Repost: The Unsinkable Hugh Williams – Truth Behind the Legend?

Posted on by March 21, 2024

I am traveling this week, so it seems like a good time to repost an old blog favorite, the remarkable story of the unsinkable Hugh Williams.

There is a video bouncing around the web these days called “The Strangest Coincidence Ever Recorded?”   (The video is embedded at the bottom of the post.) It tells the story of a ship that sank in the Menai Strait off the coast of Wales on December 5, 1664. All 81 passengers died, except one. His name was Hugh Williams. Then on December 5th, 1785 another ship with 60 aboard sank in the Menai Strait. The only survivor – a man named Hugh Williams. In 1820 on December 5th, a third vessel sank in the Menai Strait. All 25 aboard were drowned except, you guessed it, a man named Hugh Williams.

An amazing tale, but is it history or just an oft retold sea story?   It could easily be a bit of each.

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Guest Post by Robin Denny: The Five-Masted Full-Rigged Ship Preussen

Posted on by March 21, 2024

Preussen under full sail

We recently posted about the five-masted full-rigged cruise ship Royal Clipper, a modern sailing ship designed as an homage to the great five-masted windjammer Preussen. Here is a repost of a guest post by Robin Denny about the mighty windjammer: 

With the Peking now back in her home port of Hamburg, perhaps it is opportune to mention another of the Flying P sailing ships, the great Preussen. A five-masted full-rigged ship, 482′ LOA, with square sails on all masts, she was one of the fastest sailing ships, matching the Clippers with speeds up to 20 knots.

Built in Geestemünde, Germany, she was launched in May, 1902 with her hull, masts, spars and rigging, both cable and rods, all being of steel. She proved to be a well found and weatherly, sailing, among other destinations, to Chile, Japan and New York, where most of New York turned out to welcome her.

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The Mighty Windjammer Preussen — Animation From Mariner’s Mirror Podcast

Posted on by March 24, 2024

My wife and I are currently sailing as passengers on the cruise ship Royal Clipper, the second of only two five-masted full-rigged steel ships ever built. The first such ship was the mighty windjammer, Preussen, of 1902. The Royal Clipper, launched in 2000, was inspired by the Preussen. An updated repost.

Here is an animation from a Mariner’s Mirror podcast about the Preussen, perhaps the greatest windjammer of the early twentieth century. One of the Flying P-Liners, built for the F. Laeisz shipping company in 1902, she was then the only five-masted full-rigged steel commercial sailing ship ever built. 

The animation is designed to accompany an episode of the Mariner’s Mirror Podcast in which Dr Sam Willis speaks with Frank Scott, a retired naval aviator and qualified square rig ship-master, who commanded various square riggers ranging from 80 to 800 gross tonnes. In his long sail training career he served in fourteen square riggers, under seven different national flags.

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When Did the Wine Dark Sea Turn Blue?

Posted on by March 22, 2024

For the next fortnight, I will be a passenger on a sailing ship crossing the briny blue of the Atlantic.  This seems like a good time to make an updated repost on the color blue.

Homer referred to the famously blue Aegean as the “wine dark sea.” When did the wine dark sea turn blue?

In the Iliad and the Odyssey, Homer never uses the word “blue” once. William Gladstone, the British prime minister, was also a classical scholar, who wrote 1700-page study of Homer’s epic poetry. In one chapter, he describes Homer’s strange choice of colors. Sheep wool and ox skin are purple. Honey is green, while horses and lions are red. The sky is filled with copper or iron colored stars, but neither the sky, nor the sea, nor anything else in his poetry is ever “blue.”  

Gladstone was so baffled by this confused yet incomplete rainbow that he theorized that the ancient Greeks must have been not capable of distinguishing color. Science does not support his theory, which, in its day, was met largely with derision.

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Lubec’s Gold from Sea Water Hoax of 1898

Posted on by March 21, 2024

Prospectus for The Electrolytic Marine Salts Company

On April Fool’s Day, a repost about not an April Fool’s Day prank but a hoax and a swindle. In October of 1897, at the height of the Alaskan Gold Rush, two men, Prescott Ford Jernegan, a Baptist minister, and Charles Fisher, both from Edgartown, Martha’s Vineyard, arrived in Lubec, Maine to establish a facility to extract gold from seawater.

Klondike: Lubec’s Gold from Sea Water Hoax

The two newcomers leased Hiram Comstock’s tidal grist mill located at Mill Creek in North Lubec. According to Reverend Jernegan in the prospectus, he prepared for potential investors, “Millions of dollars in gold were flowing through Lubec Narrows every single day.”

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Women’s History Month — Remembering Mary Patten, Clipper Ship Captain

Posted on by March 24, 2024

As Women’s History Month comes to a close, it seems a good time to remember Mary Ann Brown Patten, the first woman to command an American merchant ship. An updated repost.

The year was 1856. The ship was the clipper ship Neptune’s Car, bound for San Francisco from New York City. Mary’s husband Captain Joshua had collapsed, suffering from “brain fever.”  For 56 days, Mary took over the command and navigation of the ship. She faced down a mutiny and successfully brought the clipper into San Francisco. On her arrival, Mary was 19 years old and pregnant with her first child.

Mary was 16 when she married Captain Joshua Patten in 1853. He was 25 and a captain in the coastwise trade. The next year he was offered the captain’s berth on the clipper ship Neptune’s Car after the previous captain fell ill. He asked and was granted permission to bring his young wife on the voyage. With Mary at this side, Captain Patten made a fast passage from New York to San Francisco, then onward to China, London, and back to New York.

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Saving the Songs of Korea’s Sea Women, the Haenyeo

Posted on by March 24, 2024

An updated repost in honor of Women’s History month. 

Since at least the 17th century, on the Korean island of Jeju, the haenyeo, Korean for “sea women” have worked free diving in the clear island waters. Using an ancient breathing technique called sumbisori, the women dive as deep as 32 feet to harvest octopus, abalone, conch, sea urchins, clams and edible seaweeds.

To pass the time and ease the boredom while rowing in open boats to choice diving spots, the haenyeo would sing songs with simple melodies, to the rhythm of the ocean waves. Atlas Obscura notes that there is no sheet music for haenyeo songs, and few of the nearly 10,000 known tunes have titles. The song lyrics varied, but often women sang lamenting the day they were born, complaining about their incompetent husbands, and in protest of the government.

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She Sells Seashells by the Seashore — Remembering Mary Anning

Posted on by March 26, 2024

Mary Anning

Remember the old tongue twister, “She sells seashells by the seashore?” (Try saying that three times fast.) The tongue twisting seashell seller was inspired by a real woman named Mary Anning, an English fossil collector, dealer, and paleontologist, who did indeed sell seashells by the seashore, as well as accomplishing much, much more. 

This month, it was announced that a set of stamps are being issued to recognize Mary Anning’s contribution to the modern understanding of dinosaurs. 

Despite a lack of education and a life of poverty, Mary Anning became known as the “the greatest fossilist the world ever knew.” She is credited with the finding the first correctly identified ichthyosaur skeleton as well as the first nearly complete Plesiosaurus.  She also found the first British Pterodactylus macronyx, a fossil flying reptile; the Squaloraja fossil fish, a transitional link between sharks and rays; and the Plesiosaurus macrocephalus.

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Baltimore Key Bridge Collapses After Being Struck by Container Ship MV Dali

Posted on by March 26, 2024

At approximately 1:30 AM this morning, the Singapore-flagged, 10,000 TEU container ship, MV Dali struck the southern support pillar of the Francis Scott Key Bridge, spanning the Patapsco River at the entrance to the Port of Baltimore, Maryland. The impact collapsed the main spans of the 1.6-mile-long bridge.

There are no reported injuries aboard the ship. Maintenance workers on the bridge and an unknown number of vehicles were thrown into the river when the bridge collapsed. Two were rescued from the water while at least seven are reported to be missing.

The crew of the container ship issued a “mayday” saying that it had lost power and propulsion before hitting the bridge, the authorities said, calling it an accident. Video just before the collision shows the ship’s lights going out twice before veering off course. The ship had two pilots onboard, according to a statement by its owners.

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Navy Fires at Least 3 Commanding Officers for DUIs so Far in 2024

Posted on by March 24, 2024

Task & Purpose reports that three of the five Navy commanding officers who have been fired so far this year, including a Navy SEAL and two submarine captains, were relieved after being arrested off-base for driving under the influence.

Navy Capt. Richard A. Zaszewski, who was relieved this week as commander of Naval Special Warfare Group Eight, was arrested on Jan. 19 in Virginia, according to online court records. His Blood Alcohol Content was measured at 0.15%, nearly double Virginia’s legal limit of 0.08%.

Navy Times first reported that Zaszewski did not report his arrest to his superiors until March, after which he was relieved of command.

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Moving the Battleship USS New Jersey to Drydock in the Philadelphia Navy Yard

Posted on by March 24, 2024

At the beginning of the month, we posted a drone video of the battleship USS Texas being refloated following repairs and refurbishment on the drydock at the Gulf Copper Shipyard in Galveston.

Here is another drone video of a historic battleship being moved to a drydock for repairs. On Thursday, March 21st, the Iowa-class battleship USS New Jersey was towed down the Delaware River towards the North Atlantic Ship Repair facility at the Philadelphia Navy Yard where she will be drydocked for 60 days. The 45,000-ton historic vessel will be dry-docked in the very berth where it was built and subsequently launched on December 7, 1942.

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Two Crew Killed in Steam Pipe Explosion on Holland America’s Nieuw Amsterdam

Posted on by March 23, 2024

Two crew members on a Holland America cruise ship died during an “incident” in the ship’s engineering space, the cruise line said.

The unidentified crew members died Friday while the Florida-based Nieuw Amsterdam was at Half Moon Cay in the Bahamas, Holland America said in a statement.

“All of us at Holland America Line are deeply saddened by this incident and our thoughts and prayers are with our team members’ families at this difficult time,” the statement said. “The safety, security and welfare of all guests and crew are the company’s absolute priority.”

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Sixty-Nine Rohingya Refugees Rescued from Hull of Capsized Boat off Indonesia. 80 Missing & Feared Dead

Posted on by March 22, 2024

Tragic news as reported by the BBC:  Indonesian rescuers found 69 Rohingya people sunburnt and dehydrated on Thursday, floating on a rusty hull off the coast of Aceh.

The country’s search and rescue agency says nine children, 18 women and 42 men were saved. Around 80 others are believed to have been swept away – feared dead. One survivor said that some in the party had been at sea for a month in a wooden boat.

A local fishing vessel had come to the group’s rescue a day earlier. But the migrants reportedly tried to climb on board in a panic, overturning both boats. The survivors were adrift for over a day, stranded on the hull of the second boat.

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The Women Lighthouse Keepers of New Orleans’ New Canal Lighthouse

Posted on by March 19, 2024

New Canal Lighthouse

We recently posted about Kate Walker, the lighthouse keeper of the Robbins Reef Light in New York harbor for close to 35 years. Kate took over as keeper when her husband died of pneumonia in 1886. Oddly enough, in the 1800s, when women weren’t allowed to vote or own property, they could become lighthouse keepers. An updated repost.

Curbed New Orleans has posted an article about the female lighthouse keepers of the New Canal Lighthouse, on Lake Pontchartrain in New Orleans, LA. They quote Lake Pontchartrain Basin Foundation Education Center director Chris Cook, who said, “Across the country, it wasn’t unusual for the man to die and the wife to take over. It is unusual that it happened so many times in the New Orleans area.”

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Oldest Puget Sound Orca, L25 May Be Nearing 100th Birthday — Why Do Orca Matriarchs Live So Long?

Posted on by March 20, 2024

Why do the matriarchs of orca pods often live such long lives? The average lifespan for male killer whales is about 30 years, but they can live up to at least 60 years. Females typically live about 50 years, but can live up to at least 90 years in the wild. The pod matriarch can live even longer.

Take the orca designated by researchers as L25, for example. The Seattle Times reports that L25 is the world’s oldest known living wild orca, the uncontested reigning matriarch of the southern resident orcas that frequent Puget Sound. She ascended to that post after the death of J2, in 2017 at an estimated age of 105.

No one knows exactly how old L25 is, said Michael Weiss, research director of the nonprofit Center for Whale Research.

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Indian Navy Frees Cargo Ship From Somali Pirates After Shootout

Posted on by March 19, 2024

The Voice of America reports that the Indian navy freed the hijacked MV Ruen cargo ship in Somalia’s Puntland region Saturday after a 24-hour standoff and shootout, and it has detained 35 pirates, according to Puntland Ports Minister Ahmed Yasin Salah. The crew is reported to be unharmed.

The pirates — who allegedly hijacked the Maltese-flagged bulk cargo vessel on December 14 — exchanged heavy gunfire with the Indian navy Friday.

“The Indian navy successfully conducted the operation, which has been going on since last night. The navy captured 35 pirates and released the MV Ruen ship, and its crew are safe,” Salah said.

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Wreck of British Warship Off Florida Coast Identified as HMS Tyger That Sank in 1742

Posted on by March 18, 2024

A National Park Service diver documents one of five coral-encrusted cannons found during a recent archeological survey in Dry Tortugas National Park.  NPS Photo by Brett Seymour

Last week, the National Park Service announced that its archeologists have identified the remains of HMS Tyger, an 18th-century British warship, within the boundaries of Dry Tortugas National Park, off the south coast of Florida. Built in 1647, the fourth-rate, 50-gun frigate sunk in 1742 after it ran aground on the reefs of the Dry Tortugas while on patrol in the War of Jenkins Ear between Britain and Spain. The remains of the historic shipwreck were first located in 1993, but now new research has uncovered definitive evidence of the identity of the sunken ship.

From the National Park Service press release:

Using leads from historical research, archeologists from Dry Tortugas National Park, the Submerged Resources Center, and the Southeast Archeological Center surveyed the site in 2021 and found five cannons approximately 500 yards from the main wreck site. Buried in the margins of the old logbooks was a reference that described how the crew “lightened her forward” after initially running aground, briefly refloating the vessel and then sinking in shallow water.

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Tim Severin and the Voyage of St. Brendan

Posted on by March 17, 2024

On St. Patrick’s Day, a repost about another Irish saint, St. Brendan the Navigator, and the adventurer who sought to replicate his epic voyage.

Who was the first European to sail to North America? According to Irish tradition, it was St. Brendan the Navigator in the 6th century, who is said to have set off with a small group of monks in a currach, an open boat built with a wooden frame covered with hides, on a 7-year voyage around the North Atlantic, that may have reached North America. If the story is true, St. Brendan reached the “New World” hundreds of years before the Norse and almost 900 years before Columbus.

There is no absolute evidence that St. Brendan ever reached North America, although many of the islands visited in the medieval accounts appear to be similar to features of the Hebrides, the Faroe Islands, and Iceland. In the 1970s, inveterate explorer Tim Severin decided to mount an expedition to see whether St. Brendan’s voyage was possible.

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“Mind the Light , Kate” — Remembering New York’s Robbins Reef Lighthouse Keeper Kate Walker

Posted on by March 16, 2024

An updated repost in honor of Women’s History Month. In 1886, lighthouse keeper John Walker’s last words to his wife Kate as he died from pneumonia, were “Mind the light, Kate.” Kate, then 38 with two teenage children, took his final wish to heart. She minded the light — from that day on, every single day, for more than three decades.

Though standing only 4’10” tall and weighing around 100 pounds, Katherine Walker served as the keeper of the Robbins Reef Lighthouse for 35 years, following the death of her husband. In addition to the arduous task of keeping the light burning, she also rowed across the choppy waters of Upper New York harbor, a mile each way, to take her two children to school on Staten Island, weather permitting. 

An immigrant from Germany, Kate met and married John Walker, who in 1883 was appointed keeper of the Robbins Reef Lighthouse. Kate found herself living on a reef inhabited solely by harbor seals. (Robbins Reef comes from the early Dutch name, “Robyns Rift,” or Seal Rocks.) 

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Women’s History Month — Adm. Lisa Franchetti Sworn in as the 33rd Chief of Naval Operations

Posted on by March 15, 2024

Adm. Lisa Franchetti was sworn in as the 33rd Chief of Naval Operations (CNO), the highest-ranking officer of the United States Navy, on Nov. 2, 2023.

Her confirmation made Franchetti not only the first woman to become the CNO and the first woman on the Joint Chiefs of Staff, but also the first CNO who was commissioned through the Naval Reserve Officer Training Corps (NROTC) program.

Franchetti, a native of Rochester, New York, was commissioned in 1985 through the NROTC program at Northwestern University, where she received a Bachelor of Science in Journalism. At the time, she had no idea she’d make history for the Navy.

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