USCG Rescuers of the Crew of the HMS Bounty

Posted on by November 5, 2012

U.S. Coast Guard photo by Petty Officer 3rd class David Weydert.

There are no real super-heroes, but as far am I am concerned the closest human beings that come to that designation are the search and rescue teams of the United States Coast Guard.  From the rescue swimmers, who dive into high seas and icy waters, to the helicopter pilots and winch operators, who create as stable a platform as possible while being buffeted by high winds, to the pilots and crew of the HC-130J Hercules aircraft who located the ship in distress and stands by during the rescue, they are an amazing group of professionals who perform close to super-human rescues.

Last Tuesday, we posted an amazing video of members of the crew of the HMS Bounty being rescued by a United States Coast Guard rescue helicopter.  The rescue is dramatically described in the Coast Guard Compass, the Official blog of the US Coast Guard – Shipmate of the Week – Rescuers of the HMS Bounty.

Continue reading →

New York/New Jersey & Super-storm Sandy – Disaster from the Sea & Relief from the Sea

Posted on by November 3, 2012

USS Wasp

The super-storm Sandy swept in from the Atlantic on Monday night, leaving millions without power, destroying thousands of homes, killing scores and dramatically rearranging the landscape of the Jersey shore. Many New York subways went underwater. Fuel supplies are extremely low as gas stations initially lacked power to pump fuel and now lack supplies. Two of the three local refineries are shut-down due to the storm.

While relief is being sent from all over the country, much is coming by sea.  New York Governor Andrew Cuomo announced that a flotilla of ships and barges began unloading gasoline in New York to help ease the shortages. The U.S. government also issued a Jones Act waiver on Friday allowing foreign tankers in the Gulf of Mexico to supply the Northeast with fuel after Hurricane Sandy.

Continue reading →

Farewell Nova Scotia – in Honor of the Barque Picton Castle

Posted on by November 3, 2012

In response to our post, Bon Voyage to the Barque Picton Castle – Bound for the South Pacific, Diego commented, “Farewell to Nova Scotia, the sea-bound coast,”  which is the first line of the chorus of the old sailor’s song, Farewell to Nova Scotia.   Since reading his comment I haven’t been able to get the song out of my head, so I figure I might was well share.   In honor of the barque Picton Castle sailing from Nova Scotia bound out for the South Pacific, here is Bonnie Dobson singing Farewell to Nova Scotia.

Farewell to Nova Scotia

Bon Voyage to the Barque Picton Castle – Bound for the South Pacific

Posted on by November 3, 2012

The sail training ship, the barque Piction Castle, sailed from Lunenburg, Nova Scotia this morning, bound for Grenada, then through the Panama Canal on a voyage to the South Pacific.  To follow the Picton Castle on her voyage click here.

The Picton Castle, captained by Daniel Moreland, is a 179′ long, three-masted steel barque, with a riveted steel hull, setting 12,500 square feet (1,160 m2) of sail. The ship has accommodations for 12 professional crew and 40 sail trainees.  The ship has circumnavigation the world five times.

HMS Bounty Crew Relief Funds Set up by Bounty Organization and Lynx Educational Foundation

Posted on by November 2, 2012

HMS Bounty and Lynx – Peanut Island, West Palm Beach 2010

Following the tragic sinking of HMS Bounty, both the HMS Bounty organization and the Lynx Educational Foundation have set up relief funds for the crews and families of those lost on the ship.

From the Bounty Facebook page:

A Relief fund has been set up by both HMS Bounty Organization AND a couple of our former beloved crew members. We are working with the former crew members as well as initiating another way of donating to help raise as much money as possible for our 14 surviving crew as well as the families of Claudene Christian AND Captain Robin Walbridge. Please find it in your hearts to help out. You can donate via paypal at HMSBounty2012@Yahoo.com or by going to our website and clicking on the online store where you will see a button to donate via paypal. We thank everyone for the support and prayers!

From the Lynx Educational Foundation:

In honor and in memory of the sailing crew of the HMS Bounty, the Lynx Educational Foundation and Privateer Lynx has established a crew assistance fund starting with $500.00 in hopes that the effort will help in a small way of the immediate relocation needs of our friends of the HMS Bounty. Please join us and contribute what you can to help these brave individuals. Make your donation today for the HMS Bounty Crew Relief Effort Fund

http://www.privateerlynx.com/donate.html

New York’s South Street Seaport Museum – the Good and Really, Really Bad News

Posted on by November 2, 2012

The area around the South Street Seaport on the East River in lower Manhattan was particularly hard hit by the storm surge from Hurricane Sandy.  The rising water reached the first floor eaves, devastating homes and businesses.

The only good news was that the seven historic vessels at the South Street Seaport Museum rode out the storm without damage.  “All vessels rode out the hurricane Sandy and the surge with very little difficulty,  thanks to days of preparation and a right on-the-money calculation about the amount of slack needed for the lines securing the Peking, the Wavertree, and the Ambrose to Pier 15 and Pier 16,” said Susan Henshaw Jones, Ronay Menschel Director of the Museum of the City of New York and President of the South Street Seaport Museum. (Thanks to Jeff Simmons for the heads-up.)

Continue reading →

Search for Captain Robin Walbridge, Washed off the Sinking HMS Bounty, Ends – Investigation into Sinking Begins

Posted on by November 2, 2012

Photo:Petty Officer 2nd Class Tim Kuklewski /U.S. Coast Guard

Sadly, the US Coast Guard has suspended the search for Captain Robin Walbridge, who was washed off the HMS Bounty as she sank in high seas on Monday off the coast of North Carolina.   Claudene Christian, 42, was also lost overboard. She was later found by the Coast Guard unconscious, but subsequently died.

“Our thoughts and prayers are with the Walbridge and Christian families,” said Capt. Doug Cameron, the chief of incident response for the Coast Guard 5th District. ”Suspending a search and rescue case is one of the hardest decisions we have to make.”

Coast Guard crews searched more than 90 hours, covering approximately 12,000 overlapping square nautical miles in the Atlantic Ocean since the Bounty’s crew abandoned ship Monday morning.

The Coast Guard began their investigation Thursday to determine the cause of the sinking of the Bounty.   Thanks to Phil Leon for contributing to the post. 

Returning After Sandy – Destruction, Sadness and Recovery

Posted on by November 2, 2012

168-foot water tanker, the John B. Caddell, sits on the shore, Oct. 30, 2012, where it ran aground on Front Street in the Stapleton neighborhood of New York’s Staten Island as a result of superstorm Sandy. Photo: Sean Sweeney/AP Photo

Last Monday night, the lights went out for over 8 million people in the Northeast and Central United States as Superstorm Sandy sent high winds and a record storm surge ashore. It was the worst storm to hit New York harbor since the city was founded in 1624.  The more than 9 foot surge on top of a high tide on a full moon resulted in water level’s at New York’s Battery approaching 14 feet, far surpassing the record of 11.2′ water level recorded during the great hurricane of 1821.

Continue reading →

The World’s Only Nuclear Powered Container/LASH Vessel, Sevmorput, to be Scrapped

Posted on by October 29, 2012

Nuclear powered ships were the future that never quite arrived.  The Russian container ship/LASH carrier Sevmorput is the only remaining nuclear powered merchant ship and it is slated to be scrapped.

No future for nuclear-powered container ship

Continue reading →

A Year After His Death, Steve Job’s Yacht, Venus, Delivered

Posted on by October 29, 2012

More than six years ago, Steve Jobs commissioned a custom yacht from the Dutch shipbuilder Feadship.  Designed by French designer Philippe Starck, the 250-foot yacht, Venus, has been delivered, a year after Job’s death.  Jobs told biographer Walter Issacson, “I know that it’s possible that I will die and leave [wife] Laurene with a half-built boat. But I have to keep going on it. If I don’t it’s an admission that I’m about to die.”

Steve Jobs’ yacht Venus unveiled in Aalsmeer, The Netherlands

So Long Until the Lights Come Back On

Posted on by October 30, 2012

Here on the west bank of the Hudson, we were in the path of Hurricane Sandy’s storm surge and winds. Though we came very close to flooding we didn’t quite go under. (We were very lucky.) We are have food, water and shelter. All we lack is phone, electricity and internet. So untill the lights go on, I will be difficult to contact. I have posts cued up for the next few days and wish everyone a good week.

Freighter Amurskaya Carrying Gold Ore Missing in the Sea of Okhotsk

Posted on by October 29, 2012

Photo: Igor Savitskiy on Shipspotting

The freighter Amurskaya, with a crew of of between 8 and 11, and carrying 700 tons of gold ore has been reported missing in stormy seas near the Shantar Islands, in the Sea of Okhotsk, on Russia’s Pacific Coast.   The gold ore is estimated to be worth roughly $800,000.   The general cargo vessel Amurskaya IMO 7313614, was built in 1973.  Thanks to Phil Leon of contributing to the post.

Update: Missing Bounty Crew – Claudene Christian Dead & Captain Walbridge Still Missing

Posted on by October 29, 2012

UPDATE: Missing crew member, Claudene Christian, 42, was pulled from the water unconscious and later confirmed dead by the Coast Guard.  Captain Robin Walbridge is still missing.

CBC News is reporting: Claudia McCann, whose husband Robin Walbridge is the captain of the Bounty, told CBC News her husband is one of the two missing crew members. CBC News has learned the other missing crew member is Claudene Christian.

Claudene Christian is reported to be a distant relative of Fletcher Christian, the original Master’s Mate who seized command of the ship during the mutiny.

CNN: Three Crew Swept Overboard from Sinking Bounty, Only One Made it to the Liferaft, Search Continues for the Missing

Posted on by October 29, 2012

I just heard an interview on CNN with a US Coast Guard Vice Admiral (I believe it was Vice Adm. Robert Parker, but I didn’t quite catch the name.)   He said that three crew members were swept off the deck of HMS Bounty as she sank. All three crew were wearing survival suits. One of the three made it to the life raft.  The other two did not.   The Coast Guard continues searching. Nevertheless, the Vice Admiral noted how difficult it is to locate a person in the high winds and seas in the area where the ship sank.

Update: HMS Bounty Sinks, 14 Crew Rescued, 2 Unaccounted For

Posted on by October 29, 2012

The 180′ tall ship HMS Bounty has sunk off the North Carolina coast.  At least 14 of the crew have been rescued.   There is considerable confusion about the remaining 2-3 crew members. The Bounty organization reported that 17 crew, wearing survival suits and life jackets, had been accounted for in two lifeboats.  The US Coast Guard now says that there 16 rather than 17 aboard the ship and that two are unaccounted for.  The most recent message on the Bounty Facebook page reads: Please bear with us…There are so many conflicting stories going on now. We are waiting for some confirmation.

UPDATE: Coast Guard rescues 14, continues searching for 2 from HMS Bounty

HMS Bounty Foundering off North Carolina, 17 Member Crew Abandoning Ship

Posted on by October 29, 2012

Update: from the Bounty Facebook page 7:10 AM –  At 0430 today the Captain ordered all hands to abandon ship. There are 17 Crew on board and at this moment all crew are accounted for and are in Life rafts.   The first USCG helicopter has reached the ship and is in the process of rescuing them. Bounty is currently still floating upright and intact.

Terrible news. The 180-foot, three mast tall ship, HMS Bounty is reported to be in distress and the crew of 17 is reported to have abandoned ship, approximately 160 miles west of the eye of Hurricane Sandy in 35 knot winds and 18 foot seas.

After apparently successfully crossing the path of Hurricane Sandy yesterday, there were reports yesterday afternoon that a generator aboard ship had failed.  The Bounty‘s Facebook page said that the ship was “taking on more water than they would like.”  Late Sunday, the ship’s owners lost contact with the ship and notified the Coast Guard.  Subsequently, the Coast Guard picked up an EPIRB distress signal from the ship.  An air crew from Coast Guard Air Station Elizabeth City launched aboard an HC-130 Hercules aircraft, which later arrived on scene and reestablished communications with the Bounty’s crew.

Hurricane Sandy forces HMS Bounty evacuation

Continue reading →

HMS Bounty, Then and Now — Remembrance at the Scene of the Mutiny and Dodging a Hurricane

Posted on by October 28, 2012

Faulkner wrote, “The past isn’t dead. It isn’t even past.”   I was reminded of this when I read a wonderful post on Joan Druett’s blog this morning, The Mutiny on the Bounty.   She vividly recreates the scene of the mutiny from the deck of the P&O cruise ship Pacific Jewel, which at that moment was lying in the exact spot on the Pacific where the famous mutiny on HMS Bounty took place in 1789. She describes to the nearly nearly 2000 passengers attending, how Captain Bligh and eighteen loyal crew are cast off in an overloaded launch.   The cruise ship then sailed on the island of Tofua, where Bligh’s launch made landfall, only to attacked by natives.  Bligh and his crew make a momentous decision. As Druett writes: They will stop at no more islands. Instead, they will make the 3,618-mile voyage to Timor, in the East Indies, skirting Fiji, Vanuatu, and the Great Barrier Reef, and then negotiating the scarcely charted Torres Strait. Living on one ounce of bread and a quarter pint of water each day, somehow they will do it — and without the loss of even one more man.  It is the start of the most remarkable small boat voyage in history.  Read the rest on Joan Druett’s World of the Written Word.

Continue reading →

Hawaiian Tsunami Warning Lifted after 100,000 Evacuated to Higher Ground

Posted on by October 28, 2012

While those of us on the East Coast of the United States have been watching the approach of the “superstorm” Hurricane Sandy, residents of the Hawaiian islands were under a tsunami warning following a a powerful 7.7 magnitude earthquake that hit Canada’s Pacific coastal province of British Columbia late on Saturday.  At least 100,000 people were advised to evacuated to higher ground on the warning.  The warning was downgraded to an advisory – a lower-level alert – shortly after 1 a.m. Sunday.

Hawaii tsunami warning lifted after 100,000 flee to higher ground

A tsunami warning prompted by a powerful earthquake off the Canadian coast sent at least 100,000 people fleeing from shore to higher ground in Hawaii late on Saturday, but an evacuation order was canceled after a series of weaker-than-expected waves rolled through the islands.

“Superstorm” Sandy Sending Ships out to Sea and to Harbors of Refuge

Posted on by October 27, 2012

Position of HMS Bounty

Tropical Storm Sandy returned to hurricane strength on Saturday morning as it heads toward the U.S. northeast coast.   The US Navy as ordered 24 of the larger ships in southeastern Virginia bases, including the aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman, out to sea to avoid the storm. Those ships which cannot leave are taking extra precautions stay secure a their docks. Military installations along the Eastern Seaboard, including Andrews Air Force Base and Langley Air Force Base in Virginia and Naval Submarine Base New London in Connecticut were also prepared to move ships and aircraft if needed.

Continue reading →