“A Whale” – World’s Largest Oil Skimmer Waiting on EPA and Coast Guard Approval

Posted on by July 1, 2013

A Whale - Slots along sides are skimmer suctions

Update:  According to her AIS (Automatic Identification System) the A Whale is now off Louisiana.  Thanks to Buck for pointing it out. Click here to see per position on the chart.

A Taiwanese-owned, Liberian-flagged tanker,  the A Whale, has been modified for skimming up to 500,000 barrels of oil-contaminated water a day.   To put this in context, if the system works as intended, it could skim in less than two days an amount of oil equal to all the oil skimmed in the past 70 days of the ongoing Deepwater Horizon spill.   The A Whale is designed to operate offshore where most skimmers have difficulty operating.   It is currently in Norfolk, VA awaiting approval of separate waivers from the Coast Guard and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to allow it to begin testing.    Because the A Whale would be operating well offshore it is not believed to require a Jones Act Waiver.

Giant oil skimmer makes stop in Norfolk on way to Gulf oil cleanup

Belated Happy 100th Birthday Wishes to Bill King, World War II Sub Commander and Adventurer

Posted on by June 28, 2010

We are five  days late but nevertheless would like to wish Commander William Donald Aelian “Bill” King a most happy 100th birthday.  He is only living submarine commander from World War II.  He initially served on the battleship, HMS Resolution, and later becoming commanding officer of HMS Snapper, an S class submarine and then of HMS Trusty and HMS Telemachus, both T class submarines. During the war, he was promoted to Commander and awarded seven medals.

Later, at age 58, King  became the oldest competitor in the Sunday Times Golden Globe Race, the first round the world solo yacht race.   Sailing a junk rigged schooner,the Galway Blazer II, he was dismasted in the South Atlantic. He succeeded in cirumnavigating single handed on his third attempt in 1973, despite a collsion with a whale or large shark which almost sank  his boat.

Wartime submarine commander and adventurer turns 100

Happy Birthday to the Lydia Eva – 80 Year Old Steam Herring Drifter

Posted on by June 27, 2010

Lydia Eva

Famous steam drifter celebrates 80th birthday in Yarmouth

The world’s last surviving steam drifter, the Lydia Eva, will be celebrating her 80th birthday in Great Yarmouth on Sunday.   As well as celebrating her birthday, the weekend will also mark the completion of a £1.2m restoration project of the vessel.

Throughout the weekend, people will be able to go on board the Lydia Eva as she is in steam at South Quay and see her triple extension engine and Scotch boilers.  On Sunday, her birthday will be celebrated with sea shanties, cooked herring and a beer tent.

Thanks to Alaric Bond for passing the article along.

Portside New York – Big BlueBQ July 3rd

Posted on by June 27, 2010

Portside New York is a maritime hub and cultural space whose centerpiece is the historic coastal tanker Mary Whalen.   Portside is based this summer on pier 11 in the Atlantic Basin, Red Hook, Brooklyn.

On Saturday, July 3rd, Portside is hosting  the Big Blue BQ from 6:30 -8 PM.  Expect good food, good music and good company as well as Peter Waldman, the Balloon Meister; Jack Putnam of South Street Seaport channelling Herman Melville; a live auction;  kids wading pool, games, chalk, bubbles and balls. Music will be provided by Smitty with more bands to be announced.   Tickets are now $35 for adults and $10 for kids.

To learn more and buy tickets – Big PortSide BlueBQ
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Asian Carp Invading the Great Lakes

Posted on by June 25, 2010

Two species of Asian carp, the bighead and the silver, were imported in the US in the 1970s by catfish farmers to eat algae in ponds. In flood in the 1990s, Asian trout escaped in the Mississippi River basin have been multiplying wildly and heading north. A few days ago an 20 pound Asian bighead carp was caught by a fisherman in Illinois’s Lake Calumet, on the South Side of Chicago.  That is north of the electric fences installed to stop the carp and only six miles from Lake Michigan.

Carp-Pocalypse: The Great Lakes Asian Carp Invasion Begins?
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Lost Wooden Steamer L.R. Doty Located After 112 Years

Posted on by June 25, 2010

Windlass on the L.R. Doty

In October of 1898, the wooden steamship L.R. Doty disappeared in Lake Michigan in a storm with seventy mile an hour winds and thirty foot waves. Her crew of 17 and two ship’s cats were lost.   A group of Wisconsin divers recently discovered the shipwreck , intact and upright, in 300 feet of water off the Milwaukee shore.

Sunken Treasure In Lake Michigan: Century-Old Ship

L. R. Doty Shipwreck Video Clip
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Chauncy Maples, Africa’s Oldest Ship, Returning as Clinic Ship on Lake Malawi

Posted on by June 24, 2010

In 1898, the Chauncy Maples was built at the shipyard of Alley & McLellan in Glasgow.   She was then disassembled into 3,481 parts and shipped out for reassembly at Monkey Bay as a missionary/hospital steamer on Lake Malawi.  Now, one hundred and twelve years later, the Chauncy Maples may be returning to duty as a traveling clinic on the 560 kilometer long Lake Malawi.   The Chauncy Maples Malawi Trust is now attempting to raise £2m to fund the project.   With major sponsorship from insurance firm Thomas Miller and wider support from donors and NGOs, they appear to be well on their way.
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Mystic Seaport Wooden Boat Show, June 25 – 27

Posted on by June 23, 2010

A wonderful boat show in a enchanting setting, the Mystic Seaport Wooden Boat Show starts this Friday. I am seriously annoyed that it looks like I will be be missing it again this year.    The show is hosted in partnership with Wooden Boat Publications.

The 19th Annual  WoodenBoat Show
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Lake Erie Shipwreck to Remain in the Deep ?

Posted on by June 22, 2010

An interested court case between a private salvor and the State of New York appears to have been settled in favor of the state.   The salvor, Northeast Research, claimed the 19th century schooner, which it claims is the Caledonia. They had planned to raise the vessel and display it in a large tank on the Buffalo waterfront.   New York State counted that as positive identification of the ship had not been made, the ship was state property under the U.S. Abandoned Shipwreck Act.    The judge sided with New York State which wants to leave the wreck in place in 170 feet of water in Lake Erie.

Judge sides with state in legal tug of war over shipwreck in Lake Erie

‘Jaws’ Shark Hunted Down

Posted on by June 21, 2010

It says something about our society that a missing prop from a classic movie, specifically Bruce, the mechanical shark from Jaws, has its own Facebook page. I’m not exactly sure what it says, but it has to say something.   For those who might be interested, Bruce, the missing mechanical shark has been located in a Los Angeles junkyard.

‘Jaws’ Shark Hunted Down
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USS Forrestal arrives in Phila. to await fate

Posted on by June 21, 2010

USS Forrestal arrives in Phila. to await fate

The aircraft carrier Forrestal arrived in Philadelphia Friday morning to await its fate.

The ship, decommissioned in 1993 in Philadelphia after 38 years in service, had been moored next to the Saratoga in Newport, R.I. It left under tow Tuesday.
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Mermaid Parade 2010 – Coney Island

Posted on by June 21, 2010

Happy Solstice to All.  One way that at least some New Yorkers mark the beginning of the summer is to observe or participate in the Mermaid Parade, an event celebrating  the sea and the season, in the Coney Island section of Brooklyn for the past 28 years.   This year in addition to scantily clad mermaids and mermen celebrating the marine world there were also mixed protests of the ongoing oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.   Check out some great photos of the parade on the tugster blog here and here.

Coney Island’s Mermaid Parade shimmies along in Brooklyn – but some protest BP’s lack of action

Coney Island’s Mermaid Day Parade

Red Bull Plane Race in New York Harbor – Attack of the Giant Mosquitoes

Posted on by June 20, 2010

A section of upper New York harbor,  just north of  Ellis Island, has been taken over for the Red Bull Air Race World Championship.   Huge 20 meter air filled pylons sprang up over a three mile course and small, brightly colored planes flew between and around them at dizzying speeds,  their engines whining in the wild loops and turns.  At times it  sounded as if the harbor was under attack by giant mosquitoes.   As fans  watched from the Liberty State Park shoreline and from a flotilla of boats, large and small,  in the harbor.  Fifteen pilots competed at speeds up to 230 miles per hours.   Yesterday was the qualifying round.  It was nothing short of breathtaking as the planes raced, one at a time, through the winding course.  The race continues today.  A quick video:

Red Bull Air Race –  Qualifying Highlights

Donald Scott Sutherland – Chronicler of New York Harbor

Posted on by June 19, 2010

Don Sutherland, marine photographer and writer, died on May 24 of cancer.  In the words of Carolina Salguero, Director, PortSide NewYork,  “Don covered the working waterfront in this port like no other with an adoring eye, passionate voice and sharp wit. Our port has lost an irreplaceable chronicler and advocate.”   His photographs are currently part of an exhibit, “TUGS!” at Mystic Seaport.   His work can also be viewed online.

A memorial service has been organized on the deck of the tanker Mary Whalen for 6pm Tuesday 6/22. Guests can come by land or tug to northside Pier 9B, Red Hook, Brooklyn.

Donald Scott Sutherland – Obituary & Memorial Service information

‘ARTEMIS NORTH ATLANTIC CHALLENGE’ 2010

Posted on by June 19, 2010

Photo: Will van Dorp

As many of us were watching Reid Stowe sail into New York harbor from his 1,000 day plus journey, a team of four intrepid rowers were apparently setting out in their attempt to break the 114 year old record set by Harbo and Samuelson in 1896 by crossing the Atlantic in a rowing boat.    Will from the Tugster blog snapped photos of the Artemis Ocean Rowing team as they set off on their third attempt.

From their website:
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Whale Whore$ – Diplomats Acting Badly: A Possible New Reality TV Show?

Posted on by June 19, 2010

We have been critical of the Sea Shepherds and their reality TV show, “Whale Wars,” which has not only demonstrated dreadful seamanship but has also encouraged illegal and dangerous vigilante violence.   We have suggested that diplomacy is preferable to thuggery.  That being said, diplomacy has its problems as well.   The Times of London recently reported that lobbyists working for the Japanese are allegedly offering bribes, airline tickets and prostitutes in exchange for a vote for a new quota system to allow limited commercial whaling, which will be voted on at the upcoming meeting of the International Whaling Commission. The Japanese deny anything improper.    I see the potential for a new reality TV show here – Whale Whore$ – Diplomats Acting Badly.  Money, back-room deals and sex – definate possibilities.

Flights, girls and cash buy Japan whaling votes

Round Britain Rowing Race – Women’s Team in First & Last Place

Posted on by June 18, 2010

The Virgin GB Row 2010 is one of  strangest and most challenging rowing races in the world.    As described on the Virgin GB Row 2010 website:

It’s 2,010 miles non-stop and unassisted rowing around Great Britain in some of the most dangerous tides on the globe, in the busiest shipping lanes and with some of the most unpredictable summer weather anywhere. Together all those hazards make this officially the toughest rowing race in the world – tougher even than rowing the Pacific or the Atlantic.
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Video of Reid Stowe’s Return to New York

Posted on by June 17, 2010

It was a fun family event, in many respects. I showed up at the southwest corner of Manhattan,  where I thought Reid Stowe on the schooner Anne would sail by and found a group of Stowe’s family and friends had gotten there already.   His father, brother and sister were there. Several had flown up from the Carolinas. No doubt other family members were there as well, as were quite a number of friends. There were banners and drums and a good feelings as the prodigal returned.   There was also a photographer from the New York Post, who was attempting without much success to photograph another even entirely, who was snapping photographs of the schooner and Reid’s family.

The wind was gusting out of the northwest, so Reid proceeded to tack his way up the harbor, sailing in company with the schooners Pioneer and Adirondack III, all led by the historic fireboat John J. Harvey blasting her water cannon in celebration.

Reid Stowe on schooner Anne returns to New York Harbor after 1151 days at sea