Passengers on Antarctic cruise ship, Polar Star, to be evacuated after grounding

Posted on by February 3, 2011

On Monday, the Polar Star struck a rock while at anchor near Detaille Island, a small island off the Northern end of Arrowsmith Peninsula in Antarctica.     The grounding damaged the outer hull of the double hulled ship.  The ship sailed for the Arctowski Station, a Polish research facility on King George Island in the South Shetland Islands, where divers made a thorough inspection of the damage.   The cruise operator decided to evacuate the 80 passengers aboard the ship to Ushuaia on other expedition cruise ships sailing in the region. The Polar Star then will undergo temporary repairs before crossing the Drake’s Passage back to Ushuaia, with only crew on board.

Evacuation planned for passengers on damaged cruise ship
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Coast Guard Cutter Morro Bay Rescues Man on an Ice Flow on His Birthday

Posted on by February 2, 2011

Jim Turton, from Colchester, Ontario, turned 45 years old today.  Because of the efforts of the officers and crew of the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Morro Bay, a 140 foot Bay class icebreaker, he just may have a shot at celebrating his next birthday, (provided he stays off snowmobiles on thin ice in the upcoming year.)   Turton was one of four snowmobilers who fell through the ice near Colchester.  His three companions made it to shore, but Turton crawled onto an floating ice flow drifting out into Lake Erie.

Coast Guard Cutter rescues man adrift on Lake Erie ice floe on his birthday
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Before IMAX, there was Windjammer in “Cinemiracle”

Posted on by February 2, 2011

In 1958, the New York Times published a review of  Louis de Rochemont’s new movie “Windjammer.”  It began:

“Every last moviegoer with a drop of salt water in his blood will want to swing aboard “Windjammer,” which opened at the Roxy last night. For this giant, panoramic color picture of a 17,000-mile ocean cruise in a Norwegian training sailing vessel, shown in the new Cinemiracle process, which is akin to Cinerama, is so full of the thrills and beauties of ocean sailing that it takes the breath away.”

A worn and faded copy of the movie was located in 1997 and over the last decade a team of film professionals from Sweden and the United States has been at work restoring the movie.    A new DVD and theatrical version is hoped to be completed some time in 2011.

“Windjammer” – On it’s way to a home screen near you, and maybe the cinema too

FINALLY! The Windjammer Restoration Preview & Restored Trailer

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In the Belly of the Beast – A look inside the SS United States

Posted on by February 2, 2011

Photos: John Griffin/ABC News

Now that the SS United States Conservancy has acquired the S.S. United States, the next question is – what they are going to do with her?   Her interior was gutted in 1994 to remove considerable quantities of asbestos.   Thanks to Alaric Bond for pointing out the photographs.

Tour the Belly of a Naval Wonder

The Big U purchased by Conservancy

Posted on by February 1, 2011

Today, the SS United States Conservancy purchased the S.S. United States from Norwegian Cruise Line.  As we posted last July, the sale was made possible by a reported $5.8 million pledge by Philadelphia philanthropist H.F. “Gerry” Lenfest.   The sale was delayed  when the Environmental Protection Agency raised questions about toxic PCBs on the ship.

Conservancy purchases SS United States through grant from Lenfest Foundation
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Suez Canal Operating Normally, Port Closures Causing Concerns

Posted on by February 1, 2011

There are an estimated two million protesters in the streets on Cairo today; most rail, trucking and buses are shut down across Egypt, yet  the Suez Canal, which can represent up 8 percent of global seaborne trade, remains open and in operation.  Military escorts for protection through the pirate-prone Gulf of Aden are unavailable and crew repatriation and purchase of provisions have not been possible for some ships.   Troops have been deployed to protect the SuMed pipeline transporting crude alongside the Suez Canal.

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Collision in Mumbai – INS Vindhyagiri & MV Nordlake

Posted on by February 6, 2011

MV Nordlake

Mumbai can be tough on container ships. Last August the bulk carrier Khalijia 3 steered into the containership MSC Chitra , sinking her, causing a significant spill and closing the port for five days.    Yesterday, the  Indian warship, INS Vindhyagiri and Cyprus-flagged container vessel, MV Nordlake, collided head-on in Mumbai Harbor.  No casualties or oil spill was reported but this time the warship got the worst of it.  It is reported to have capsized after catching fire.  An investigation of the collision has been launched by the Directorate General of Shipping.   The Jewaharlal Nehru Port Trust blamed the collision on naval personnel.

Navy warship INS Vindhyagiri capsizes

Experts race the clock to preserve N.C. Corolla shipwreck

Posted on by January 30, 2011

Last July, we posted about North Carolina’s oldest shipwreck which was moved to the Graveyard of the Atlantic Museum for preservation.    Now the curators at the museum are trying to learn,as quickly as possible, how to preserve the crumbling wreck.

Experts race the clock to preserve N.C. shipwreck
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Hundreds of ships stuck as Rhine still blocked by Waldhof shipwreck

Posted on by January 30, 2011

Cranes attempting to salvage chemical tank barge Waldhof

An update to a post from last week:   A backlog of close to 400 ships is still bottled up on the Rhine River following the capsizing of the 110M chemical tank barge, Waldhof, on January 13th  near the Lorelei Rock.  The  Waldhof is carrying 2,400 tonnes of sulfuric acid.

Hundreds of ships stuck as Rhine still blocked by shipwreck
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Choice of Broadsides – Kindle Text Game, a Review

Posted on by January 29, 2011

Before video games and personal computers, there were gamebooks.  They were novels where at critical scenes you as the reader were given a series a choices.   “A troll comes out of the cave carrying a large club. You will (a) run away, (b) say hello or (c) barter for gold. ” Depending on which choice you made you would be told to go to page 34 or whatever where your choice would be played out until you reached another branch and another set of choices.

“Choice of Broadsides” is a game book in e-book format available on the Kindle.
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Sweetheart Cruise and Sailor’s Valentines

Posted on by January 29, 2011

Museums on two coasts have special Valentine’s Days events planned for sailors.  The Penobscot Marine Museum in Searsport, Maine is offering a sailor’s valentine workshop for adults on Saturday, Feb. 12, just in time for Valentine’s Day.    In San Diego’s warmer climes, the Maritime Museum of San Diego is offering sweetheart cruise on the Californian, the state’s official tall ship.

San Diego: Tall ship offers ‘Sweetheart Sail’ for Valentine’s Day
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What if Hitler Made a Titanic Movie? (He Did)

Posted on by January 29, 2011

A wonderful post from John Edwards’  Ocean Liners blog.   Captain John asks the question, “what if Hitler made a Titanic movie? ”   He then answers it, “he did.”   A heavily fictionalized and equally anti-British version of the Titanic tragedy was made in Germany in 1942 and released in Paris in 1943.

What if Hitler Made a Titanic Movie? (He Did)

Captain John writes:  Unsurprisingly, it’s a propaganda film. To say the movie doesn’t quite stick to the facts and has its own unique point of view on the disaster is an understatement. But then, of course, what do you expect from Nazis?

The entire film is available for viewing on online. Watching the movie is not unlike sitting in the audience for Springtime for Hitler in that your jaw will likely be dropped open for the film’s entire length.

Titanic (1943) – Part 1

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Indian Navy’s New “Beautiful Lady” – Sail Training Ship INS Sudarshini

Posted on by January 28, 2011

INS Sudarshini is launched by Letha Sushil, wife of Vice-Admiral

The Indian Navy has launched its second sail training ship, INS Sudarshini. The name means “beautiful lady.”   She will be a three masted barquentine and will join  INS Tarangini, the Indian navy’s other sail training ship which was commissioned in 1997.  Both ships were designed by naval architect, Colin Mudie, and both were built in Goa Shipyard Limited.

Indian Navy launches sail ship INS Sudarshini

Restoration work for HMS Victory

Posted on by January 28, 2011

HMS Victory

Earlier this month we posted about a report which features dire warnings about the condition of HMS Victory.     Thanks to David Hayes for passing along  an update on the restoration work planned for the old ship.

Restoration work for HMS Victory

Major restoration work is to be undertaken to ensure that Nelson’s flagship HMS Victory in Portsmouth is fully preserved for future generations.

Recent survey work on the 18th century warship revealed that it was leaking, suffering from rot and being pulled apart by its own weight.
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Historic steamship SS Shieldhall needs £80,000 to keep sailing

Posted on by January 28, 2011

The great challenge of ship preservation in these times always seems to be largely  financial.   SS Shieldhall, the UK’s “2009 Flagship of  National Historic Ships” is in danger of scrapping unless funds can be raised to complete and upcoming drydocking.

Historic steamship SS Shieldhall needs £80,000 to keep sailing
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Was the Gorch Fock “Germany’s largest floating brothel?”

Posted on by January 27, 2011

Last Saturday, we posted that the commander of the German sail training ship, Gorch Fock, had been dismissed from his command and ordered home after reports of a mutiny in November, following the death of a cadet.  Now there is a very disturbing article in The Maritime Executive suggested that the range of problems aboard may be more extensive than originally known.

German Navy Training Ship Dubbed ‘Floating Brothel’
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175th Australia Day Regatta

Posted on by January 26, 2011

The Australia Day Regatta was held today in Sydney harbor and featured more than 50 classic wooden yachts, many gaff-rigged, and several built more than a century ago. The Australia Day Regatta is the oldest continuously-conducted annual sailing regatta in the world, having been held each year since 1837 to commemorate the anniversary of the first European settlement of Australia.

175th Australia Day Regatta

Waterfront Webcams – Bluenose II and the “Tea Party” ship

Posted on by January 26, 2011

The old expression goes “I love work. I could look at it for hours.”  The web cams at the Lunenburg Shipyard give us a fine glimpse of the work being done rebuilding the Bluenose II.   There are actually three webcams, a bow, a stern and an overhead view.    Here also is also a web cam of master shipwright Leon Poindexter’s Boston “Tea Party” ship in Gloucester.   Thanks to Captain Richard Bailey for passing the links along.      Click on the image below to go to the Bluenose II cams.