of hundreds or thousands of individual organisms called zooids. Each zooid is a few millimeters in size but is embedded in a common gelatinous tunic that joins all of the individuals.

Pyrosomes are bioluminescent, capable of creating rippling light shows of flashing pale blue-green light. Their bioluminescence gives them their name, pyrosoma, from the Greek (pyro = “fire”, soma = “body”).

Not all pyrosomes are as large or as lovely as the one in the video. As we posted in 2017, a bloom of pyrosomes, averaging about 2′ long, nicknamed sea pickles, raised havoc in the Pacific Northwest, filling fishing nets, clogging hooks and washing up on beaches.

Giant ‘sea worm’ filmed off the coast of New Zealand

Autonomous Ship Sea Hunter Sails From California to Hawaii & Back

Posted on by February 22, 2019

Two years ago we posted about the ASW Continuous Trail Unmanned Vessel (ACTUV), Sea Hunter, a 132′ long autonomous drone trimaran designed to track enemy submarines, being developed by the US Navy. The unmanned ship reached a major milestone recently after sailing autonomously from San Diego to Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, and back.

While Sea Hunter may have sailed autonomously to Hawaii and back, it was not unattended. Crew members from an escort vessel boarded the ship for short durations to check electrical and propulsion systems. For most of the voyage, however, the ship was unmanned. 

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Coast Guard Officer Accused of Plotting Domestic Terrorism

Posted on by February 21, 2019

Disturbing news. An active-duty US Coast Guard lieutenant has been accused of plotting attacks “to murder innocent civilians on a scale rarely seen in this country” according to court documents filed in U.S. District Court in Maryland on Tuesday.  

Christopher Paul Hasson, 49, a self-avowed white nationalist, was arrested after federal investigators uncovered a cache of weapons, ammunition, and illegal drugs in his Maryland home. The court documents, however, say that “the …charges, however, are the proverbial tip of the iceberg. The defendant is a domestic terrorist, bent on committing acts dangerous to human life that are intended to affect governmental conduct.”

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“Starship Sailor” Jonny Kim — Navy SEAL, Doctor and NASA Astronaut Trainee

Posted on by February 20, 2019

We have been following the careers of the “starship sailors” Mark and Scott Kelly for several years now. The twin brothers from New Jersey are both graduates of merchant maritime academies, both became Captains in the Navy, and both subsequently became NASA astronauts and spent time in space. 

Another “starship sailor” is now training with NASA to become an astronaut. Jonathan Yong Kim, who goes by Jonny, is a 35-year-old Korean-American ex-Navy SEAL and physician. Born in Los Angeles to immigrant parents, he joined the Navy after graduating high school where he passed SEAL training and joined SEAL Team 3. He served as a combat medic and sniper on more than 100 missions on two deployments to the Middle East. He earned multiple citations and awards for his service including a Silver Star and Bronze Star with Combat “V”.

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New Directions for SSV Oliver Hazard Perry — Best Wishes to Captain Kabak & OHPRI

Posted on by February 19, 2019

We recently posted that the Oliver Hazard Perry Rhode Island (OHPRI) organization had taken a “strategic pause” to rethink its strategy for the financial sustainability of the SS Oliver Hazard Perry, the largest civilian Sailing School Vessel in the United States. Now, the organization has announced a new operating plan. 

“We explored different options for the ship, even one of selling it to a corporation,” said OHPRI’s new Chairman Avery “Whip” Seaman, “but really the best plan for Oliver Hazard Perry is for her to remain here in Rhode Island serving the people of Rhode Island and adjacent coastal communities with year-round programming.” 

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Frederick Douglass — “I Will Take to the Water”

Posted on by February 18, 2019

Frederick Douglas

An updated repost in honor of Black History Month. We are a few days late celebrating Frederick Douglass‘ birthday or at least the day that he celebrated as his birthday. As a slave, he never knew the date of his birth so he chose to celebrate it every year on February 14th. So a belated happy birthday, Frederick Douglass.

Frederick Douglass was born around 1818. From an early age, he developed a close attachment to ships and the sea. His path to freedom led directly through the docks and shipyards of Baltimore, Maryland.

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Restoring the Ariki, One of NZ’s Oldest Yachts

Posted on by February 17, 2019

On a cold winter Sunday on the banks of the Hudson River, here is a video from the New Zealand summer about the restoration of one of the oldest yachts in the island nation, the 115-year-old Ariki.  For additional photos of the classic yacht, click here. Thanks to Irwin Bryan for contributing to the post.

Watch: 115-year-old Ariki, one of NZ’s oldest sailing vessels, restored to its former beauty

Update: Leopard Seal Scat Memory Stick Owner Found

Posted on by February 16, 2019

Amanda Nally

The owner of a USB memory card, which was found in a pile of leopard seal scat, has been located. 

Last week we posted about USB memory card that was buried in a pile of leopard seal scat near Oreti Beach on New Zealand’s southern island. The card appeared to have been swallowed by the leopard seal, digested, excreted, collected and then frozen for a year in a freezer before being discovered by a naturalist examining the seal scat. Remarkably, the card was still functional and using the images and video on the card the volunteers at New Zealand’s National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research (NIWA) used social media to try and find the owner.

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Update: Weddell Sea Expedition 2019 Abandons Search for Shackleton’s Endurance

Posted on by February 15, 2019

Endurance caught in the ice

It was a long-shot from the beginning. The Weddell Sea Expedition 2019 had dispatched the icebreaking polar-supply and research-vessel SA Agulhas II to study Antarctica’s Larsen C ice sheet. While in the area, the expedition attempted to locate Sir Ernest Shackleton’s ship, the Endurance, which sank after being crushed in the ice in 1915. Not only did they not succeed in the finding the shipwreck, but also lost the Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (AUV) which was being used to conduct the search. 

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Review: Disasters at Sea — Deadly Neglect, the Loss of the Marine Electric

Posted on by February 13, 2019

Originally posted in gCaptain. Reposted with permission.

Thirty-six years ago this week, the SS Marine Electric sank off the coast of Virginia with the loss of 34 officers and crew. There were only three survivors. The tragedy resulted in major reforms in ship inspections and operations and ultimately saved many lives. Last month, a new documentary series premiered on the Smithsonian Channel, Disasters at Sea. The second episode of the series, Deadly Neglect, examines the sinking and subsequent investigation and aftermath of the loss of the SS Marine Electric. Here is a review.

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Tallship Oliver Hazard Perry in Drydock with Uncertain Future

Posted on by February 12, 2019

The Oliver Hazard Perry, the largest civilian Sailing School Vessel in the United States, has offered programs in New England in the Summer and headed south in colder months. Recently, however, the operation ran a deficit approaching $1 million.

Rather than sail the ship south again this winter, the Oliver Hazard Perry Rhode Island organization board put the ship in drydock and has decided to take a “strategic pause” to rethinks its strategy for the ship’s financial sustainability. The goal is to refocus the organization’s activities to cut expenses, which would likely limit the ship’s operations to New England’s waters in the foreseeable future. 

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Walter H. Munk — Pioneering Oceanographer Dies at 101

Posted on by February 11, 2019

Walter H. Munk, world-renowned oceanographer and geophysicist, has died at 101 at his home in San Diego. Referred to by many as “Einstein of the sea“, Dr. Munk’s work ranged from predicting wave heights on beaches for an amphibious landing in World War II to pioneering research on oceanic sound transmission to measure changes in water temperatures, forecast waves and seek signs of global warming.  

From the Scripps Institution obituary:  As a geophysicist at Scripps Institution of Oceanography at the University of California San Diego, Munk made groundbreaking observations of waves, ocean temperature, tidal energy in the deep ocean, ocean acoustics and the rotation of the earth. As an advocate of science and broader scholarship, Munk served as an advisor to presidents and the Pentagon and conferred with public figures including the Dalai Lama and Pope Francis. His convictions led him to refuse to sign a loyalty oath required by the University of California during the peak of anti-communist fervor in the early 1950s and his passion helped create the architecture that would become the defining style of the Scripps Oceanography campus.

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MERMAIDS and Magma Plumes

Posted on by February 10, 2019

Credit: Princeton University

Scientists have identified a huge magma plume under the Galapagos archipelago using an array of floating robotic seismometers. In other news, the acronym writers have been working overtime. The robotic seismometers used in study have been named Mobile Earthquake Recording in Marine Areas by Independent Divers, or MERMAIDS.

The EuerkaAlert! reports:  The researchers, from institutions in the United States, France, Ecuador and China, found that the volcanoes on Galápagos are fed by a source 1,200 miles (1,900 km) deep, via a narrow conduit that is bringing hot rock to the surface. Such “mantle plumes” were first proposed in 1971 by one of the fathers of plate tectonics, Princeton geophysicist W. Jason Morgan, but they have resisted attempts at detailed seismic imaging because they are found in the oceans, rarely near any seismic stations.

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First Antiguan Team in Talisker Whisky Atlantic Challenge — World’s Toughest Row

Posted on by February 9, 2019

The Talisker Whisky Atlantic Challenge is billed as the world’s toughest row, 3,000 miles across the Atlantic from San Sebastian in La Gomera, Canary Islands, Spain to Nelson’s Dockyard, English Harbour, Antigua & Barbuda. This year an all-female Antiguan team made history by becoming the first all-women team to represent the island and as the first Black team to row across an ocean. 

The Island Girls team; Elvira Bell, Christal Clashing, Kevinia Francis, and Samara Emmanuel; departed La Gomera on December 12 and arrived in English Harbour 47 days, eight hours and 25 minutes later, on January 28th.  They placed 13th out of 28 teams competing. As of this morning, six boats are still at sea bound for Antigua. 

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State of Hawaii Files Notice of Public Auction for the Falls of Clyde

Posted on by February 8, 2019

Even though it was expected, it still comes as a shock. Yesterday, the Hawaii Department of Transportation (HDOT) Harbors Division filed a public notification that the historic windjammer, Falls of Clyde, is being offered for sale by auction. 

Those who wish to bid on the ship must post a performance bond in the amount of $1.5 million guaranteeing removal of the vessel from Honolulu Harbor within 60 calendar days from the bill of sale. The 280 foot long, iron-hulled, four-masted ship will be available for inspection to potential bidders on February 15. Sealed bids are due by 11 AM on February 28th. The winning bidder will be announced later that day. If no bids are received the State reserves the right to sell the ship by negotiation, to scrap it or to dispose of it by any other legal means.

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Leopard Seal Poop, the USB Drive, and Kayaking Video

Posted on by February 7, 2019

Did you, by any chance, lose a USB memory stick while kayaking sometime before November 2017, near Oreti Beach in Invercargill, a city on the southern tip of New Zealand’s southern island? If you did, the memory stick has been found and it is still functioning. There are some nice photos and video footage of sea lions and a kayak.  The finders are willing to return the stick to you in exchange for some leopard seal poop. And no, I am not making this up.

Several weeks ago, researchers in New Zealand were analyzing a pile of leopard seal poop. (Note to self, be very grateful that I don’t have that job.) Buried in the poop was a USB memory stick. 

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Magnetic North Pole on the Move — How Big a Deal?

Posted on by February 6, 2019

Recently, the media has somewhat breathlessly reported that the usually slow drift of the magnetic north pole has sped up dramatically. My favorite headline is from NPR which reads, “As Magnetic North Pole Zooms Toward Siberia, Scientists Update World Magnetic Model.” Is the magnetic pole really zooming?

Where magnetic north had been moving at an average speed of around 9 miles per year for some time, it has recently sped up to 34 miles per year. The increase was significant enough require a revision to the World Magnetic Model, (WMM) maintained jointly by the UK and the US. The model is typically updated every five years but was given a quick tweak recently to account for increased motion. 

While the increased motion is notable, to say that it is zooming is more than a bit hyperbolic. Even at 34 miles per year, the rate of drift is still ten times slower than the speed of an average garden snail. So call it a very slow zoom. 

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