Claude Choules – Last World War I Combat Veteran Celebrates 110th Birthday

Posted on by March 21, 2011

Claude Choules, the last surviving combat veteran of World War I celebrated his 110th birthday with family and friends in Perth earlier this month.   Though he served in two World Wars, the first in the Royal Navy and the second in the Australian Navy, he hated war according to his son, who said that he only marched in Anzac Day parades when he was ordered to.

Claude Choules, last World War I veteran ‘hated war,’ says son

He’s the last known male survivor of more than 70 million military personnel during WWI, after American veteran Frank Buckles passed away on Sunday also aged 110.
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Relaunching of the Thames Sailing Barge Cambria

Posted on by March 20, 2011

Last November, we posted about the rebuilding of the last commercial Thames sailing barge, Cambria. The reconstruction is nearing its completion. Tomorrow, Monday 21st March, 2011, the Cambria will be relaunched into Faversham Creek, and move downstream to Iron Wharf to complete fitting-out.

CAMBRIA News: Today is the our day
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Rum’s in the family – Ipswich distillery inspired by privateer ancestor

Posted on by March 20, 2011

Photo: Mark Teiwes

We can only wish them the best of luck and look forward to trying their rum.

Rum’s in the family – Ipswich distillery inspired by privateer ancestor

It seems Andrew Cabot has inherited not only his name, but some business sense and a taste for rum from his ancestor.
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Bulker MV Oliva Breaking-up on Nightingale Island, Tristan da Cunha

Posted on by March 7, 2019

The Greek-owned 75,000 tonne bulk carrier, MV Oliva ran aground  on March 16th at 04.30, at Spinners Point, on the far north-west promontory of Nightingale Island, a 4 square kilometer island in the Tristan da Cunha archipelago in the South Atlantic.   The crew of 22 have been taken to safety on Tristan da Cuhna.   As of Friday, it was reported that the MV Oliva was breaking up and that all or part of  part of her 1,500 tonnes of heavy fuel oil was spilling into the water around Nightingale Island.   The MV Oliva was in transit from Santos, Brazil to Singapore with a cargo of soybeans.   A salvage tug is on its way from Cape Town and is expected to arrive at Nightingale on the 21st.

Tristan da Cunha is the most remote inhabited archipelago in the world, lying 2,816 kilometres (1,750 mi) from the nearest land, South Africa, and 3,360 kilometres (2,088 mi) from South America.  There is considerable concern about the environmental and economic impact of the grounding.
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Super Full Moon!

Posted on by March 19, 2011

Tonight the moon will rise larger and brighter than it has in almost twenty years.   It will be a super “perigee moon” when the appearance of the full moon coincides with the passing of the moon closest to the earth.

Super Moon

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Artist Required for The Tall Ships Races 2011 onboard Gaff Ketch Swan

Posted on by March 19, 2011

This sounds like a wonderful gig for the right artist.

Artist required for The Tall Ships Races 2011 onboard Swan

In a first for The Tall Ships Races, the former herring drifter Swan will host an artist in residence for the whole of The Tall Ships Races 2011. In a project called, ‘LK 243 Undersail’, the Swan Trust with partners, Shetland Arts and Taigh Chearsabhagh Arts Centre, North Uist has received funding from Creative Scotland and Scotland’s Islands Fund. The project will focus on Swan, its crew, the host ports and the people involved in The Tall Ships Races 2011.
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Shipwreck Furniture

Posted on by March 18, 2011

Just reading in Treehugger about Nic Kruger, a furniture designer, in Knysna, South Africa, who runs Shipwreck Furniture, which makes  tables, benches and shelves from timber recovered from shipwrecked boats.  Very interesting stuff.   Not sure that it goes with the decor in my house.  Then again, most of the time, my office looks a bit like a shipwreck, so who knows.    To check out their portfolio of furniture click here.

 

Interview with a Multi-millionaire Pirate

Posted on by March 18, 2011

The son of a fisherman, who moved on to selling khat, Saeed Yare became a pirate only two years ago and  “earned” over $2.4 million in 2010 in ransom of ships and crews.  It is estimated that piracy is inflicting a $12-billion toll on the global economy.

Somali pirate: I made $2.4 mln from ransoms in 2010
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Happy Maewyn Succat’s Day

Posted on by March 17, 2011

Maewyn Succat

We have been posting a lot about piracy and kidnapping recently.  Today is a reminder about how little things change over the centuries.  Somewhere around the year 400 AD, a lad of 16, named Maewyn Succat, was kidnapped by pirates from his home in Britain and was taken as a slave to Ireland.  He was a slave for six years, during which time he converted to Christianity.   He finally escaped and returned to his family in England.  He  became a priest and studied at a seminary in France.   When he was almost 60, he returned to Ireland.  By then Pope Celestine I had given him the name “Patercius” or “Patritius.”    We know him better these days as Patrick.   He did alright in Ireland.   He founded over three hundred churches and apparently had a way with snakes.   Today is his feast day.  Happy St. Patrick’s Day to all.

Tom Hanks to Play Captain Richard Phillips in Maersk Alabama Hijacking Movie

Posted on by March 17, 2011

It is being reported that Tom Hanks will play Captain Richard Phillips in a new movie about the attempted hijacking of the Maersk Alabama by Somali pirates in 2009.    The movie, based on Phillip’s book , A Captain’s Duty: Somali Pirates, Navy SEALS, and Dangerous Days at Sea, is being produced by Kevin Spacey and the team from “The Social Network.”

Tom Hanks to play heroic captain Richard Phillips

 

 

Update: Wisdom, the Albatross, Survives Tsunami

Posted on by March 17, 2011

Last week we posted about a Laysan albatross, nicknamed Wisdom, who, at at least 60, is the oldest known wild bird and who also recently became a mother again, delivering a healthy chick.   The BBC has now reported that while the tsunami killed thousands of albatrosses and other endangered species at a wildlife sanctuary north-west of Hawaii,  Wisdom was among the survivors.  Perhaps that shouldn’t be too surprising.  She is one tough old bird.

Japan tsunami: Thousands of seabirds killed near Hawaii

A Country in Trouble – A Glimpse of Post-Tsunami Japan

Posted on by March 16, 2011

An excellent report by ABC which, among other things, highlights the humanitarian support being provided by the aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan.

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Life Plus 80 Years – Five Pirates Sentenced for Attack on USS Nicholas

Posted on by March 26, 2013

On April 1st, last year, fittingly enough, April Fool’s Day, a group of Somali pirates in open boats decided to attack the 445-foot guided-missile frigate, USS Nicholas.  The outcome was predictable.   Five pirates were captured and their boats were sunk.   At the end of November the five were convicted of piracy in a Virginia court, the first piracy conviction in an American courtroom since 1819.  Yesterday, they were sentenced to life terms plus eighty years.   In February, Abdiwali Abdiqadir Muse, the only surviving pirate from the attack on the Maersk Alabama was sentenced to 33 years and nine months for his crimes.

5 Somali pirates get life for attack on Nicholas

A Celebration of the Trireme at the Mariners’ Museum

Posted on by March 16, 2011

I am a huge fan of triremes and  am looking forward to seeing the trireme Olympias when she visits New York harbor during Op-Sail in 2012.  In the mean time, however, the Mariners’ Museum in Hampton Roads, VA is hosting a two day Celebration of the Trireme.   Presented by the Friends of the Trible Library and Friends of the Mariners’ Museum Library, it is being held on March 17 & 18, 2011.   March 17th with feature  a panel discussion, moderated by Bill Cogar: “The Trireme and Athenian Democracy” at the CNU David Student Union, Ball Room at 4pm.  On March 18th, there will be a presentation: “Rowing the Olympias” by Dr. Gordon Kelly of Lewis and Clark College.

For more trireme posts, click here.

 

Farewell to HMS Ark Royal

Posted on by March 15, 2011

The Ark Royal, the flagship of the Royal Navy has been decommissioned.   It will be another decade before a new aircraft carrier takes her place.

Ark Royal: decommissioning marks end of a long and celebrated history

The early retirement of the fifth Ark Royal marks the end of a triumphant career for one of the most famous names in British naval history.

Thanks to Alaric Bond for passing the article along.

Has the Lost City of Atlantis Been Found in a Spanish Marsh?

Posted on by March 15, 2011

Researchers believe that they may have found the location of the lost city of Atlantis in a coastal Spanish marsh.   Plato described the legendary island-city in about 360 B.C. as having “in a single day and night … disappeared into the depths of the sea.”    The researchers believe that the ancient city was destroyed by tsunami. Whether or not their research holds up, destruction by a tsunami seems highly credible.  Their work is the subject of a National Geographic documentary – Finding Atlantis.

Was Lost City of Atlantis Found in Spanish Marsh?

Thanks to Irwin Bryan for passing along the article.

INS Kalpeni Nabs 61 Pirates on Mother Ship, Frees 13 Hostages

Posted on by March 14, 2011

INS Kalpeni

Last Friday, the Indian Navy picked up as distress call from the container ship MV Vancouver Bridge, which was under attack by pirates  in the Indian Ocean, about 600 nautical miles off the Indian coast.  When spotted by an Indian patrol aircraft, the pirates broke off the attack and retreated to a “mother ship,”  the Vega 5, a fishing vessel hijacked on December 28, 2010.  On Saturday night, the Indian Navy’s newest fast attack craft, INS Kalpeni, intercepted the Vega and after a brief firefight  captured 61 pirates and freed the Vega’s crew of 13 who had been held as hostages since the ship had been hijacked.

Navy apprehends 61 pirates in 2 day operation

 

Washed Away: Three Tsunami-Swept Towns

Posted on by March 14, 2011

Kesennuma Photo:AP

We have previously posted about the destruction of the town of Minamisanriku by the tsunami, where 9,500 people are reported to be missing.  Other news reports now suggest that similar or greater numbers may be missing in the towns of  Kesennuma and Rikuzentakata.

Washed Away: Three Tsunami-Swept Towns