US Tests Sea Hunter, Anti-Submarine Drone Ship Technology

Posted on by February 21, 2019
seahunter

Sea Hunter Being Made Ready for Sea Trials Photo: DARPA

The US military is testing the technology for Sea Hunter, the first ASW Continuous Trail Unmanned Vessel (ACTUV), a 132 feet long autonomous drone ship designed to track enemy submarines. The ship is designed to be unmanned and operate autonomously and/or by remote control. Each ACTUV is expected to cost around $20 million dollars.   The project was initiated by the Pentagon research group, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA).  The Navy could move to the next phase of development by 2018. If the project is successful it could have a major impact on the role of drones in both maritime security and ship operations.

The US Navy is facing the challenge of countering the potential threat from a new generation of diesel-electric submarines. The new submarines are more silent and stealthy than nuclear submarines and far cheaper to build and operate. The concern is that China, Iran or some other nation might be able to send a fleet of these subs toward the United States and overwhelm US anti-submarine tracking capabilities. The idea is to counter this threat by using a fleet of unmanned drone ships to detect and continuously track diesel-electric submarines.

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Congress Authorizes Privateers April 3, 1776

Posted on by April 4, 2016
Letter of Marque & Reprisal, Click to see more

Letter of Marque, Click to see more

Two hundred and forty years ago today, the Continental Congress authorized the commissioning of privateers to attack British ships. It was still three months before the Declaration of Independence from Great Britain.  The legislation was in many respects simply catching up with what was already going on in New England and elsewhere along the coast. A year earlier, in the spring of 1775, the colony of Massachusetts had begun commissioning privateers. Likewise, General Washington began chartering schooners to act as commerce raiders to help supply his army surrounding Boston.

Over the course of the war, about 1,700 Letters of Marque and Reprisal, which is to say, privateering commissions, were granted to nearly 800 privateering vessels, which captured or destroyed about 600 British ships. By comparison, the Continental Navy never numbered more than 70 vessels and captured fewer than 200 British ships.

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Second Fatality on IchorCoal in Clipper Round the World Race

Posted on by April 2, 2016
sarahclipperrtw

Sarah Young

Terrible news. A second sailor has died in the Clipper Round the World Race. On 1127 UTC on Friday, Sarah Young, 40, was swept over the side of the IchorCoal boat (CV21) in the Pacific Ocean by a series of waves, after reefing the mainsail. She was not tethered to the boat and was carried off in 35 – 40 knot winds. Her body was recovered but she never regained consciousness. The cause of death is yet to be determined but is suspected to be drowning or exposure.  Her death took place at approximately 39 N 160 E, approaching the International Date Line, on the 12th day of the ninth race between Qingdao, China, and Seattle, USA, with over 3,242 miles left to reach its destination.

Last September, four days after the start of the Clipper Round the World Race, Andrew Ashman, 49, a paramedic, suffered a head injury and died while reefing the mainsail, also on the racing yacht IchorCoal (CV21).  In the last twenty years of the Clipper Round the World Race, these have been the first fatalities. Thanks to Alaric Bond for contributing to this post.

The Ten Stack Luxury Superliner!

Posted on by April 1, 2016

tenstack

There is a lot going on in the cruise world these days. There is all the talk about returning the SS United States to service, although probably without a steam plant or much of the original ship coming along for the ride. Then there is the allegedly ongoing project to build a replica of the RMS Titanic, which will be exactly like the original except for more beam, no steam, and no shear, as well as more lifeboats, and, at least, one fewer iceberg. Here, however, is a plan for a ship that would top them all — a ten stack luxury superliner out of Germany.

At this point, it is tempting to start riffing on the German shipowner, Drumpf Line and their “yuge” ship (although the stacks, like ten fingers, do look on the short and stubby side.)  The photo above is, in fact, an April Fools photo from Germany in 1938, reprinted by Life magazine. The copy below the photo reads:

“Its launching was announced for April 1. The photographer christened the ship President Roosevelt, declared that among its many superlative features was an auto track on which car-crazy Americans could race just to keep their hands in.”

Throwback Thursday: New York Harbor Tugs — Then & Now

Posted on by March 31, 2016

mcaltugs1When I arrived in New York back in the mid-70s, a vast fleet of tugs swarmed across the harbor like so many water beetles.  Most kept busy assisting ships in docking. Now there are fewer but larger ships, many with bow thrusters, so fewer tugs are needed to get them to their berths.

Here are two videos about New York harbor tugs, separated in time by more than a half-century. The first “Workhorses of the Harbor!” is about Dalzell Towing in 1954. The second, from the PBS program “New York On the Clock” — “Chris Baker, Tugboat Captain” follows a McAllister tug captain in assisting ships to their berths in 2009.  In more than one respect, the two videos are related. Dalzell Towing, which specialized in ship docking, was purchased by McAllister Towing in 1965.


Dalzell Towing — New York harbor tugs 1954

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America’s Cup Racing Returns to New York, May 7 – 8th

Posted on by March 30, 2016

acjimmystatueIn early May, America’s Cup racing will return to New York City for the first time since 1920. The Louis Vuitton America’s Cup World Series regatta, one of a series of warm-up races sailed in AC 45s, 45′ foiling catamarans,  prior to the main event, the 35th sailing of the America’s Cup Races, will take place in Bermuda in 2017.  From the AC website: On both Saturday, May 7 and Sunday, May 8, the epicenter of the race festivities will be Battery Park City and the Brookfield Place Waterfront Plaza. All races will finish just off the plaza, which will be home to one central event village. Thousands of spectators are expected to watch the race, either on land along the pier or from hundreds of spectator boats on the water near the race course. 

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German WWI Destroyers V44 & V82 Lost and Now Found in Portsmouth Harbor

Posted on by March 29, 2016

germandestroyers2British archeologists have located the wrecks of two German destroyers, V44  and V82, from World War I in an unlikely location — on the tidal mudflats near Whale Island in the eastern part of Portsmouth Harbour, opposite the Brittany Ferries Terminal. This is less of a discovery than a rediscovery. The destroyers had been abandoned and then forgotten for almost 80 years.

As reported by the Independent: In the early 1920s, thieves looted the two destroyers for loose scrap metal – and later in the same decade, both ships were sold for scrap. However, only parts of the vessels were removed by the scrap merchants. The substantial remnants – including much of the ships’ hulls – were then abandoned and rapidly forgotten. Eight decades then passed before they were rediscovered by the archeologists.

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Xenoturbella, the Mighty Purple Sock of the Sea

Posted on by March 28, 2016

For the last sixty years or so, scientists have been puzzled how to classify the xenoturbella, a mysterious sea creature which resembles a purple sock. The xenoturbella has no brains, guts or even eyes. It only has a gaping mouth that allows it to take in food and release waste. Scientists have now identified the species, rather farther down on the “tree of life” than they had expected.


This Strange Sea Creature Looks Like A ‘Purple Sock‘

Methane Bubbles — Latest Bermuda Triangle Silliness Sweeps the Internet

Posted on by March 27, 2016

bt1The Bermuda Triangle nonsense continues, as does the media’s fondness for dramatic headlines, whether or not there are any facts to support them.  The most recent silliness is about late ice age methane explosions. The UK’s Daily Mail headline reads: “Has the secret of the Bermuda Triangle finally been discovered? Scientists find giant craters underwater which may explain how ships disappear without trace.”  The International Business Times headline reads:  Bermuda Triangle mystery: Missing ships victim of enormous methane blowouts on ocean floor?  Likewise, the Guardian leads with: “Do giant gas bubbles explain the mystery of the Bermuda Triangle?” There are literally dozens of other articles and posts that are variations on the same theme.

What is this all about? It seems that scientists have found underwater craters in the Barent Sea off Norway. The craters were apparently caused by methane explosions on the ocean floor that occurred after the last ice age, or more than 10,000 years ago.

What does this have to do with the so-called, Bermuda Triangle? Virtually nothing, as it turns out. Continue reading →

Lobsterman by E.B. White

Posted on by March 26, 2016

When I think of E.B. White I think of the classic children’s books, Stuart Little, Charlotte’s Web, and The Trumpet of the Swan, among others. He was also the co-author of the English language style guide The Elements of Style.

E.B. White was also a sailor. His adopted home was in Brooklin, Maine, where he lived for almost 50 years. His son, Joel White, was a naval architect and boat builder, who owned Brooklin Boat Yard.  Here is a video, Lobsterman, written and narrated by E.B. White from the PBS show Omnibus.

Lobsterman by E.B. White from Two Fish on Vimeo.

Peter Stanford, South Street Seaport Museum Founder, Dies at 89

Posted on by March 25, 2016

peterstanfordPeter Stanford, an icon of maritime historical preservation in the United States, died yesterday at the age of 89. In 1967, Peter and his wife Norma founded the South Street Seaport Museum on New York City’s East River waterfront. Peter Stanford was its first president. Stanford played an important role in campaigns to preserve many historic vessels including the lightship Ambrose, the brigantine Black Pearl, the barque Elissa, the schoonerErnestina (now Ernestina-Morrissey), the Liberty ship John W. Brown, the fishing schooner Lettie G. Howard, the steam tug Mathilda, the four-masted barque Moshulu, the four-masted barque Peking, and the iron-hulled sailing ship Wavertree.

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Lost US Navy Tug USS Conestoga Discovered After 95 Years

Posted on by March 24, 2016

conestogaOn March 25th, 1921, the US Navy ocean-going tug, USS Conestoga, with a coal barge in tow, steamed out of Mare Island, California, bound for Tutuila, American Samoa, by way of Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. The tug, barge and crew disappeared. For three months that summer, the Navy would launch the largest sea-and-air search to in its history looking for the tug and its crew of 56. Aircraft and destroyers searched more than 300,000 square miles of sea around Hawaii. The only trace of the tug found in the search was a lifeboat bearing the initial letter of her name found near Manzanillo, Mexico.  Yesterday, NOAA announced that the wreckage of the tug has been found, but nowhere near Hawaiian waters. The wreck was located in the Greater Farallones National Marine Sanctuary, a few miles from Southeast Farallon Island, about 30 miles from the mouth of San Francisco Bay, off the California coast.

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USS Vesuvius and the Amazing Dynamite Gun

Posted on by March 23, 2016

vesuvious

The US Navy is currently testing some potentially revolutionary new weapons, including electromagnetic rail guns. This is not the first time that the navy has experimented with new and exotic weapons systems, not all of which have been successful. USS Vesuvius, commissioned in 1890, featured three 15-inch (38-cm) cast iron pneumatic guns,  which used compressed air to propel “dynamite shells.”  The shells were steel or brass casings 7 feet long packed with nitrocellulose and nitroglycerine. The three dynamite guns had a range of between one to two miles depending on the weight of the charge.  Oddly, the guns themselves were fixed, so to aim the projectiles they needed to aim the ship toward the target.

In 1897, USS Vesuvius saw action in the Spanish-American War engaging in eight bombardments against Santiago, Cuba. Admiral Sampson wrote that Vesuvius’ firing had “great effect.”  Nevertheless, this was the first and last time that the Vesuvius’  dynamite gun would see combat.  The relatively short range of the guns, the ship’s limited maneuverability and the likelihood that a single enemy shell concussion might set off the dynamite magazine limited her future service. In 1905, USS Vesuvius was recommissioned as a torpedo testing ship in Newport, RI. 1915, a torpedo fired from Vesuvius ran a circular course and punctured the hull. She was grounded to avoid sinking. In 1922, she was decommisioned and sold for scrap.

Forget the Cloud, The Internet is Beneath the Sea! — The Russian Threat

Posted on by March 22, 2016

underseacableIn describing the internet, people often talk of “the cloud.”  We connect through over an ethernet, where ether is an archaic term from the Latin aethēr ‎meaning “the upper pure, bright air.”  But as they say in Brooklyn, fuhgeddaboutit! Most of the internet is beneath the sea carried by submarine communications cables. By some accounts, the cables carry 95 percent of daily communications. Now there are serious concerns in the US military and intelligence that Russian submarines and spy ships are aggressively operating near the vital undersea cables that carry almost all global Internet communications. If the Russians, or anyone else, should attack the cables, they could potentially shut potentially shut down large sections of the Internet.

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Summer Programs on the Schooner Sultana

Posted on by March 21, 2016

It is a huge challenge to build, operate, maintain and fund a historic sailing vessel, not to mention providing great educational programming to deck loads of school kids. The Sultana Educational Foundation of Chestertown, MD does a great job on the replica 1768 schooner, Sultana. Here is a short video describing their summer programs. Click here to learn more.

Sultana – Summer Programs from Aloft on Vimeo.

Name UK’s New Polar Research Ship, But RRS Boaty McBoatface ?

Posted on by March 20, 2016

NameboatThe British Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) is asking for suggestions for a name for the new polar research ship, currently under construction at Cammell Laird’s yard in Birkenhead.  The closing date for entries is 16th April 2016.

They have gotten quite a response. As of this morning if you attempt to submit your suggestion online, you are sent to a page which reads: “NAME YOUR SHIP IS CURRENTLY EXPERIENCING A HIGH VOLUME OF TRAFFIC — Our website is currently experiencing an extremely high volume of traffic. Sorry for any inconvenience caused. This team of penguins are doing their best to fix the problem! Please try again later.”

Nevertheless, many have gotten through and have offered their suggested names. According to an article by the Irish Examiner, the currently most popular name is RRS Boaty McBoatface. RRS Henry Worsley, RRS David Attenborough and RRS Pillar of Autumn are also ranking name suggestions. Somewhat further down the list are RRS Usain Boat, RRS Ice Ice Baby and RRS Boatimus Prime.

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Wreck of Vasco da Gama’s Lost Ship Esmeralda Believed Found Off Oman

Posted on by March 19, 2016

dagama1The wreck of the Esmeralda, a ship from Portuguese explorer Vasco da Gama’s  second voyage to India in 1502 and 1503, is believed to have been found close to Al Hallaniyah island, near the coast of Oman according to an announcement made by the country’s Ministry of Heritage and Culture this week. The wreck is believed to be the oldest wreck dating from “Europe’s Golden Age of Exploration.”

The wreck had been first discovered in 1998 and excavated between 2013 and 2015 by a partnership between the Oman Ministry of Heritage and Culture and the shipwreck recovery company Bluewater Recoveries Ltd., which is directed by David Mearns. More than 2,800 artifacts, including rare coins, have been recovered since the beginning of the excavation.

Sunken treasure recovered from 500-year-old shipwreck

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Kon-Tiki 2 Crew Rescued, Hōkūleʻa Sails On

Posted on by March 18, 2016

kontiki2xLast November, we posted about two balsa rafts which had set out from Lima, Peru, intending to sail to Easter Island and back, on the Kon-Tiki 2 expedition. Yesterday, the Chilean Navy rescued 14 crew members from the two rafts after they had been swept far off course by currents as the rafts were on the return leg of the voyage.

The voyage was intended both as an homage to Thor Heyerdahl’s famous voyage on the raft Kon-Tiki in 1947 and a voyage to collect data on climate change, ocean currents, marine life and plastic pollution. This expedition attempted to steer the rafts using adjustable “guara boards,” but were still unable to keep to their intended course.

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SeaWorld Announces the Last Generation of Captive Orcas

Posted on by March 17, 2016

dawnblackfishSeaWorld has announced that they are ending their program to breed captive orcas. The 24 orcas, also known as killer whales, currently held at parks in California, Texas and Florida will be the last generation of captive orcas at SeaWorld.  In an op-ed in the LA Times, Joel Manby, president and CEO of SeaWorld, wrote:

Americans’ attitudes about orcas have changed dramatically. When the first SeaWorld Park opened in 1964, orcas, or killer whales, were not universally loved, to put it mildly. Instead, they were feared, hated and even hunted. Half a century later, orcas are among the most popular marine mammals on the planet. One reason: People came to SeaWorld and learned about orcas up close.

For some time, SeaWorld has faced a paradox. Customers visit our marine parks, in part, to watch orcas. But a growing number of people don’t think orcas belong in human care. Lawmakers in Sacramento and even in the U.S. House of Representatives have proposed legislation to phase out orca captivity. Even the California Coastal Commission — a state agency with oversight over land use and public access — moved last year to ban orca breeding at SeaWorld San Diego.

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Humphrey Jennings’ “Farewell Topsails” 1937

Posted on by March 10, 2016

UntfarewlltopsailsFarewell Topsails is a short film about the last topsail schooners in the British china clay trade. Remarkably for a film made in 1937, the short is in color, using the Dufaycolor process. The film was made by Humphrey Jennings who would become known for his work during World War II with the Crown Film Unit, a film-making propaganda arm of the Ministry of Information. Jennings was described by film critic and director Lindsay Anderson in 1954 as: “the only real poet that British cinema has yet produced.” Jennings died at the age of 43, on the island of Poros, Greece after falling from a cliff while scouting locations for a film.

Humphrey Jennings – Farewell Topsails ( 1937 )