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Monthly Archives: November 2011
Where the Age of Sail Never Ended – the Bugis Phinisi, an Appreciation
For centuries, the Bugis people have sailed from South Sulawesi across the shallow seas of the Indonesian archipelago. They would sail east and west on the monsoons, regularly trading as far as Northern Australia in their two masted ships, known … Continue reading
Posted in Lore of the Sea, Ships
Tagged Bugis, Bulukumba, phinisi, pinisi, South Sulawesi, Tanjung Bira
3 Comments
Cat and Dolphins Playing Together
I am not one for cute pet videos. And I am not a huge fan of cats. Nevertheless, for this video I have to make an exception. The video was shot in at the Theater of the Sea, a marine animal park in … Continue reading
News from the Bounty
“HMS” Bounty, the replica of the ship of the mutiny fame, built for the Marlon Brando movie of 1965, is on her way home from her European Summer cruise. Doug Faunt, with whom I briefly sailed on the Rose, has been … Continue reading
Britain Set to Introduce Sailing Ships to Counter Emissions, or Maybe Not
I love the headline in the article in Sail-World - Britain set to introduce sailing ships to counter emissions. The first paragraph reads: It’s official. The days of sail may be just about to recommence. The UK’s Committee on Climate Change has come out with … Continue reading
Hoops on the Nuclear Aircraft Carrier Carl Vincent
Happy Veterans Day. Sadly the “war to end all wars” that ended on the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month of 1918 did not not live up to its billing. Nevertheless, we celebrate the sacrifices made … Continue reading
Posted in Current, Lore of the Sea, Ships
Tagged basketball game, USS Carl Vincent, Veterans Day
1 Comment
The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald – November 10, 1975
A fitting tribute to the 29 men who went down with the Great Lakes ore boat, the SS Edmund Fitgerald, which sank 36 years ago today in Lake Superior. I am having a hard time believing that she sank that many years ago. The … Continue reading
Posted in Current, History, Lore of the Sea, Ships
Tagged Great Lakes, SS Edmund Fitgerald
2 Comments
London 2012 Olympics Airbrushes out HMS Belfast
The image on the right is a new poster for the London 2012 Olympics featuring a section of the River Thames. The image on the left is a photo of the roughly the same section of the river. Notice a difference? (Click … Continue reading
Posted in Current, Lore of the Sea, Ships
Tagged HMS Belfast, London 2012 Olympics, River Thames, Royal Navy light cruiser
1 Comment
DNA Testing and the Mystery of the 18th Century Shipwrecked Bone-Setter
A fascinating story from Wales. Sometime between 1743 and 1745, a smuggler from Llanfairynghornwy on the isle of Anglesey, rescued two boys, in stormy seas in the middle of the night – the only survivors of an apparent shipwreck. Both boys had … Continue reading
Posted in Lore of the Sea
Tagged Anglesey, bone-setter, Evan Thomas, Llanfairynghornwy, shipwreck, Wales
3 Comments
Brigadier General Dick Lord – Top Gun
The American movie, Top Gun, starring Tom Cruise, won 8 Academy Awards and earned over $300 million at the box office. The movie was inaccurate in several ways, not the least of which was the addition of a sexy female … Continue reading
Posted in Current, Lore of the Sea
Tagged Brigadier General Dick Lord, Top Gun, US Navy Fighter Weapons School
3 Comments
NY Maritime Museum Revival – Return Of The South Street Seaport Museum & the Brooklyn Navy Yard Museum Opens
The two events are unrelated, but they are both highly welcome. The South Street Seaport Museum is on its way toward reopening, while a new museum celebrating over 200 years of shipbuilding and maritime history at the Brooklyn Navy Yard is openings its doors on … Continue reading
A Whale of a Surprise, or Exactly How Close Should You Get When Whale Watching?
Here is a wonderful video shot on Halloween a quarter-mile offshore from Seabright Beach in Santa Cruz, CA. A bikini clad surfer paddles over to a group of kayakers who are out watching the large number of humpbacks who are … Continue reading
Posted in Current, Lore of the Sea
Tagged bikini, CA, humpback whale, kayak, Santa Cruz, surf board
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Underwater Volcano Shuts El Hierro Island Port in Canary Islands
Last month we posted about Kick’em Jenny, an active underwater volcano off Grenada in the Caribbean, which was last active in 2001. Now the eruption of an active underwater volcano off El Hierro Island, in the Canary Islands off the … Continue reading
Posted in Current, Lore of the Sea, Seastories
Tagged Canary Islands, El Hierro Island, La Restinga, underwater volcano
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Volvo Ocean Race Off to Rough Start – Two of Six Boats Damaged in First 24 Hours
The six boats competing in the Volvo Ocean Race departed from Alicante, Spain yesterday and were immediately battered by rough seas and high winds while still in the Mediterranean. The Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing‘s Azzam lost her mast only six hours and 85 nautical … Continue reading
Posted in Current, Lore of the Sea
Tagged Alicante, Azzam, Capetown, South Africa, Spain, Team Sanya, Volvo Ocean Race
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John Masefield and Sea Fever
I can’t decide whether I love or hate John Masefield‘s poem Sea Fever. I lean strongly towards love, though the poem has been repeated so many times and in so many places, that it is hard not to groan every time it … Continue reading
The Wave Glider of 2011 and Matthew Fontaine Maury of 1850
The New York Times recently featured an article, Catching a Wave, and Measuring It, about a project to send a “fleet of robots that move out in the ocean to measure everything from weather to oil slicks, sharply reducing many … Continue reading
