One Hundred and Fifty Years Ago – William Tillman and the Privateer Jefferson Davis

Posted on by September 28, 2017

William Tillman retakes the schooner Waring

William Tillman was the first black hero of the American Civil War. He was not a soldier but rather a 27-year-old  cook/steward on the schooner S.J. Waring.  One hundred and fifty years ago last Thursday, the schooner was captured by the Confederate privateer Jefferson Davis while about 150 miles from Sandy Hook, New York.  Captain Smith, the master of the S.J. Waring was taken aboard the Jefferson Davis, and a five man prize crew was put aboard the schooner, with orders to sail her to a Southern port where the ship and her cargo would be sold.

William Tillman was a free black man, but was told that as a captive of the Confederacy, he would be sold back into slavery. Though at least one other member of the  schooner’s original  crew was held below in chains, as cook steward, Tillman was left to go about his regular duties.  The prize crew made a fatal mistake in underestimating the cook steward.  On July 16th, William Tillman decided to take back the ship.
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“Hands Free” Landing on Aircraft Carrier Dwight D. Eisenhower

Posted on by July 9, 2011

A modified F/A-18D Hornet fighter plane recently landed on the deck of the aircraft carrier USS Dwight D. Eisenhower controlled by linked computers on the ship and on the plane. A pilot and a flight engineer were on the plane but did not touch the controls during the landing.

‘Hands-free’ landing on Eisenhower is step toward unmanned naval flight
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“The Most Beautiful Ship” – Tall Ships and Bragging Rights

Posted on by July 9, 2011

Bragging rights are kind of fun.  Whether they mean anything or not is often an open question. How one strings together the adjective phrases can make all the difference. For example, HMS Victory is said to be “the oldest commissioned warship in the world,” while the USS Constitution is said to be “the world’s oldest floating commissioned naval vessel.” The  important  word here is “floating.”  What good is a warship if she is not afloat?  Which is not to say that it is likely that the USS Constitution will sail out again to fight pirates they way she did in 1803 regardless of whether or not she is floating and still in commission.

Enrico Gurioli, writing for the Times of Malta, manages to avoid these sorts of nit-picky details by describing the Italian training ship, Amerigo Vespucci, simply as “the world’s most beautiful ship.”  As beauty is in the eye of the beholder, no one can really argue the case one way or another.   While I may not agree wholly with Mr. Gurioli, the Amerigo Vespucci, is a handsome vessel. I might be willing to go along with “the most beautiful sailing vessel built in 1931 named for an early Italian explorer.” Thanks to Irwin Bryan for passing the article along.

‘World’s most beautiful ship’ heading to Malta

Was the Brillante Virtuoso Ever Under Attack?

Posted on by July 8, 2011

U.S. Navy photo by Chief Intelligence Specialist Raynald Lenieux

Was there a pirate attack?  On Wednesday we posted about the reports that the Suezmax tanker Brillante Virtuoso had been attacked by pirates and set on fire.  It is now unclear where such an attack ever took place.  There was indeed a fire in the deck house that caused the crew to abandon ship. Whether there was an actual pirate attack is less clear.  The tanker was assisted by the US guided missile cruiser, USS Philippine Sea. A statement from the Combined Maritiem Forces headedawurters read: “The Philippine Sea found no evidence of pirates and concentrated their efforts on assisting the crew members.”  Despite initial reports of a pirate attack, the US Navy found no evidence of pirate attack.  Likewise, a NATO statement said ‘”No confirmation of piracy.”

MAJOR OIL DISASTER AVERTED IN GULF OF ADEN

Tall Ship Race Update – Christian Radich wins First Leg, Waterford Festival “an Awesome Success”

Posted on by July 8, 2011

The  Tall  Ships Race 2011  is off to a great start.  The race was kicked off with a festival in Waterford, Ireland,  which was declared ‘an awesome success’ by the chairman of Fáilte Ireland, the national tourism authority. (See our previous post.)  During the four day festival, an estimated 500,000 visited the ships and other festival events alongside the city quays or lining up on either side of the Suir Estuary to watch the Parade of Ships, which began the race last Sunday.

The Norwegian tall ship Christian Radich has won the first leg of the race from Waterford to Greenock.  Another ship participating in the race, Irene of Bridgwater, was not so fortunate, running aground in Lamlash Bay.   There were no injuries reported and the ship has been refloated and is reported to be on her way to Greenock.  The tall ships depart on the next leg of the race on Tuesday.

Yemeni Pirate 11th to Plead Guilty in Hijacking of SV Quest Where 4 Americans were Murdered

Posted on by July 7, 2011

In February, the sailing vessel Quest was hijacked by pirates 240 nautical miles off the coast of Oman in the Indian Ocean.  The yacht’s crew of four Americans were taken hostage.  The pirates were finally captured by US forces but not before they killed the crew – Scott and Jean Adams, Phyllis Macay and Bob Riggle.    Today, in a Virginia court, a 23 year old Yemeni man, Mounir Ali, plead guilty to acts of piracy in the hijacking of the Quest.  He is the eleventh to plead guilty to the attack.  The other pirates were Somalis who plead guilty to the charges in May.

Yemeni man pleads guilty in pirate hijacking that killed 4 Americans

American Feeder Lines – New Short Sea Container Operator on the East Coast

Posted on by July 7, 2011

For several hundred years, up until just after World War II, cargo moved up and down the East Coast of North America by ships and boats of a range of sizes and shapes.  When the interstate highways were built, all but most bulk cargoes  shifted to trucks.  Now there is an effort to rebuld the “American marine highway.”   American Feeder Lines, a New York based shipping company, has launching  a “New England to Halifax Shuttle,” a weekly service connecting Boston, Portland, Maine, and Halifax via container feeder ships.   After having seen so many shipping companies in the United States shutting down, (including several of my ex-employers,) it is refreshing to see a new operation starting up.

Short-haul ships with a long view
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Semi-Submersible Drilling Rig, Transocean Marianas, Evacuated off Ghana

Posted on by July 6, 2011

The semi-submersible drilling rig, Transocean Marianas, was preparing to move to a new location off the coast of Ghana when the rig developed a serious list and was in danger of sinking.  The rig, under contract to Italian oil company Eni, was not drilling at the time.   gCaptain is reporting that an anchor punctured a pontoon causing the list. 108 personnel were evacuated, leaving only an emergency staff of 13 aboard the rig.  A Transocean representatives has said that the rig  has been stabilized.

Transocean rig off Africa taking on water

Transocean, the world’s largest offshore drilling contractor, was also the owner of the Deepwater Horizon, which exploded and sank on April 20, 2010, resulting in the largest largest accidental marine oil spill in the history.

Brillante Virtuoso, Suezmax Tanker, Set Ablaze by Pirates off Aden – Crew Safe

Posted on by July 6, 2011

Photo: giorgi112 at Vesseltracker

It has long been predicted and now it has happened – a pirate attack has set fire to a loaded oil tanker.  On Wednesday morning, pirates operating in the Gulf of Aden attacked the Suezmax tanker,  Brillante Virtuoso, firing a rocket propelled grenade into the deck house, setting the ship on fire.   The ship is loaded with 141,000 tonnes of fuel oil bound from the Ukraine to Qingdao in China.  There are reports that the fire is now under control or extinguished.  Tradewinds reports that firefighting tugs are on scene.
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1877 Barque Elissa Victim of Electrolytic Corrosion – Needs $3 Million Restoration

Posted on by July 5, 2011

Elissa under sail

The barque Elissa, built in 1877 in Aberdeen, Scotland, the Official Tall ship of the State of Texas and the star attraction at the Texas Seaport Museum in Galveston, is suffering from electrolytic corrosion, which if not repaired, may keep the ship tied to its moorings at the dock.  The cost for the restoration is estimated to be roughly $3 million. This weekend, the Galveston Historical Foundation  is launching  a “Keep Elissa Sailing” campaign to raise money for the restoration.

What is electrolytic corrosion?  Electrolytic corrosion is “caused by an external source of current – often a leakage somewhere. Electrolytic corrosion is very common in marinas, where boats can find themselves linked together by the earth (ground) wire of their AC shore supplies. An electrical leak in one boat can cause untold damage in its neighbours.”

Foundation launches drive to restore Elissa
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Search Continues for Seven Missing off Baja after Fishing Boat Sinks

Posted on by July 5, 2011

Photo: bajasportfishinginc.com via CBSNews.com

At roughly 2AM on Sunday morning, the chartered fishing boat Eric sank in a storm in the Sea of Cortez off Mexico’s Baja Peninsula.   Twenty seven American tourists and a crew of 16 were aboard were aboard the fishing boat when she sank.  Thirty-five were either picked up or swam to shore. One is confirmed dead and seven Americans are still missing.

Search resumes for 7 missing after boat sinks off Baja California
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Joseph Hewes – First “Secretary of the Navy” and Signer of the Declaration of Independence

Posted on by July 2, 2019

Happy 4th of July to all.   On July 4th, Americans celebrate the signing of the Declaration of Independence from Great Britain in 1776.   Joseph Hewes was one of the lesser known signatories to the Declaration.   He was born in New Jersey, prospered as a merchant in Philadelphia and then moved to North Carolina.  He represented North Carolina in the Continental Congress and in 1776 was appointed the chairman of the naval committee.

Americans have had a  tendency throughout our history to glorify the “founding fathers,” often rewriting history in the process.  Rather than viewing the founders as complex individuals with virtues and vices, they are often mythologized as all purpose role models.  Joseph Hewes is either beneficiary or victim, depending on how you look at it,  of this sort of mythologizing.
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Update: MV Wisdom off Juhu Beach and Now On-Line

Posted on by July 4, 2011

Three weeks ago we posted about the MV Wisdom, which had been on her way to a Gujarat scrapyard when the tow line parted. The drifting ship nearly hit a major bridge near Mumbai before finally grounding on Juhu Beach, where is became a tourist attraction, much to the distress of local lifeguards and the the police. The ship did prove to be a short-lived windfall for local beach vendors.  Late last Saturday at high tide salvage crews using three tugs freed the ship from the beach. The ship was towed to the Mumbai outer anchorage in preparation for towing to Alang-Bhavnagar Gujarat for scrapping.   Three beach-goers drowned and thirty seven had to be rescued when they attempted to get too close to the grounded ship.

A mixed farewell to MV Wisdom

The wayward ship may be gone from Juhu Beach, but has been added to an on-line game, Mumbai Underground ,  where the ship has been added to the game’s story line.

Wisdom drops anchor online
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Barque Eagle Honors Crew Of Lost Coast Guard Cutter Alexander Hamilton

Posted on by July 4, 2011

US Coast Guard Cutter Alexander Hamilton

The US  Coast Guard Barque Eagle stopped on her way home from her cruise of European ports to honor the memory of the crew of the Coast Guard Cutter Alexander Hamilton, sunk by German submarine U-132 off Iceland in 1942.  On Friday, the Eagle‘s crew laid a wreath  in Faxe Bay near the site of the wreck to commemorate the loss of 32 men who died in the attack.  The Alexander Hamilton was the first US Coast Guard vessel lost in World War II.

Coast Guard Cutter Eagle to honor fallen Alexander Hamilton crew
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Great Summer Reading – Astrodene’s Historic Naval Fiction Log Book for July

Posted on by July 3, 2011

A great line-up of Summer reading from Astrodene’s Nautical Log Book for July:   Newly  released  novels include Steven E. Maffeo’s, The Perfect Wreck – Old Ironsides and HMS Java: A Story of 1812, and Tom Grundner’s latest novel in the Sir Sidney Smith Nautical Adventure Series, Acre.  Both are available in paperback and ebook formats worlwide.   Cut and Run, Book 4 in the Fighting Sail series,by Alaric Bond has just been released on Kindle with the paperback edition expected shortly.  In non-fiction Frank McLynn’s, Captain Cook: Master of the Seas, was recently released, as was Andrew D. Lambert’s, HMS Warrior 1860.  Books due for release shortly include The Winds of Folly by Seth Hunter and Heart of Oak, Book 4 in the Sallee Rovers series, by M. Kei.  

Astrodene’s Historic Naval Fiction Log Book

China Opens World’s Longest Sea Bridge

Posted on by July 3, 2011

The world’ s longest bridge over salt water, the 26.4 mile-long Qingdao Haiwan Bridge, in China, has opened to traffic.   It makes me wonder how you say in Mandarin, “OK, kids.  Who needs to go to the bathroom? No stops on the bridge.”

China opens world’s longest sea bridge

Qingdao Jiaozhou Bay Bridge

[iframe: width=”475″ height=”300″ src=”http://www.youtube.com/embed/4PMuY5Kg8CE” frameborder=”0″ allowfullscreen]

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No Longer Three Men in a Boat – Part 1: The Pirate Stock Exchange

Posted on by July 3, 2011

While an international flotilla of naval vessels continues to play “catch and release” with pirates off the Horn of Africa, the Indian Ocean and the Arabian Sea, the pirates themselves have become far more sophisticated.   Where a few years ago, the typical pirate venture appeared to be three men in an open skiff with small arms, today the pirates are well funded, operate from wide ranging mother ships and and use high tech tracking to locate their prey.

Since at least 2007, Somali pirates have had their own Stock Exchange to fund their wide ranging crimes.  Yes, a pirate Stock Exchange.   Thus far the UN, the United States and the EU have done little to shut it down or to cut off the supply of capital to the pirates. It is often said that the problem of piracy will only be solved on land.   Here is a land-based opportunity to strike at piracy that the international community has effectively ignored.

Today’s Pirates Have Their Own Stock Exchange
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Schooner AJ Meerwald Returns to Liberty State Park

Posted on by July 1, 2011

New Jersey’s Official  Tall Ship, the A.J. MEERWALD, is returning to New York  harbor.   She is docking at Liberty State Park in Jersey City today and will be staying through July 6th.   The Meerwald will be offering New York harbor sails and tours of the the authentically restored 1928 Delaware Bay oyster schooner. From their press release:

Enjoy a relaxing trip around New York Harbor, taking in the sights and sounds. Bring along a picnic to enjoy, or a bottle of wine to share with friends. Or experience history firsthand as you help the crew haul the lines and hoist the sails!
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Divers find £43million worth of Ming Dynasty pottery on shipwreck

Posted on by July 1, 2011

Divers have found a huge “haul” of Ming Dynasty pottery on a ship that sank off the coast of Indonesia in 1580. What I find amazing about the discovery are the photos of the pottery on the bottom, still in stacks and largely intact.  Recovering gold  or silver from a ship wreck is one thing.  Porcelain,  in a shipwreck underwater for over 400 years, is something else entirely.  The Ming dynasty porcelain is said to be worth approximately £43million.

Divers find £43million worth of Ming Dynasty pottery on shipwreck
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