Abandoned Yacht Sea Nymph Sighted by Volvo Ocean Racer

Posted on by February 16, 2018

In October of last year, we posted about the rescue of two sailors and their dogs from the yacht, Sea Nymph. The two women were picked up by the dock landing ship USS Ashland roughly 900 miles southeast of Japan. They had set off from Hawaii bound for Tahiti almost 5 months before and had gotten lost and suffered damage to their engine and rig.

Recently, the Volvo Ocean racer, Turn the Tide on Plastic, competing in Leg 6 of the race from Hong Kong to Auckland, spotted a sailboat with no sails up. The boat turned out to be the abandoned Sea Nymph.  They launched a drone and captured video of the boat and were able to positively identify it as the yacht abandoned last October. 

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Remember the Maine! 120 Years Ago Today

Posted on by February 16, 2018

One hundred and twenty years ago today, on February 15, 1898, a mysterious explosion ripped through the hull of the American battleship USS Maine, at anchor in Havana harbor in Cuba. The ship sank killing 266 of the 350 men aboard. The loss of the USS Maine heightened the tension between the United States and Spain. Cuba was a Spanish colony and the island was gripped in a rebellion against Spain. USS Maine was in Havanna to protect U.S. interests.  

It was widely assumed at the time that the Spanish had placed a mine or launched a torpedo which sank the ship.  The American press whipped up the  American public with the slogan, “Remember the Maine. The Hell with Spain.”  After initially attempting to continue with ongoing diplomacy, the US declared war on Spain on April 25, 1898. By August, Spain had ceded Cuba, along with the Philippines, Puerto Rico and Guam, to the United States.

While the sinking of the USS Maine helped in the US’s progression towards war with Spain, to this day, no one is entirely sure what caused the explosion. There have been at least six public and private investigations into the sinking which have reached contradictory conclusions. 

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Cruise Missiles on Icebreakers and Destroyers without Ammo

Posted on by February 14, 2018

USS Zumwalt, guns but no ammo

I sometimes wonder if the world is going a bit mad. Take, for example, the case of icebreakers with cruise missiles and destroyers with guns but no ammunition. 

Despite the increased strategic importance of Arctic, the US has only one heavy icebreaker in service and it appears to be held together by baling wire and the skill of its engineering personnel. The crew of U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Polar Star recently completed a mission to cut a resupply channel through 15 miles of Antarctic ice in the Ross Sea despite suffering a turbine failure and flooding due to a major shaft seal leak. The crew were able to make repairs sufficient to complete the mission. The good news is that the Coast Guard is building a new heavy icebreaker which, if all goes well, will be launched in 2023. 

What is weird about the new icebreaker, however, is that the Coast Guard is making provisions to allow the icebreaker to be outfitted with cruise missiles. That’s right, cruise missiles. Not for breaking ice, but presumably to allow the icebreaker to freelance as a warship, if necessary. I would think that breaking ice would be enough. The ship is called an icebreaker after all. Breaking ice is a big job all by itself. 

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OE Wave Energy Buoy to be Deployed at U.S. Navy’s Wave Energy Test Site in Hawaii

Posted on by February 12, 2018

In fabricating ships’ hulls and building seawalls and docks, the goal is to resist the power of the waves. Recently, however, engineers have been working on techniques to harness rather than resist the immense power of ocean waves. In the fall of this year, the Irish firm, OceanEnergy, will be installing their pioneering OE Bouy, which generates electricity from ocean waves, at the U.S. Navy’s Wave Energy Test Site on the windward coast of the Hawaiian island of Oahu. The 826-ton OE Buoy will be fabricated by Oregon’s Vigor Marine and will measure 125 feet x 59 feet with a draft of 31 feet. The buoy has a rated capacity of up to 1.25 MW in electrical power production.

The OE Buoy has been undergoing testing off the Atlantic Coast of Ireland several years. Ocean Energy is a portfolio company of Enterprise Ireland, the Irish government agency for the advancement of innovation, entrepreneurship and international business by Irish firms.

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Sailing Oyster Sloop Priscilla at the Long Island Maritime Museum

Posted on by February 11, 2018

Last July, we posted about Christeen, the oldest oyster sloop in the US, built in 1883, which is still sailing on Oyster Bay, NY. Oyster Bay is on the North shore of Long Island. Not far away on the South shore in Great South Bay, an oyster sloop of similar vintage is also still sailing. The oyster sloop Priscilla built in 1888 is owned and operated by the Long Island Maritime Museum of West Sayville, NY.  Priscilla was designated a National Historic Landmark in 2006.

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Baltimore’s Mr. Trash Wheel — Water and Solar Powered Harbor Trash Gobbler

Posted on by February 10, 2018

We recently posted about various devices and schemes for cleaning plastic and other flotsam from harbors and waterways.  Roberta Weisbrod was kind enough to point out another great example of such a device — Baltimore’s Inner Harbor Water Wheel, or “Mr. Trash Wheel” as it is known to locals. 

Mr. Trash Wheel is a water-wheel and solar powered conveyor system which lifts drifting trash from the water and drops it into a hopper barge, to be towed away to a disposal center. Since the start of operations in 2014, Mr. Trash Wheel has removed over a million and a half points of trash from the harbor.  This includes 628,192 plastic bottles; 724,625 polystyrene containers; 9,935,220 cigarette butts; 7,919 glass bottles; 519,443 grocery bags; and 718,201 chip bags. 

Mr. Trash Wheel has worked so well that other trash wheels are being installed all around the harbor. Professor Trash Wheel was installed last year in Canton and a third wheel is planned for the Gwynns Falls. This summer, the City of Baltimore announced that they were installing Captain Trash Wheel in Masonville Cove on the Middle Branch of the Patapsco River. 
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The Bones of Black Sam Bellamy — Captain of the Whydah?

Posted on by February 9, 2018

“Black Sam” Bellamy

The Whydah Pirate Museum announced this week, that last year human bones were found near the wreck of the pirate ship Whydah  on Cape Cod, Massachusetts.  The bones were located in an area close to where a pistol, which possibly belonged to the ship’ captain, Samuel Bellamy, had been recovered.  Forensic scientists from the University of New Haven in Connecticut are now comparing the DNA from the bones to a DNA sample given by one of Bellamy’s living descendants in the United Kingdom.

Samuel, “Black Sam” Bellamy had one of the shorter careers as a pirate, lasting roughly one year.  Nevertheless, in that time he and his crew captured at least 53 ships, valued at $137 million in 2017 dollars – making him one of the wealthiest pirate in recorded history.

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Surprise Liquidation of Oyster Marine by Investors

Posted on by February 7, 2018

Until a few days ago, everything seemed promising for the award-winning UK yacht builder Oyster Marine. Oyster had a record year in 2017. Their order-book stood at $70 million and they had gotten a great response to their Oyster 745 on display at the Düsseldorf 2018 boat show in January.  Cruising World magazine honored the model as ‘Best Luxury Cruiser’ in its 2018 Boat of the Year Awards. Then, on Monday, an announcement was made — Oyster Marine is being liquidated. 400 jobs are expected to be lost.

What happened? The simplest answer may be that private equity gives and private equity takes away. The firm’s current owner, the Dutch private equity firm, HTP Investments, is believed to have withdrawn its financial support for the firm. 

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Pride of Baltimore II Funding Shortfall May Threaten Sailing Season

Posted on by February 7, 2018

In 2016, we posted about a public-private partnership between the State of Maryland and the replica Baltimore clipper, Pride of Baltimore II. It appears likely that the partnership may not be renewed, leaving a $500,000 shortfall in funding which may curtail this year’s sailing season unless sufficient money can be raised.

From the Pride of Baltimore II organization press release:

“Pride of Baltimore II remains one of the world’s most revered tall ships, delighting crowds wherever she sails,” said Pride of Baltimore, Inc. board chair Captain Eric Nielsen. “We will use 2018 to reassess the ship’s future, working closely with our partners in the public and private sectors to make sure we don’t witness the end to Pride’s wonderful history.”

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No East Coast Tsunami — Another False Alert

Posted on by February 6, 2018

This morning around 8:32 a.m. an alert went out over an AccuWeather app to cell phones from the Gulf Coast to Maine — “Severe Weather Alert: Tsunami Warning … in Effect Until 9:48 AM ET. ”  Fortunately, no massive wave was inbound for the East Coast.  

The alert was a test by the National Weather Service which somehow was picked up by the AccuWeather app.  Verge reports that the alert — which was meant as a test of transmission times for actual alerts — was apparently flagged as a genuine alert by the AccuWeather app, causing users with notifications enabled to wake up to a tsunami warning this morning.  According to the NWS’s Miami branch, the tsunami test is one that is conducted monthly, but apparently, something went wrong this month that triggered the alerts for AccuWeather users. The false alarm was sent to residents across the East Coast and some parts of the South, including Houston, New Orleans, Charlotte, Charleston, and the New England area.

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Red Sails — Thames Sailing Barge Documentary

Posted on by February 4, 2018

Red Sails is a documentary by Michael Maloney about the remarkable Thames sailing barges, which continued to ply their trade well into the 20th century before being replaced by diesel trucks. The documentary interviews bargemen about their lives aboard the sailing barges and also follows the rebuilding and the relaunching of the Thames sailing barge Cambria, which was the last British registered vessel to carry a commercial cargo under sail alone, retiring only in 1970.  Thanks to David Rye for contributing to this post.

Red Sails from Michael Maloney on Vimeo.

Cleaning Up Harbors and Seas — From the Driftmaster to Drones and Beyond

Posted on by February 3, 2018

DCV Driftmaster, Photo: Chris Gardner

As the problem of trash and plastic in our waters gets worse, new (and a few older technologies) are being used to respond. They range from small and functional, like the Seabin, a sort of high tech floating bucket designed to collect floating trash in marinas, to RanMarine‘s Waste Shark, an autonomous surface drone which the developers describe as “trash-eating, data-collecting, carbon-zero and safe.” 

RanMarine Technology – The WasteShark

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Paul Cuffee, African-American Captain, Shipbuilder & Shipowner

Posted on by February 2, 2018

The Maritime Administration identifies Captain Hugh Mulzac as The First African-American Shipmaster. Mulzac was the captain of the Liberty ship Booker T. Washington in 1942. Without intending any disrespect to the memory of Captain Mulzac, he was not the first African American shipmaster, by a wide margin. Of the 2,500 masters who captained the American whaling ship fleet of the 18th and 19th centuries, at least 63 were men of color, for example. 

To find the first African-American shipmaster, you need to go back more than 200 years. Who was the first? That is hard to say. Paul Cuffe is a good candidate. 

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South Street Seaport Schooner Lettie G Howard Heading for Lake Erie

Posted on by February 1, 2018

The South Street Seaport Museum‘s historic Georges Banks fishing schooner Lettie G. Howard will be spending the next two summers in Lake Erie at the Erie Maritime Museum in a collaboration with the Flagship Niagara League. The schooner will be partnering with the Brig Niagara. Lettie G. Howard will offer day sails on Lake Erie from Erie, PA, while Niagara visits other ports during the 2018 and 2019 sailing seasons. 

“The Flagship Niagara League has been working toward this collaboration for three years; to finally see it come to fruition is just incredible. The collaboration with South Street Seaport Museum and with the schooner Lettie G. Howard, will give us the opportunity to expand our services while enhancing the visitor experience at the Erie Maritime Museum,” Executive Director Shawn Waskiewicz told YourErie.com.

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Panther John Gomez & the Legend of Gasparilla

Posted on by January 31, 2018

Panther John

Last weekend in Tampa, FL was the annual Gasparilla Pirate Festival.   The festival has been a yearly event for the better part of a century. It celebrates the life and times of the “Last Buccaneer,” the pirate Jose Gaspar, also known as Gasparilla, a Spanish Admiral turned brigand who seized over 400 ships between 1789 and 1821. His treasure, none of which has ever been found, is said to be buried all along the Gulf Coast.

Gasparilla’s exploits are legendary. Perhaps, mythological might be an even better description, as there is no evidence that Jose Gaspar ever existed. 

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Reviews for Evening Gray Morning Red on Pirates and Privateers Blog

Posted on by January 30, 2018

My latest novel, Evening Gray Morning Red, has received not one, but two, wonderful reviews on the Pirates and Privateers blog, by Cindy Vallar and Irwin Bryan, respectively. 

Excerpts from Cindy Vallar’s review: “Gripping nautical and historical fiction at its best… Spilman deftly brings the period, people, and situation to life in a way that a history can never achieve. … From first page to last, he whisks readers back in time to stand beside Thom and Johnny and experience all the emotions and intrigue they do. When the back cover closes, it’s like leaving good friends. You miss being with them, but the voyage was more exciting and fulfilling than you ever imagined. Highly recommended.” Click here to read the review in its entirety. 

An excerpt from Irwin Bryan’s review: “This novel is a well concocted tale from start to finish. As with his other books, when you read Evening Gray Morning Red, you’re captivated by this author’s rich descriptions and events and escape from your own thoughts and reality.” Click here to read the entire review.

Watch Out for the Super Blue Blood Moon!

Posted on by January 29, 2018

On Wednesday, much of the world will be able to watch a blue moon, a supermoon and a blood moon, all at once. A blue moon is a term for a second full moon in a given month. There was a full month on the first of January so the second on the 31st will be the blue moon, even if the pigmentation doesn’t actually change.

It so happens that the full moon will also be a supermoon, which is to say that the full moon will be at perigee — its closest approach to Earth in a single orbit — making it appear slightly larger and brighter.

But wait! There is more! On Wednesday, there will also be a total lunar eclipse. As the shadow of the earth crosses the face of the moon it will turn it an orange or red, which is why a lunar eclipse is often called a blood moon.  

So there you have it — a blue, super, blood moon. The last time the three events aligned was in 1982 and the next won’t occur until 2037.

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A Winter Taxi Across the Hudson River, or a Rickenbacker Doesn’t Float

Posted on by January 28, 2018

Recently, we posted about the times when New York harbor froze solid. While that is a very unusual occurrence in New York City, a bit farther up the Hudson River, the river freezing over is a yearly event. In the summertime, before the river was spanned by bridges, numerous ferries plied the waters allowing people and wheeled vehicles to cross the river. In the wintertime, things were more challenging when the ice kept the ferries tied to the docks. 

As long as the ice on the frozen river was thick and smooth enough people could walk across or even take horse-drawn sleighs. Things got a bit tricky when the ice was melting or just freezing, or when currents would break the ice into huge moving sheets and islands. 

Here is a story told by Richard Heppner in Hudson Valley One of Lloyd Plass and his ill-fated cross-Hudson Rickenbacker taxi service: 

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