Manatee Orgy Stops Traffic in Florida, Again

Posted on by August 17, 2016

Recently, what is being described as a “manatee mating ball” stopped traffic on the Courtney Campbell Causeway between Tampa and Clearwater, Florida. Dozens of people abandoned their cars to line the shore to watch manatees having sex. Video after the page break. This wasn’t the first time that manatee sex stopped traffic on the causeway.

Manatee mating herds are infrequent but not that unusual, occurring every three to five years on the Courtney Campbell. In 2012, we posted Mating Manatees Stop Traffic on Tampa Bay Causeway about the last time when a manatee herd mated at just about the same spot. In 2004, another group of mating manatees drew a reported 500 onlookers to the Courtney Campbell.

So, what is happening? Save the Manatee Club has an Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Manatee Mating Herds (but were afraid to ask”) page to explain it all. Continue reading →

First US Offshore Wind Farm Off Block Island, an Island with a Long History of Wind Power

Posted on by August 16, 2016

Last November, we posted Wind Power Returns to Block Island about a planned offshore wind farm.  The installation of America’s first offshore wind farm has finally come to pass.  America’s very first offshore wind turbine was erected recently off the coast of Block Island, Rhode Island. Perhaps paradoxically, while the new wind turbines are the first offshore wind farm in the United States, wind power is not by any means new to Block Island.

The new Block Island wind farm is a five turbine 30 megawatt project which developed by Deepwater Wind, which should provide most of the power required for Block Island, an island in the Atlantic thirteen miles south of the coast of Rhode Island.  Compared to European wind farms with an installed capacity of over 6,600 MW, the Block Island installation is tiny. Nevertheless, it is a start.

Block Island, however, is no stranger to wind power. Continue reading →

Orca “Granny,” 105 Years Old, Still Swimming the Pacific

Posted on by August 15, 2016
Photo: Leigh Calvez

Photo: Leigh Calvez

Orcas live in complex multi-generational pods led by a matriarch.  In the pod that scientists have labeled as the “J pod,” the matriarchal orca, designated as J2, also-known-as “Granny” was recently sighted swimming with her pod off the coast of Washington. Remarkably, Granny is believed to be oldest living orca at 105 years old. If so, Granny was swimming the Pacific when the Titanic was launched.

As reported by the SF Gate: The 105-year-old whale nicknamed “Granny” was seen on July 27 swimming with a few other whales, and seemed to be in “high spirits,” according to a whale-sighting report shared by Orca Network. Continue reading →

Etched Into Art: Scrimshaw at Mystic Seaport

Posted on by August 14, 2016

mysticschrimshawA new and fascinating video from Mystic Seaport Museum. From their website:

From the history and lore inspired by whaling in the 19th century, it can be hard to imagine the whalers being idle at sea. However, whaleships were often at sea for months or even years, leaving the crew with an excess of downtime. Much like hobbyists today, sailors tried to keep busy by making use of what they had available onboard their ship. Using crude tools, sailors etched designs into whale teeth, bones, and baleen to create intricate and often useful pieces of art.

Scrimshaw, as these pieces are known, is thought to come from the Dutch for “idle fellow.” The term has come to include anything made out of marine mammals. While the craft was certainly useful for occupying the ship’s crew on long voyages, it also serves as visual history of the whaling. Sailors often depicted nautical motifs inspired by things they experienced during their voyage, giving a glimpse into their daily life at sea. Continue reading →

Falls of Clyde Ordered to Leave Honolulu Harbor

Posted on by August 13, 2016

Sad, if not surprising news. The Hawaii Department of Transportation Harbors Division (HDOT Harbors) has ordered that the 138-year-old sailing ship Falls of Clyde be removed from Honolulu harbor. Previously, in a letter dated June 15th, the Harbor Division had given the Friends of the Falls of Clyde, the current owners of the ship, 30 days to remove it from Pier 7 in Honolulu harbor, where the ship has been berthed, free of charge, for the last seven years. In the letter, the Harbors Division cited safety concerns. “The condition of the Falls of Clyde poses an unacceptable risk to navigation in Honolulu Harbor and a safety and security risk to harbor users.”

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Wavertree — Stepping the Final Mast Before Returning to South Street Seaport

Posted on by August 12, 2016
wavertree2

Photo : John Wisniewski

Forty six years ago yesterday, the  full-rigged iron sailing ship Wavertree, arrived in South Street Seaport after being towed from Argentina. The 1889 built windjammer had languished as a sand barge in Argentina for decades, before being purchased and partially restored by the South Street Seaport Museum.  In May of last year, the ship was moved to Caddell’s Drydock in Staten Island to undergoing a major $13 million restoration and refurbishment.

Next Tuesday, the Wavertree‘s third and final mast will be stepped. From the Seaport Press release: The event begins at Noon on Tuesday, August 16th, 2016 and culminates in a coin-placing ceremony at 1pm. Following maritime tradition, a coin is placed at the base of the mast for good luck. The mast is then “stepped” or installed. In attendance at the August 16th ceremony will be Seaport Museum co-founder Norma Stanford, Peter and Norma Stanford’s three grandchildren, and Joan Davidson, a former Seaport Museum trustee. Before the mast is stepped, an 1885 Maundy Fourpence coin will be placed at the base of the mizzenmast by Joan Davidson and Peter and Norma Stanford’s grandchildren.

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Repost: The Battle of Stonington, CT 1814 — Rocket’s Red Glare, Bombs Bursting in Air

Posted on by August 11, 2016

Two hundred and two years ago this week, in a three day battle, the militia at Stonington, CT drove off a four ship Royal Navy flotilla during the War of 1812.  Here is lightly edited repost about the battle from July 11, 2012.

Stonington, Connecticut, is a small village on the extreme eastern coast of the state.  In the center of the village, two 18 pound cannon are on display in the fittingly named Cannon Square.  On their tampions, blocking the ends of the cannon’s muzzles, is the date 1814, when the two cannons, manned by local militia, almost miraculously drove off a British force of four Royal Navy ships under the command of Captain Sir Thomas Hardy, Nelson’s flag captain on HMS Victory at the Battle of Trafalgar.  The battle may not have been of any great strategic importance, but was one of a series of American victories in the last days of the War of 1812.

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Lifting Maud from the Mud — Amundsen’s Ship Floats Again

Posted on by August 10, 2016

maudA team of Norwegians have spent the last six summers in Cambridge Bay off the Nunavut territory of northern Canada attempting to raise Arctic explorer Roald Amundsen‘s research ship Maud from where it has been sitting in ice and mud for the last 86 years. This year they succeeded. Maud is finally afloat, though it will still take considerable time and effort to bring her back to Norway, the goal of the group appropriately named Maud Returns Home.

“This is a milestone, of course, because we have been wanting to lift her ever since we started to think about this project,” Jan Wanggaard, project manager for the Norway-based organization Maud Returns Home told CBCNews. “To actually see her releasing from the seabed — it’s a great experience.”

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Voyage Data Recorder from El Faro Recovered from 15,000′

Posted on by August 9, 2016
elfarovdr

El Faro voyage data recorder in fresh water on the USNS Apache Photo: NTSB

A National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) press release announced today that the voyage data recorder (VDR) from El Faro, the US flagged cargo ship that sank during Hurricane Joaquin in October 2015 with the loss of all 33 aboard, was successfully recovered from the ocean floor late Monday evening.

The VDR was located last April by the research vessel Atlantis in 15,000 feet of water, about 41 miles (36 nautical miles) northeast of Acklins and Crooked Islands, Bahamas, but could not be retrieved with the equipment aboard the ship.  Military Sealift Command’s fleet ocean tug USNS Apache  with personnel from the NTSB, the U.S. Coast Guard, the U.S. Navy and Phoenix International aboard arrived at the accident location on Monday morning. Technicians maneuvered CURV-21, a deep ocean remotely operated underwater vehicle to the  the wreckage of El Faro to extricate the VDR capsule from the mast structure to which it was attached. The VDR was brought aboard the ocean tug at about 10:30 pm Monday evening.

From the NTSB press release: Continue reading →

Submerged Sofa Strikes Again in Rio, Then Tweets About It

Posted on by August 8, 2016

riosofaA story for all the Olympic couch-potatoes out there.  A few days ago, Paul Kelso, a Sky news reporter tweeted: Hearing an Olympic kayaker may have capsized after hitting a submerged sofa. Story of day & possibly the week if true. #kayaksofa #Rio2016.

If the story is true, it would not be the first time. Two years ago we posted: “It can get really disgusting, with dog carcasses in some places and the water turning brown from sewage contamination,” said Thomas Low-Beer, 24, a Brazilian Olympic hopeful who sails in the bay. He shuddered when recalling how his dinghy crashed into what he believed was a partly submerged sofa, capsizing him into the murky Guanabara.

Continue reading →

Sailing Bark Europa from Gran Canaria to Antarctica

Posted on by August 7, 2016

europaA video for a Sunday morning. Filmmaker Frank Oly joined the bark Europa on a voyage from Gran Canaria to Antarctica. He stayed on board for 3 months and filmed this experience. Europa is a steel-hulled barque registered in the Netherlands. Built as a lightship in 1911, she was converted to a bark in 1994.
Europa cruises worldwide and accepts paying voyage crew for short or long trip segments, including ocean crossings, Sail Training Association races, and annual voyages to Antarctica, and between South Georgia, Tristan da Cunha, and Cape Town.

Sailing from Gran Canaria to Antarctica on board tall ship bark EUROPA

Cruise Ships Silver Cloud and Norwegian Getaway at the Rio Olympics

Posted on by August 6, 2016
silvercloud1

Photo: David Goldman/Associated Press

The accommodations in the Olympic Village in Rio de Janeiro, where most of the Summer Olympics athletes are staying during the games, have received mixed reviews. Australian athletes refused to move into the buildings because of significant plumbing and electrical issues. Argentina’s athletes are renting apartments outside of the village until it can be proven safe. The US basketball teams, however, have no complaints so far as they are being put up aboard the luxury cruise ship Silver Cloud, owned by Silversea Cruises. The ship has accommodations for 296 people. The teams also stayed aboard ship, Cunard’s Queen Mary 2, at the Athens 2004 games. As reported by the NY Times, U.S.A. Basketball, the organization that oversees the national men’s and women’s teams, has shunned the athletes’ village since 1992.

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Draken Harald Hårfagre Ends Great Lakes Voyage at Green Bay

Posted on by August 5, 2016

After struggling to raise funds to pay for pilotage fees, the replica Viking longship Draken Harald Hårfagre has ended its voyage in the Great Lakes at Green Bay, WI. Plans to go on to Duluth, Minnesota have been abandoned. A planned stop in New York harbor in September will go on as scheduled. From the press release:

In collaboration with the District 3 Western Great Lakes Pilot Association, we recalculated the estimated cost for pilotage for our expedition and have reduced the amount from 430,000 USD to 250,000 USD. This was accomplished by using current pricing tables from each of the Great Lakes districts, while working closely with our District 3 pilot to calculate a speed, route plan and timetable that is safe and works with the design of our ship. Even with this significant reduction in cost, we have not been able to raise enough funds to complete our entire expedition. So it is with a heavy heart that Viking Kings, the organization behind the Draken Harald Hårfagre project has come to the decision to make the Tall Ships Festival in Green Bay the last stop in this Tall Ships Challenge.

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Crystal Says No to SS United States — Not Feasible to Return to Service

Posted on by August 5, 2016

Last February we posted “Will the SS United States Sail Again? Crystal Cruises Tosses a Life Line.”  Crystal Cruises had signed an option to purchase the ship and was undertaking a feasibility study to determine whether the ship could be economically put back into service. In the mean time, Crystal Cruises would cover the ship expenses of $60,0000 per month for nine months. The feasibility study is now complete and Crystal Cruises has said, “Thank you, but no thank you.” From the press release: “Crystal Cruises today determined that while the SS United States is structurally sound, the technical and commercial challenges associated with returning the historic liner to service as a modern cruise ship have unfortunately proven insurmountable.”  While Crustal Cruises will not exercise their option to buy the ship, they will contribute $350,000 to aid in the SS Unted States Conservancy’s ongoing mission to save the ship.

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Dragon Hole in South China Sea, World’s Deepest Blue Hole

Posted on by August 2, 2016

dragon holeA blue hole in the South China Sea, called variously, Dragon Hole, Longdong and the Eye of the South China Sea, is reported to be the deepest blue hole in the world. At 987 feet (300.89 meters) deep, the Dragon Hole is significantly deeper than the previous record holder, Dean’s Blue Hole in the Bahamas, which is about 663 feet deep. A blue hole is a water-filled sinkhole with the entrance below the water level.

As reported by Live Science: Scientists with the Sansha Ship Course Research Institute for Coral Protection in China used an underwater robot and a depth sensor to investigate the mysterious environment of Dragon Hole, which is a well-known feature in Yongle, a coral reef near the Xisha Islands in the South China Sea, according to Xinhua. They found more than 20 marine organisms living in the upper portions of the hole. Below about 328 feet (100 m), the seawater in the blue hole had almost no oxygen, and thus little life, the researchers told Xinhua on July 22.

According to local legend, the Dragon Hole is mentioned in the Ming dynasty novel “Journey to the West,” in which a supernatural monkey character gets a magical golden cudgel from an undersea kingdom ruled by a dragon.  So far, however, no dragons have been observed in the blue hole.

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Tall Ship Festival Green Bay 2016 — Nine Ships including the Draken Harald Hårfagre

Posted on by August 3, 2016
drakengreenbay

Draken Harald Hårfagre has made it to Green Bay!

The Green Bay Tall Ship Festival kicks off this Friday, August 5th, at noon and runs through Sunday, August 7th. It features nine tall ships, including the replica Viking longship Draken Harald Hårfagre. There had been some question as to whether the longship would be able to make it to Green Bay after encountering issues with pilotage fees in the Great Lakes. The other ships participating in the festival are El Galeón, S/V Denis Sullivan, U.S. Brig Niagara, Madeline, Windy, Appledore IV, and When & If.  The festival also features food, music, educational events and activities for the kids.

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Whales Returning to New York — Dead & Alive

Posted on by August 9, 2016

hbreach1After decades of absence, whales are returning to the waters around New York City. Competing whale watching cruises depart New York docks in the warmer months to see humpback, fin whales and dolphins, often within site of the city skyline. Some whales have been seen within 200 yards of shore and close to the Verrazano–Narrows Bridge, one of the region’s busiest shipping channels. Pods of humpbanks whales have also returned to nearby Long Island Sound.

Unfortunately, not all whales arrive in the harbor alive. Last week, the carcass of a dead whale struck by a ship several days before in New Jersey resurfaced in the Hudson River. Kimberly Durham, the rescue program director of the Riverhead Foundation for Marine Research and Preservation on Long Island, reports that 2015 was the worst year yet for whale mortality in the area. “Nine dead whales, mostly humpbacks, washed up on Long Island beaches,” she said, “almost double the number in our previous peak year of 1991.” Most of the carcasses had wounds consistent with ship strikes. 2014 was almost as bad. In one month’s time in the spring of 2014, two dead whales were carried on the bows of ships arriving in New York’s upper harbor.

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LILAC: Flower of the Delaware — A Coast Guard Day Presentation, August 6th

Posted on by August 1, 2016

lilaccgdayThe Lilac Preservation Project is hosting “LILAC: Flower of the Delaware, A Coast Guard Day Presentation” on Thursday, August 4th, at 6:00 PM on the historic lighthouse tender Lilac at Pier 25, the foot of West Street and N. Moore Street, on the Hudson River in Manhattan.

Lilac is a retired 1933 Coast Guard cutter that once carried supplies to lighthouses and maintained buoys. Decommissioned in 1972, USCGC Lilac is America’s only surviving steam-powered lighthouse tender and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and is eligible to become a National Historic Landmark.

From their press release:
Have you wondered what a lighthouse tender did? What’s involved in tending buoys? Why do some Coast Guard cutters have black hulls? Join us on August 4th, the 226th anniversary of the founding of the U.S. Coast Guard, to get some answers.

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The Viking Longship that Sailed to Chicago in 1893

Posted on by July 31, 2016
Viking 1893

Viking 1893

The replica Viking longship Draken Harald Hårfagre successfully crossed the Atlantic and made it to the the Pepsi Tall Ships Chicago 2016 festival, which took place this weekend, despite challenges associated with paying Great lakes pilotage fees.  Building a replica longship, crossing the Atlantic and traveling inland to Chicago is a considerable achievement in its own right. I was surprised to learn that this is not the first time that the feat was accomplished. A Viking longship crossed the Atlantic and traveled to Chicago 123 years ago. Remarkably the ship, named Viking, survives to this day.

In 1893, a copy of the Gokstad ship was built and sailed under the command of Captain Magnus Andersen and a crew of 11 from Bergen, Norway to the World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago. The Gokstad ship was a 9th-century Viking ship discovered in 1880 in a burial mound at Gokstad in Sandar, Sandefjord, Vestfold, Norway. The new ship, named simply Viking,was built at the Rødsverven shipyard in Sandefjord, Norway as a plank by plank copy of the Gokstad ship. The Viking was 78 feet long, 17 feet wide, and 6.5 feet and was sailed to North America, via Newfoundland and New York, up the Hudson River, through the Erie Canal and into the Great Lakes to Chicago.

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Black Tom — 100 Years Ago Today, the Night New York Harbor Exploded

Posted on by September 20, 2018

blacktomfireAt around 2 a.m. on the Sunday morning of July 30, 1916, one hundred years ago today, explosions on Black Tom Island rocked New York harbor. The blasts lit the night sky and shook the earth with the force of a Richter scale 5.5 earthquake. Black Tom Island, located on the New Jersey side of the harbor, was one of the largest munitions terminals in the country, storing and shipping millions of tons of ammunition and high explosives to the French and the British, who were in the second year of what was then called the “Great War” against Germany and it allies.

The explosions that rocked the harbor were an estimated two million pounds of munitions detonating, sending bullets and shrapnel flying into the night, seriously damaging the nearby Statue of Liberty. Thousands of windows in the skyscrapers of downtown Manhattan and in Brooklyn were blown out. Windows as far north as Time Square in midtown were also shattered. In Jersey City, the outer wall of City Hall was cracked and the stained glass windows at St. Patrick’s Church were smashed. The clock tower of The Jersey Journal building in Journal Square, over a mile away, was struck by debris, stopping the clock at 2:12 a.m. Five hundred immigrants at Ellis Island were evacuated. The blasts were heard and felt for, at least, 90 miles in every direction, as far as Maryland and Connecticut.  In Philadelphia, residents were woken up by the explosions.

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