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Monthly Archives: September 2010
Destroyer Arthur W. Radford to become reef off New Jersey coast
Perhaps not a case of swords into plowshares, but at least a destroyer into an artificial reef. In November, the 535 foot decommissioned Navy destroyer, USS Arthur W. Radford, will sink beneath the waters off Cape May Point to become the longest vessel ever turned … Continue reading
Happy National Coffee Day – Coffee, Edward Lloyd, Ships and Shipping
Happy National Coffee Day! I don’t know who decided that today was National Coffee Day, nor even why we should necessarily be celebrating it. However, as a confirmed and happily contented coffee addict, perhaps this is a good time … Continue reading
Thirteen Refugees Drown after Rescue Attempt by USS Winston S. Churchill
Given all the reporting on piracy off the Horn of Africa, we hear very little about another crisis – the flood of refugees fleeing the instability and chaos of Somalia’s clan wars. Last year 74,000 people crossed the Gulf of Aden in smugglers’ boats to reach Yemen, according … Continue reading
Posted in Current, Lore of the Sea
Tagged Gulf of Aden, refugees, somalia, USS Winston S. Churchill
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Electrolux’s ‘Vac from the Sea’ Turns Ocean Plastic into Vacuum Cleaners
Yesterday we posted that scientists are not sure where all the plastic floating in the vast Atlantic and Pacific garbage patches is going. Sadly, the answer is probably not that a big vacuum cleaner is vacuuming the stuff up to recycle it. Nevertheless, here is a great story about Electrolux, which … Continue reading
Endangered Species – Watermen of the Chesapeake
The Mariners Museum in Newport News, VA has a new exhibition: Endangered Species – Watermen of the Chesapeake, featuring extraordinary B & W portraits of watermen who work the waters of the Chesapeake Bay. For those of us not … Continue reading
Ocean garbage patches are not growing, so where is all that plastic going?
We have previously posted about the plastic “garbage patches” in both the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans – great current vortexes where floating plastic trash has accumulated. As reported in Scientific American scientists studying the garbage patches have noticed that despite … Continue reading
Passengers Should Embark and Disembark by the Gangway Only
Passengers should embark and disembark by the gangway only. Three stories, two of them tragic, of unusual arrivals and departures from cruise ships last week. On the Holland America cruise ship, Prinsendam, passengers were shocked when a powered hang glider made a crash landing on … Continue reading
Posted in Current, Lore of the Sea, Ships
Tagged gambling ship, Holland America cruise ship, murder, MV Macau Success, Prinsendam, suicide, SuperStar Aquarius
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MV Lugela Hijacked then Freed off Somalia after Crew Retreats to Engine Room
Well planned passive resistance proved to be an effective tactic for the crew of the MV Lugela this weekend. Earlier this month we posted about the hijacking and subsequent recapture of the M/V Magellan Star from Somali pirates by US Marine commandos, after … Continue reading
Posted in Current, Lore of the Sea, Ships
Tagged cargo ship, MV Lugela, pirates, somolia, Ukranian crew
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SS Robin, World’s Oldest Steamship Returns to London
An update on our post from last June on the SS Robin, an 1890 built steam coaster, the last of her kind and the oldest complete steamship in the world. She arrived in Tillbury last week aboard a a custom built pontoon barge in … Continue reading
Posted in Current, History, Lore of the Sea, Ships
Tagged SS Robin, Steam Coaster, Tillbury
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At Sea Memorial for AHS Centaur 67 Years After Being Torpedoed
The Australian Hospital Ship Centaur was torpedoed by a Japanese submarine off the coast of Queensland, Australia, on 14 May 1943. Of the 332 medical personnel and civilian crew aboard, 268 were killed. The exact position of the sunken ship … Continue reading
Posted in History, Lore of the Sea, Ships
Tagged Australian Hospital Ship Centaur, HMAS Manoora, Japanese submarine, torpedoed
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Submarines to do Battle with Typhoons?
This sounds completely nuts. It might possibly work but there is the question of scale to be addressed. Hurricanes, or typhoons in the Pacific, need warm water to provide energy to the storm. The idea is to built a fleet of submarines to … Continue reading
Posted in Current, Lore of the Sea
Tagged Hurricanes, pump cold water, submarines, typhoons
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Titanic Myths, observations by Tim Maltin
In light of the recent claims in Louise Patten’s new book, Good as Gold , which we posted about earlier this week, we are very pleased to welcome Tim Maltin, author of 101 Things You Thought You Knew About the Titanic…But Didn’t, as guest … Continue reading
Posted in Current, History, Lore of the Sea, Seastories, Ships
Tagged Titanic, Titanic Myths
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Last Minute Bids on the Fairport Harbor West Breakwater Light
In September 2009, the United States General Services Administration put the Fairport Harbor West Breakwater Light, on Lake Erie, up for public auction via an online auction. The minimum bid is $10,000 with incremental bids of $5,000 required. The bidding was … Continue reading
A Shipwreck inside an Art Gallery
Artist Josh Beckman’s “Sea Nymph” in LA’s Machine Project gallery is nothing less that a shipwreck in an art gallery. To accompany the installation, the gallery has hosted a series of nautical-themed events, performances, lectures, and workshops, as well as … Continue reading
Posted in Galleries, Lore of the Sea
Tagged Josh Beckman, Machine Project gallery, Sea Nymph, shipwreck
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Sail Training Brig Prince William Sold to Pakistani Navy
The brig Prince William owned by the Tall Ships Youth Trust has been sold to the Pakistan Navy and has been renamed the PNS Rah Naward. The Prince William was delivered in 2001, a sistership to the TS Stavros S. … Continue reading
Posted in Current, Lore of the Sea, Ships
Tagged brig Prince William, NS Rah Naward, Pakistan Navy, Tall Ships Youth Trust
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Largest offshore wind farm opens off Thanet in Kent
Off Kent, in the UK, the world’s biggest offshore wind farm has been officially opened. With 100 turbines, the Thanet project is expected to generate enough electricity to power 200,000 homes. Currently the UK gets 3% of all its … Continue reading
On World Maritime Day: Year of the Seafarer – Demands for Action to End Piracy
Every year the International Maritime Organization (IMO) observes World Maritime Day during the last week of September. The IMO headquarters is celebrating today, Thursday, September 24th, though in Buenos Aires, Argentina and Vancouver, Canada, they will be celebrating the event on … Continue reading
Posted in Current, Lore of the Sea
Tagged IMO, International Maritime Organization, piracy, World Maritime Day, Year of the Seafarer
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A Harvest Moon on the Autumnal Equinox
Tonight, the beginning of Fall will be marked by the rising of a “Super Harvest Moon” accompanied by an unusually bright planet Jupiter. ‘Super Harvest Moon’ will usher in autumn tonight For the first time since 1991, autumn begins tonight with a … Continue reading
Posted in Current, Lore of the Sea
Tagged moon-blindness, planet Jupiter, Super Harvest Moon
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The Man Who Fell to Shore – What Reid Stowe Found Waiting for Him When He Returned From 1,151 Days on the Open Sea
We have posted about Reid Stowe’s remarkable non-stop voyage of over 1100 days at sea. Now that Reid has been home for several months, Adam Sternbergh writing in the New Yorker magazine has written a portrait of Reid’s voyage … Continue reading
Did a Steering Error Sink the Titanic?
In Good as Gold, a new book by Louise Patten, the granddaughter of the most senior surviving officer on the Titanic, reveals a long hidden family secret. She claims that an error in steering on the bridge of the Titanic led to the collision … Continue reading
Posted in Current, History, Lore of the Sea, Newbooks, Seastories
Tagged Bruce Ismay, Charles Lightoller, Good as Gold, Louise Patten, Titanic, White Star Line
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