Two Museums, Two Coasts, Very Different Prospects

Posted on by March 8, 2011

Star of India at Maritime Museum of Sand Diego

News from both the Seaport Museum in New York and the Maritime Museum of San Diego.  The Seaport Museum, until recently the South Street Seaport Museum, is shutting down its exhibits and shops. The ships will still be open for tours. We have posted recently about the latest financial crisis at the beleaguered museum.

Struggling Seaport Museum closing exhibit, ships open

In contrast, the Maritime Museum of San Diego, has two major projects underway – the construction of a replica of Cabrillo’s galleon, San Salvador, and a new exhibition of art and artifacts from three Westerners — the explorer Capt. James Cook, writer Herman Melville and artist Paul Gauguin — adrift in Polynesia.

Maritime Museum sails into uncharted waters
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The Fate of HMS Beagle After Darwin´s Voyage to the Galapagos Islands

Posted on by March 5, 2011

 

Robert Prescott, a marine archeologist, believes that he has located the final resting place HMS Beagle.

The Fate of HMS Beagle After Darwin´s Voyage to the Galapagos Islands

HMS Beagle was the ship that sailed around the world with the young naturalist by the name of Charles Darwin onboard. The ship was sold for scrap in 1870 but until now it´s final fate has remained one of the world´s great naval mysteries.
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The Fyddeye Guide to America’s Maritime History edited by Joe Follansbee, on Kindle – A Dual Review

Posted on by March 6, 2011

I recently purchased Joe Follansbee’s The Fyddeye Guide to America’s Maritime History – 2,000+ Tall Ships, Lighthouses, Historic Ships, Maritime Museums, and More. Rather than purchasing a dead-tree version, I bought the guide as an e-book for Kindle. This is, therefore, a dual review – a review of the guide book itself and how it works as an e-book.
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Commander Christopher Biggins – Captain of the Omani sail training ship SHABAB OMAN

Posted on by November 27, 2013

Shabab Oman

Christopher Biggins, captain of the Omani national sail training ship Shabab Oman, for over two decades, died recently.   An obituary by Frank Scott, author of A Square Rig Handbook, reposted with permission from the  Marine History List:

Commander Christopher Biggins

Chris Biggins who recently died of cancer was Captain of the Omani national sail training ship Shabab Oman for over 20 years, and during that time he made her a major force in the international world of sail training.
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Henry Morgan’s Cannons Found in Panama

Posted on by March 4, 2011

Photo: Donnie Reid

Six guns from the ships of privateer Admiral Sir Henry Morgan are believed to have been found in the Chagres River in Panama.

Henry Morgan’s cannons found in Panama, archaeologists say

Archaeologists have recovered six cannons from the ships of Welsh privateer Henry Morgan, the first artifacts found in Panama to be linked to the man who remains a legend there, the team said Monday.
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Coast Guard Cutter Midgett Busts Midget Sub Loaded with Cocaine

Posted on by March 3, 2011

The US Coast Guard Cutter Midgett recently busted a midget sub loaded with cocaine while on a cruise of the Eastern Pacific.    The 35′ long self-propelled semi-submersible was carrying 6,000 kilograms of cocaine from Columbia bound for the United States.  This was only the second ever seizure of a self propelled semi-submersible by a U.S. Coast Guard cutter.  In addition to the catching the narco-sub, the Cutter Midget seized 11 tons of cocaine and marijuana on five trafficking vessels and detained 20 suspected narcotics traffickers.  The cutter also performed three search and rescue missions while on patrol.

Coast Guard cutter returns from patrol, interdicts semi-submersible with cocaine
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Innovative sails for container ships – in development ??? Maybe not.

Posted on by March 3, 2011

Definitely not a containership

I saw the headline and immediately shook my head.  There may indeed be an application for sails on bulk carriers, but containerships, well, not so much.  With a five high (or higher) stack of boxes on deck, containerships have exactly the stability they need – no more, no less.  Adding sails without removing cargo capacity could be a challenge.  I clicked on the link and had to smile.  The drawing was of a tanker with hybrid solar cell sails, and not a containership.  Tankers generally have no shortage of stability.  Even Sail-World should know the difference between containerships and tankers.   I guess the moral of the story is that not all ships are containerships and you have to take what you read in the press with a proverbial grain of salt.    The designs by Eco Marine Power look very interesting, nevertheless.

Innovative sails for container ships – in development

U. S. Coast Guard Cutter Acushnet, “Queen of the Fleet,” for Sale

Posted on by March 4, 2011

U. S. Coast Guard Cutter Acushnet

The U.S. Coast Guard cutter Acushnet, oldest commissioned Coast Guard cutter, and the officially designated “Queen of the Fleet” will be sold as surplus at an online auction scheduled to end on March 16th.   Current bidding is $66,000. (Updated 4/04)

US NAVY DIVER CLASS VESSEL (Note the GSA auction site rather oddly does not allow direct linking to individual auctions.  Click the arrow to the right on the GSA auction page to see the  Acushnet auction.)
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Gold Rush Tunes from the Depths of Lake Labarge

Posted on by March 2, 2011

Photo: Donnie Reid/Institute of Nautical Archeology

We have posted previously about the discovery of the Yukon Gold Rush iron sternwheeler A.J. Goddard which sank in a storm in Lake Labarge in October of 1901.  Now with the discovery of a gramophone and three recordings, the music of the Gold Rush has literally risen from the depths of the lake.  To listen to a recording of the Rendez Vous Waltz, recovered from the A.J. Goddard, click here.

Yukon shipwreck yields Gold Rush tunes
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Brad Van Liew Wins Third Leg of Velux 5 Oceans

Posted on by March 2, 2011

Brad Van Liew arrived in Punta del Este, Uruguay yesterday, winning the third leg of the Velux Five Oceans Singlehanded Around the World Race.   The remaining three racers, Zbigniew “Gutek” Gutkowski, Derek Hatfield and Chris Stanmore-Major are all within only 50 nautical miles of each other and are expected to arrive in port on  Thursday.

Brad Van Liew Wins Third Leg of Velux 5 Oceans
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The Marine Quarterly – A Journal of the Sea

Posted on by March 2, 2011

The Maritime Quarterly, a new maritime journal, was launched on the first of this month.  Looks very interesting.   Extracts are available on its website.  About the journal:

The Marine Quarterly is a new kind of sea journal, reporting subjects of strong interest to everyone who goes on the sea. It will be full of big, authoritative articles on sailing, fisheries, adventuring, merchant shipping, conservation, natural history, heritage, trade, naval matters, and anything else connected with salt water.
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World’s oldest aircraft carrier? Well literally yes, sort off

Posted on by March 2, 2011

1918 Thorneycroft Seaplane Lighter - the World's Oldest Aircraft Carrier?

The headline is great – World’s oldest aircraft carrier discovered rusting by the River Thames.  So is the first sentence: “The worlds’ oldest aircraft carrier which was a precursor to today’s giant Navy vessels has been discovered – rusting by a river bank.”   Reading further, however, it turns out the vessel in question is not HMS Argus of 1918, for example, the forerunner of  all modern aircraft carriers. Instead, the article refers to a 1918 Thorneycroft Seaplane Lighter, a 58′ lighter which literally carried an airplane, specifically a seaplane.   The recently discovered lighter is being restored.
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Save Our Seafarers – 2,000 Somali Pirates are Hijacking the World Economy

Posted on by March 2, 2011

In view of the failure of current efforts to combat piracy,  BIMCO, the International Chamber of Shipping (ICS), the International Shipping Federation (ISF), Intercargo, INTERTANKO and the International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF) have launched a campaign to Save Our Seafarers to encourage people around the world to pressure their national governments to crack down on piracy.

From the Save Our Seafarers website:
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First Permit to Restart Deep Water Drilling

Posted on by March 1, 2011

Deepwater Horizon on Fire

Yesterday we reviewed John Konrad’s new book, Fire on the Horizon:  The Untold Story of the Gulf Oil Disaster, which went on sale in bookstores today.   Coincidentally,  yesterday the Interior Department approved the first new deep water drilling permit in the Gulf of Mexico since the explosion of the Deepwater Horizon  in April of last year.  Noble Energy was granted permission to resume drilling an existing well site in 6,500 feet of water off the coast of Louisiana.

Oil Drilling to Resume in the Gulf’s Deep Waters
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Containership Cruising?

Posted on by March 1, 2011

CMA CGM CHRISTOPHE COLOMB

I have seen this item a couple of times and am finally convinced that it is not a spoof.  Apparently CMA CGM, the world’s third largest container shipping group, is offering a “Cargo cruise” onboard their largest containerships.

Travel Aboard One of the Largest Containerships In the World
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Somali pirates seize Danish family including three children in Indian Ocean

Posted on by September 7, 2011

Danish authorities are reporting that  Somali pirates have hijacked a Danish sailboat with four adults and three children aboard.

Danish family’s sailboat hijacked in Indian Ocean

The Danish Foreign Ministry said the ship sent a distress signal on Thursday. On board was a Danish couple, their three children – aged 12-16 – and two adult crew members, also Danes.
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Fire on the Horizon: The Untold Story of the Gulf Oil Disaster by John Konrad and Tom Shroder

Posted on by February 28, 2011

When the Deepwater Horizon suffered a blowout, caught fire and sank in the Gulf of Mexico last April, it was only forty miles off the coast of Louisiana.  Yet,  in many respects, the world aboard the ill-fated rig was as alien to most of us as if it had been dropped from outer space. Even within the shipping industry, deep-water offshore drilling is often  poorly understood, a world wholly unto itself.

Nevertheless, the catastrophe on the Deepwater Horizon touched us all. The explosion and fire killed eleven, injured seventeen and resulted in  the worst accidental marine oil spill in history.  The impact, on both the environment of the Gulf of Mexico and on offshore oil policy, is likely to be far reaching. This is why John Konrad’s and Tom Schorder’s new book, Fire on the Horizon: The Untold Story of the Gulf Oil Disaster, is so timely and so welcome.
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NYC rower tries for third time to cross Atlantic

Posted on by February 27, 2011

We can only wish him the best of luck. The third time may be the charm.

NYC rower tries for third time to cross Atlantic

There is something about the sea that has caused Victor Mooney to lose all reason.

For years now, the 45-year-old New Yorker has believed that for all its vastness, the Atlantic Ocean is ripe for conquest; That a lone man pulling a pair of oars can shove off an African beach and slowly, steadily, row partway around the globe to New York harbor.
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Poppa Neutrino – Free Spirit and Raft Builder

Posted on by February 27, 2011

Poppa Neutrino

David Pearlman, widely known as Papa Neutrino, died last month at 77 of congestive heart failure in New Orleans.   His remarkable life was summarized in an obituary in the Telegraph:

“Poppa Neutrino, who died on January 23 aged 77, was an itinerant American whose singular life story featured episodes as a card sharp, a soldier, a prisoner and a pastor; he never lived in any permanent structure for more than a year, and owned almost nothing, but in 1998 he became the first man to sail across the Atlantic on a raft made of junk.”
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