Two US Navy Commanding Officers Relieved of Command

Posted on by August 18, 2010

USS Peleliu

Two US Navy officers, in command of the USS Gunston Hall and USS Peleliu, were relieved of their commands within days of each other over charges related to  sexual harassment.

Cmdr. Fred R. Wilhelm, the Commanding Officer of the amphibious dock landing ship USS Gunston Hall after an investigation into allegations of sexual harassment, simple assault, and conduct unbecoming of an officer.  The ship’s former executive officer, Cmdr. Kevin S. Rafferty, and former command master chief, Wayne Owings, received non-judicial punishment for failing to take action after repeated observations of inappropriate conduct. Owings also faced sexual harassment and simple assault charges.
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SAIL Amsterdam 2010 Festival August 19th-23rd

Posted on by August 18, 2010

SAIL Amsterdam 2010, which starts tomorrow and runs through the weekend, will feature roughly 600 ships berthing in and around the harbor, ranging from traditional tall ships to historical replicas, to traditional coasting craft, as well as modern yachts and naval vessels.  Twenty Class A tall ships are expected to participate.  The festival is held every five years and is Europe’s largest nautical event.  The last festival in 2005 attracted an estimated 2 million visitors.  A great time to be in Amsterdam.

Sail Amsterdam ready to get underway

E Ship 1 – Has the Flettner Rotor Ship Finally Arrived?

Posted on by August 17, 2010

The E Ship 1 arrived in Dublin last week with a cargo of wind turbines manufactured by Enercon.    What was striking was the ship itself, with four tall pillars rising vertically from the ship, two forward and two aft.   The pillars are Flettner rotors, first  developed in the 1920s by German engineer Anton Flettner.  They are in essence, motor powered sails, 27 meters tall and 4 meters in diameter.  The spinning vertical rotors develop aerodynamic lift using the Magnus effect.   As the wind blows across the spinning rotors, they develop lift similar that of an airfoil shape of a conventional sail.  Unlike masts and sails, however, the vertical Flettner rotor does not interfere with cargo operations.  The Flettner rotors are expected to save  30-40% in fuel costs at 16 knots.
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The Gazela at Portside with Vaudeville and Pirates – Oh My!

Posted on by August 23, 2010

Earlier this month we posted about Philadelphia’s tall ship, the barquentine Gazela, returning to sea after suffering rudder damage several years ago.  After participating in a  Portuguese festival in New Bedford, MA the Gazela will be visiting PortSide  New York,starting this Thursday August 19th to Monday the 23rd.  She will be “bringing education by day and pirate cabaret at night.”  There will be daytime tours of the historic barquentine and at night Philadelphia’s  Cabaret Red Light’s troupe will be presenting nightly performances of Pirate Cabaret  – “The Seven Deadly Seas: Waylaid & Hornswoggled.”  The performaces promise “sword fights, dancing girls and plenty of vaudeville charm – definitely  not your Disney pirates.   Tickets may be purchased here. For photographs including dancing girls (oh my) check out Will’s post on the Tugster blog.

Gazela, the Country’s Oldest Wooden Square-Rigger, Comes to NYC

A review of Seven Deadly Seas

SUP Around Manhattan & Tension between Sea Sweepers and Stickless Surfers

Posted on by August 15, 2010

A week ago we posted about the increasing popularity of Stand-Up-Paddling (SUP) also known as paddle-boarding.  The sport was new to us, but obviously we have been behind the times, at least when it comes to stand-up paddling.   Last Friday, the Surfers Environmental Alliance sponsored their 4th Annual SEAPADDLE NYC, a SUP paddle and race around Manhattan (well almost all the way around.)  The events raised money for eight different charities providing services to families with autism.

In other news, the NY Times is reporting tension between traditional surfers and the SUPers who are beginning to move from calm waters to take on the big waves with paddles in hand.

Rivalry as Stand-Up Paddlers Head to Bigger Surf
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US firm awarded $110m for salvaging Titanic artifacts

Posted on by August 15, 2010

In 1994, US Courts gave salvage rights to the RMS Titanic, 2.5 miles beneath the surface of the North Atlantic, to RMS Titanic Inc, a subsidiary of Premier Exhibitions Inc,  but explicitly did not grant ownership of the wreck or the artifacts. Since then the company has undertaken seven expeditions to the wreck site and has retrieved more than 5,500 artifacts.  On Friday, a A US federal judge awarded the US exhibition company $110m for salvaging artifacts from the wreck of the RMS Titanic, ruling that the company is entitled to their full market value. Whether or not the exhibitions company will be granted ownership of the objects has yet to be determined.

US firm awarded $110m for salvaging Titanic artifacts

The Schooner Atlantic Reborn

Posted on by August 14, 2010

Photo credit: Kees Stuip

In 1905, the three masted schooner yacht Atlantic sailed 3006 miles in twelve days, four hours, one minute and nine seconds; winning the Kaiser’s Cup from New York to the Lizard and setting the record for the fastest transatlantic passage by a monohull, during a race.  The record stood for over a century and the Atlantic became a legend.

In 2007, Dutch entrepreneur, Ed Kastelein, commissioned the building of a new Atlantic, based on original plans of the William Gardner design.  Now three years after her keel was laid,  she sailed for the first time at the end of June.   The schooner is 185 feet (56 metres) on deck, with a waterline length of 138 feet (42 meters) and a bowsprit to boom length of 227 feet (69 metres).

Sailing Schooner ATLANTIC
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Removal of the Murmansk Shipwreck on Webcam and Documentary

Posted on by August 14, 2010

After a service life of almost 40 years, the Soviet light cruiser Murmansk was decommissioned and sold for scrap.  On Christmas Eve in 1994, the ship was under tow to India when the tug lost control of the ship in a storm.  The Murmansk ran aground outside the harbor breakwater just off Sørvær in northern Norway.  In 2009 money was finally appropriated to remove the wreck.   The plan is to enclose the wreck behind new temporary jetties, drain the water around the wreck, then cut the vessel in pieces on the dry bottom.  The operation should be completed in 2011.   The wreck removal is being documented as a part of a new documentary.   A panoramic webcam also has been set up for those wishing to monitor progress of the project.  Click  on the image above to see the panorama.

Shipwreck removal to become documentary

The Sinking of the Kursk – Ten Years Later

Posted on by August 13, 2010

The Russian Oscar-II class nuclear-powered cruise missile submarine Kursk sank ten years ago yesterday with a loss of all aboard.  One hundred and sixteen crew members and two weapons experts died in what is believed to have been the explosion of a faulty torpedo.  At 154m long and four stories high, the Kursk was the largest attack submarine ever built.

10 years after Kursk sinking, questions remain
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Petermann Ice Island Drifting Toward Canada could Threaten Ships, Oil Platforms

Posted on by August 12, 2010

Last Saturday we posted about a one hundred square mile ice island that broke off from the Petermann glacier in Greenland.   Experts from the Canadian government, with the aid of NASA , the European Space agency and numerous other academic institutions, are planning how to deal with the massive ice island as it breaks up while drifts to the south over the next two years, potentially threatening oil platforms and shipping.

Giant iceberg drifting toward Canada could threaten ships, oil platforms
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The Sinking of the MSC Chitra: Port Re-opens while the Finger-pointing Intensifies

Posted on by August 12, 2010

MSC Chitra

The containership MSC Chitra and the bulk carrier Khalijia 3 collided near Mumbai, India on Saturday, resulting in the sinking of the  MSC Chitra, a significant oil spill and the loss of at least 200 containers in the ship channel which posed a danger to navigation.  The spill and the lost containers, both sunk and floating, shut down full port operations.  Now five days later the port has reopened and the finger-pointing as to who is responsible for the collision has intensified.   MSC is blaming the operation of the Khalijia 3, while local news is highlighting past safety problems on the MSC Chitra.  Others are questioning the effectiveness of the response to the events by the Indian government.
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The Saga of the Schooner Hindu – Sold at Auction but New Investors Hopefull

Posted on by August 12, 2010

For years the schooner Hindu has been a favorite in Provincetown, MA.  The classic schooner is credited in helping to establish the summer whale watching trade in the port.   Sadly, after several years of battles between her investors over the ownership and operation of the schooner, she was sold at auction yesterday for $500 to the only bidder, Fairwinds Credit Union of Orlando, Fla., to whom the previous owners of the schooner owe $336,000.  An unnamed group of investors in talks with the credit union to buy the Hindu and return it to New England.    According to Schoonerman, “Hindu was designed by William Hand and built in 1925 by Hodgkin Bros., Boothbay, Maine.”   Thanks to Tom Russell of the Traditional Sail Professionals Linked-In Group for the heads-up about the auction.

Provincetown’s schooner Hindu slated for the auction block

P’town schooner: A bid to return

A Battle Won by S. Thomas Russell – A Review

Posted on by August 27, 2010

The just released, A Battle Won by S. Thomas Russell, is classic nautical fiction – vivid, fast paced and full of drama, both on sea and land.  Master and Commander Charles Hayden is a gifted naval commander with extremely bad luck. In the previous book, Under Enemy Colors, he found himself serving aboard HMS Themis, a frigate with a tyrannical captain and a mutinous crew. Now in A Battle Won, instead of being allowed to take command of his own ship, Hayden is reassigned back to the Themis, a ship with such a bad reputation that no captain wants the command.
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Build your Own City of Adelaide

Posted on by August 9, 2010

The fate of the oldest composite clipper ship in the world, the City of Adelaide, has yet to b determined.  In the mean time, former TV host and science educator, Dr. Rob Morrison, has designed a simple paper pattern that students can cut out and put together in class, building their very own City of Adelaide ship-in-a-bottle.

Help bottle the clipper City of Adelaide
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PFDs are still Life Savers

Posted on by August 12, 2010

A recent Coast Guard report on boating safety noted:  “Nearly 75 percent of the 736 people who died in boating accidents in 2009 drowned, and 84 percent of those victims reportedly were not wearing a life jacket,” said Rear Adm. Kevin Cook, the Coast Guard’s director of prevention policy. “The two most important things boaters can do to prevent the loss of life is to wear a life jacket and take a boater education course.”
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Maritime Festivals This Week – Michigan, Lake Champlain and the Connecticut River

Posted on by August 9, 2010

This is a busy week for maritime festivals in the US.   In Grand Haven, Michigan, the Michigan Pirate Festival 2010 kicked off yesterday with a very Hollywood version of pirates and piracy.  So aargh and shivery m’ timbers.  If only the problem of piracy were so benign.  The festival runs through Sunday.    Also in Michigan, the White Lake Area Maritime Festival will be held from August 12-14th.

In Burlington, Vermont,  the Lake Champlain Maritime Festival starts up this Thursday, with lots of music, exhibits and scenic cruises throughout the weekend.    Not to be outdone by Michigan’s Pirates, Nightmare Vermont’s troupe of pirates will be swashbuckling and roaming the waterfront.   Classic Sailing Vessel “Friend Ship” and the Spirit of Ethan Allen will be offering cruises from the Burlington Boat House.

On Saturday the Connecticut River Museum’s Annual Family Maritime Festival starts in Essex, CT., with maritime games, songs, and schooner deck tours offered free of charge throughout the afternoon.  There will be demonstrations on how to make rope, caulk a ship, and sing a sea chantey.  Tickets for afternoon sails on the the historic schooner Mary E will also be available.   In the evening, a picnic concert will feature sea chanteys sung by the Freemen of the Sea and folk rock performed by Amalgamated Muck.

http://www.grandhaventribune.com/paid/329991444039136.bsp

India’s Own Atlantis – Searching for 2000 year old Undersea City

Posted on by August 9, 2010

In 2004, at least 170 people died when a tsunami hit the fishing village of Poompuhar,  in India on the Bay of Bengal.    According to legend, this was not the first time.   As described in ancient Tamil texts and by Ptolemy and Pliny, Poompuhar was once a major port city which traded with the Roman Empire and China, until it was “swallowed by the sea,”  over two thousand years ago in what in modern terms must have been a tsunami.   Now an expedition is being launched to explore the sea bottom off Poompuhar for evidence of the ancient city.

Post-tsunami, raising the lost treasures of Poompuhar challenge divers
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Joan Baez, Smokey Robinson, Beach Boys Start Queen Mary’s First Outdoor Concert Series – Aug. 13

Posted on by August 7, 2010

Folk music legend Joan Baez and special guest Roger McGuinn will kick off the first of the “Summer Concert Series at the Queen Mary” this Friday, August 13th,  as part of the summer-long 2010 Long Beach Sea Festival.  This will be the first a series concerts planned for August and September at the Harry Bridges Memorial Park at the Queen Mary including performances by Motown giant Smokey Robinson on Aug. 18, legendary Southern California rock band the Beach Boys on Aug. 19 and three-time Grammy®-Award winning folk-rock artist Lucinda Williams and special guest JP, Chrissie & The Fairground Boys on Aug. 26.

Thanks to Alaric Bond for passing on news of the event.

What’s SUP? Stand-Up Paddling – the New Rage on the Water

Posted on by August 8, 2010

About a year ago, I saw what appeared to be a man standing up in the middle of the Hudson River. That is about all I could see.  He appeared to making a sweeping motion with his hands and arms and looked to be holding a broom stick of some sort.  As he got closer I could see that he was standing on a rather wide surf board and the  broomstick was a paddle. He was paddling standing up, which to a kayaker like myself seemed both tiring and a bit perilous.

Now it appears that SUP, stand-up paddling, has hit the mainstream. Both the Wall Street Journal and the New York Times (twice) have featured SUP in articles within the last several weeks.  The sport has its own magazine, books, DVDs and of course, lots of gear.  It all still looks a bit odd to a SDP (Sitting Down Paddler) like me, but it is intriguing nevertheless.

Surf’s Up: The Rise of Stand-up Paddle Boards

A Surfing Icon Embraces a Mellower Wave & This Summer’s Hamptons

10 years on, Mystery of the Confederate sub Hunley Remains

Posted on by August 9, 2010

Ten years ago today, the Confederate Navy submarine H.L. Hunley was raised from the bottom of Charleston harbor in South Carolina, where it sank in 1864.  The Hunley was the first submarine to sink an enemy warship in combat.   A decade after the submarine was raised, there is still no consensus on the cause of the submarine sinking after it attacked and sank the USS Housatonic on blockade duty in Charleston’s outer harbor.

10 years on, mystery of Confederate sub remains
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