Remembering Dr. James Guthrie, the Real Dr. Stephen Maturin ?

Posted on by December 3, 2011

HMS Speedy - Dr. James Guthrie, commander and crew, albeit briefly

On Facebook this morning, Maritime Great Britain linked to a post on THE DEAR SURPRISE blog, discussing a post by Marion Elizabeth Diamond on the Historians are Past Caring blog, which raised the question, “Was this the real Stephen Maturin?”   Ms. Diamond answers her own question with the suggestion that Patrick O’Brian may have based his character of ships’ surgeon/spy, Stephen Maturin, on the doctor and scientist, Augustus Bozzi Granville, who did indeed serve in the medical service of the Royal Navy.

Bozzi Geneville may indeed have served as an inspiration to O’Brian.  I have always thought that O’Brian borrowed from the life of Joseph Banks for both his characters, Maturin and Joseph Blaine.  Bozzi Geneville looks like a reasonable candidate, as well.   Nevertheless, we should not forget Dr. James Guthrie, who provided the very literal inspiration for O’Brian’s Dr. Maturin.
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The Long Strange Voyage of Valeska Paris on the Scientology “Cruise Ship” Freewinds

Posted on by December 3, 2011

Valeska Paris recently appeared on the Australian television program “Lateline”  where she charged that she was held for twelve years against her will on the cruise ship MV Freewinds, a ship operated by the Church of Scientology. The ship, the ex- MS Bohème for Wallenius Lines, is used as a training and recreational center by the church.  The church denies all charges.  Scientology is a religion created by L. Ron Hubbard, a science fiction writer, in the early 1950s.

ABC Lateline – Scientology Imprisonment on the Freewinds (2011-11-28)


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The Sinking of the Kowloon Bridge, 25 Years Ago Today – the World’s Largest Wreck

Posted on by December 3, 2011

Twenty five years ago today, the ore-bulk-oil carrier MV Kowloon Bridge sank off the coast of West Cork with a cargo of 165,000 tons of iron ore and 2,000 tons of bunker oil, becoming the world’s largest shipwreck by tonnage.

The Kowloon Bridge was bound from Quebec, Canada to the River Clyde,in Scotland when she started to develop structural cracking on the main deck during a storm. She diverted to Bantry Bay, Ireland.  She subsequently suffered  steering gear failre and on Monday, November 24th, 1986, ran around off ‘The Stags,’ near Baltimore, West Cork in the Republic of Ireland.  Attempts at salvage failed and on December 3, the ship broke in half and sank. The almost 2,000 tonnes of fuel oil which leaked from the wreck did significant damage to local beaches, fisheries and wildlife.  The Kowloon Bridge was a sistership to the MV Derbyshire which sank with all hands during Typhoon Orchid in 1980. See our post, Douglas Faulkner and the MV Derbyshire.

25th anniversary of Europe’s biggest wreck – ‘Kowloon Bridge’

The wreck of the Kowloon Bridge is now a popular site for experienced divers, in20 to 118 feet of water off the Stag Rocks.

Scuba Diving in Baltimore, County Cork, Ireland, Europe

Video for a Friday – My Jorts Smell Like Biomass

Posted on by December 9, 2011

After an lovely warm November, winter is beginning to settle in here on the banks of the Hudson River, so it feels like a good time to feature a video of warm water, blue sky and white sails. Here is a video shot by Jimmy C on-board the 134-foot steel brigantine Robert C. Seamans on a thirty eight day voyage from San Diego to Honolulu with S.E.A. Semester class S237.  The video was shot with a Go Pro Helmet cam.

Sea Education Association (SEA) is a private, nonprofit educational organization which offers a hands-on experience to college and high school students in sailing at sea. They operate the Robert C. Seamans, generally in the Pacific, and the Corwith Cramer in the Atlantic.

Perry’s Revenge Ale – Celebrating Perry’s Lost Ship

Posted on by December 1, 2011

Last January, three divers, Charles Buffum, Mike Fournier and Craig Harger, announced that they had located the wreck of Oliver Hazard Perry’s ship USS Revenge which sank 200 years ago off the coast of Rhode Island near Watch Hill.   It turns out that Charles Buffum, in addition to being a diver and an amateur archaeologist, is also the owner of Cottrell Brewing Company, which is celebrating the discovery with a new ale –  Perry’s Revenge Ale, a dark Scottish-style ale with an 8.5 percent alcohol content.  it is currently only sold on tap at pubs nearby the  Pawcatuck brewery, but is expected to be sold in 22-ounce bottles in liquor stores within a month.  I can only hope that it is distributed here on the banks of the Hudson River.

Brewery marks discovery of shipwreck with new beer

See also: Wreck of Perry’s USS Revenge reported found on 200th anniversary

Update: Bombs Along the Rhine – Half of Koblenz to be Evacuated for Bomb Disposal

Posted on by March 18, 2012

Koblenz, where the Mosel meets the Rhine

Recently we posted about how the near record drought in Europe has lowered the levels in the Rhine River, not only limiting vessel traffic, but also exposing World War II munitions.  We wrote that “ bomb disposal experts … are evaluating how to dispose of a larger bomb  found lying in 16 inches of water near Koblenz.” They have made their determination and it involves evacuating 45,000 people, or roughly half of the population of Koblenz, this Sunday, prior to defusing the estimated 3,000 pounds of high explosives in the bomb.

Nearly half German city to evacuate Sunday for defusing of WWII era bomb
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Adrift in the Pacific – Two Kiribati Men Missing for 33 Days Come Ashore in Marshall Islands

Posted on by November 30, 2011

Two men, aged 53 and 26, from the Pacific Ocean island nation of Kiribati, who had been missing for 33 days, came ashore over 300 miles away on the on Namorik Atoll, in the Marshall Islands. The men were reported to be weak, but otherwise not in bad shape, considering their ordeal. Apparently their arrival was not entirely unusual.

“As odd as it may seem, the Marshall Islands hosts Kiribas drifters quite frequently,” said the editor of the Marshall Islands Journal, Giff Johnson, “It’s not that it happens all the time. Let’s just say people from Kiribas are very hardy individuals. They get lost on a little boat and manage to persevere. It is an amazing thing.”

Castaways found on Pacific atoll after 33 days at sea
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Thunder on the Thames – HMS Belfast Gangway Collapses

Posted on by November 29, 2011

Photo: Robin Bell

The gangway to HMS Belfast, collapsed into the Thames River in London shortly after noon today.  Two work men are reported to have been taken to the hospital with what are described as abrasions.  More than 100 people on board the ship, including 30 school children, were evacuated in small boats.  HMS Belfast is an ex-Royal Navy light cruiser which saw action in both the Second World War and the Korean War and is permanently docked on the Thames as part of the Imperial War Museum.  Not surprisingly, a spokesman said that the ship will be closed until further notice.

Terror on the Thames as gangway leading to HMS Belfast collapses

Earlier this month we posted about a virtual problem with the ship, when graphic artists for the London 2012 Olympics Committee airbrushed HMS Belfast out of a promotional poster showing the Thames River.

The USS HORNET Project – Building a Replica of the Historic Sloop of War

Posted on by November 29, 2011

Rendering of the USS Hornet

The Naval Heritage Society is attempting to to build a full-scale, fully functional replica of of the USS Hornet, a sloop of war built in 1805, which had a successful career in the War of 1812 and beyond, before being lost in a hurricane in 1829.  NHS is endeavoring to raise $12.6 million to fund the project and hopes to lay the keel for replica on July 4th of 2012.  Melbourne Smith, the lead designer for the project, was involved in the design of the 1812 privateer Lynx and the brig Niagara, as well as Pride of Baltimore, Spirit of Massachusetts and as an advisor to the replica of Captain Cook’s bark Endeavor.  The project Master Shipbuilder, William Elliott, is widely experienced in wooden ship construction and repair including the  the complete reconstruction of the three masted schooner CA Thayer for the National Park Service, construction of the brig Niagara for the State of Pennsylvania, and construction of the schooner Californian. He also conducted major planking and caulking overhauls of six wooden MSO class minesweepers for the U.S. Navy.

The USS HORNET Project
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Captain Seog Hae-gyun Earns IMO Award for Exceptional Bravery at Sea 2011

Posted on by November 29, 2011

Captain Seog Hae-gyun poses with his medal after he received the 2011 Award for Exceptional Bravery at Sea. London.

On November 21st, at IMO Headquarters in London, Captain Seog Hae-gyun was awarded the IMO Award for Exceptional Bravery at Sea for 2011 “for his decisive, brave and courageous actions to protect his ship and crew during a vicious pirate attack in the Indian Ocean, which left him with serious and long-lasting injuries.”  

On January 15, 2011, the chemical tanker Samho Jewelry was hijacked by Somali pirates. The 21 officers and crew here taken hostage.  Captain Seog Hae-gyun showed remarkable courage, ingenuity and persistence in  resisting the pirates until finally, on January 21, the ship was stormed by Korean commandos from the destroyer ROKS Choi Young, who killed or captured the pirates and freed the crew.
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RV Atlantis Rescues 93 Egyptians from Fishing Trawler in the Mediterranean

Posted on by November 28, 2011

RV Atlantis

Last Friday night, only twelve hours into a 15 day Mediterranean voyage, the research vessel Atlantis received a mayday call, relayed by the Greek Coast Guard reporting a fishing boat in distress about 40 miles away, near the island of Kythera. They found a fifty foot long fishing boat overloaded with 93 Egyptian men. In 30 knot winds and 6 to 8 foot seas, the crew of the Atlantis was able to rescue everyone aboard the fishing boat, and deliver them to the southern Greek port of Kalamata. The men taken off the fishing boat are believed to have been fleeing Egypt bound for Italy or Greece.

Woods Hole ship captain details rescue
Greece: Migrants rescued from stranded trawler

After carrying the refugees to port, the 274-foot ship returned to begin its mission of researching “Mediterranean Deep Brines,”  the chemistry and possible life in brine lakes about two miles deep in the Mediterranean Sea. The research vessel (R/V) Atlantis is owned by the U.S. Navy and operated by Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute.

Thanks to Captain Richard Bailey for passing the news along.

New Frigate HMS Westminster Sent to Libya Short on Missiles & No Royal Navy Warship Left to Guard Britain

Posted on by November 29, 2011

HMS Westminster

The impact of the ongoing budget crisis in Britain on the Royal Navy has been far reaching. Last week we posted about concerns that budget cuts would leave Britain with a shortage of attack submarines.  Recently, it was revealed that the Type 23 frigate, HMS Westminster, was sent on patrol off the Libyan port city of Benghazi in March with as few as four Seawolf missiles. The ship is designed to carry 32 Seawolf missiles which are used to intercept incoming missiles fired at the ship. The Seawolf missiles are fired two at a time, so if the ship had come under attack, it would have had the capacity to defend itself against only two incoming anti-ship missiles.

Navy frigate sent to Libya with four missiles
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Bulk Carrier Swanland Sinks off North Wales – Two Crew Rescued & Five Missing

Posted on by November 27, 2011

Photo: Athena Pictures

Update: Prince William co-piloted the Sea King helicopter which rescued two crew from the sinking Swanland.   Prince William serves with RAF Valley in north Wales.

The bulk carrier Swanland is reported to have sunk this morning off north  Wales in heavy weather.  Two of the crew of eight have been rescued, one body has been recovered and five crew members are still missing. The Swanland was carrying a cargo of 3,000 tonnes of limestone when it sank between 20 and 30 miles north-west of the Lleyn peninsula.

One crewman recovered and five missing after sinking of cargo ship

In August of last year, the Swanland narrowly avoided grounding on Lizard Point, Cornwall following an engine failure.  The Maritime and Coastguard Agency’s emergency towing vessel, Anglian Princess, towed the ship to safety into Falmouth.

Cargo ship Swanland saved from Lizard Point grounding

Thanks to Alaric Bond for pointing out the story.

Olga Bloom – Founder of Bargemusic

Posted on by November 26, 2011

Olga Bloom, far right in 2004 Photo:Nan Melville for The New York Times

We were saddened to learn of the death of Olga Bloom, who died on Thanksgiving Day at the age of 92. Thirty five years ago, Ms. Bloom, a violinist and violist, founded Bargemusic, a floating concert hall moored on the Brooklyn waterfront on a converted coffee barge built in 1899.  A memorial concert in honor of Ms. Bloom is being  planned.

Olga Bloom, Violinist and Violist Who Created Bargemusic, Dies at 92
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Bombs Along the Rhine – Drought Exposing WWII Unexploded Munitions

Posted on by November 26, 2011

Bomb disposal experts blow up an incendiary bomb near Cologne Photo: DPA

A near record drought has lowered the water levels on the Rhine River, Europe’s most important inland maritime waterway, by five feet below average, stopping many ships and barges from trading.  In several locations, river levels have fallen to one hundred year lows.  To add to the difficulties, unexploded munitions from World War II have been exposed by the falling waters.  Bomb disposal experts detonated an incendiary bomb found near Koln and are evaluating how to dispose of a larger bomb  found lying in 16 inches of water near Koblenz.  A hand grenade was also recently found on the river bank near Bonn.

War bombs cause chaos on Rhine

Win for Cook Inlet Beluga Whales – Judge Rejects Removal from Endangered List

Posted on by November 24, 2011

Photo: AP Photo/Ted S. Warren

The beluga whale population in Alaska’s Cook Inlet has been declining since the 1980s.  Hunting by Alaska Natives killed nearly half the remaining 650 whales in only four years between 1994 and 1998. Native hunting of the belugas has since been banned. Despite the decade long ban, the beluga whale populations have not rebounded.   Recently, the State of Alaska filed a lawsuit to have the beluga’s removed from the Endangered Species List, arguing that continued protection would hinder commercial fishing, oil and gas exploration, and tourism, and could affect operations at Alaska military installations.  Judge Royce C. Lambeth of U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., rejected the lawsuit.

“When the best available science predicts that a recently enacted ban on subsistence hunting will reverse the abrupt depletion of a species, a decade without any noticeable recovery in the species population should raise a concern that the true cause of its decline has not been fully addressed,” Lambeth wrote.

Judge upholds Cook Inlet belugas as endangered

The Typical Powerboat is Not Seaworthy

Posted on by November 25, 2011

Last year, I went to the New York Boat Show, held yearly at the Javits Center in Manhattan. I found the visit to be frankly depressing. The endless rows of cookie cutter power boats, that often seemed as tall as they were long, was disheartening, to say the least.  The amount of fuel these ugly ducklings would burn is bad enough, but more than anything, I was struck with the hope that many of these towering craft might never leave the dock, as they looked downright dangerous.

I recently came across yacht designer Tad Roberts‘ blog, Low Tide.  He has posted a refreshingly straight-forward persepctive on the lack of seaworthiness of so many of today’s production powerboats:

THE TYPICAL POWERBOAT IS NOT SEAWORTHY 
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USCG Cutter Mohawk to become Reef off Sanibel Isalnd, FL

Posted on by November 25, 2011

The World War II era US Coast Guard Cutter Mohawk is scheduled to be  scuttled in 2012, 16 miles off the coast of Sanibel Island, FL in the Gulf of Mexico to serve as an artificial reef.

Veteran’s Memorial Reef planned off coast of Sanibel
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Brinacle – The Icy Underwater Finger of Death

Posted on by November 24, 2011

A BBC camera crew has videoed a “brinicle,” a bizarre underwater “icicle of death” in Antarctica.

‘Brinicle’ ice finger of death filmed in Antarctic

With timelapse cameras, specialists recorded salt water being excluded from the sea ice and sinking.  The temperature of this sinking brine, which was well below 0C, caused the water to freeze in an icy sheath around it.  Where the so-called “brinicle” met the sea bed, a web of ice formed that froze everything it touched, including sea urchins and starfish. The unusual phenomenon was filmed for the first time by cameramen Hugh Miller and Doug Anderson for the BBC One series “Frozen Planet.”

BBC Nature: ‘Brinicle’ ice finger of death filmed in Antarctic

Thanks to Irwin Bryan for passing the story along.