Virtual Tour of Schooner Zodiac

Posted on by May 9, 2020

Click on the image below to be taken to a virtual tour of the 127′ long schooner Zodiac.

The schooner Zodiac was built in 1924 for the heirs to the Johnson & Johnson pharmaceutical fortune. After a successful career as a private yacht, winning many races and passing through several owners, the Zodiac was purchased by the San Francisco Bar Pilots Association in 1931. Renamed California, she operated as a pilot schooner on San Francisco Bay until 1972, the last sailing pilot vessel in the United States.

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Royal Navy Celebrates 75th Anniversary of VE Day

Posted on by May 8, 2020

Crew of the RFA Argus celebrating 75 years since VE day.

Parades and large celebrations were planned for the 75th anniversary of VE Day, Victory in Europe Day, the end of World War II in Europe on this day in 1945. And then the pandemic came along. Nevertheless, the Royal Navy has found ways to commemorate and celebrate the anniversary with silence, sound, and light. 

  • At 11 AM GMT, they observed 2 minutes’ silence to remember the sacrifices made between 1939 and 1945.
  • At 3 PM GMT Royal Navy warships and support vessels of the Royal Fleet Auxiliary at home and deployed around the world blasted their horns for a minute to celebrate victory.
  • At 9.30 PM GMT, naval ships will redirect their searchlights skywards to form ‘V for victory’ beams for five minutes.

Here is a short video of a “Virtual VE Day 75 Festival” by The National Museum of the Royal Navy:

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Owner of “Ghost Ship” MV Alta Ghosts, Leaving Ireland the Bill

Posted on by May 7, 2020

In February, we posted “The Long Strange Voyage of the “Ghost Ship” MV Alta,” about a derelict ship that, after 17 months abandoned and adrift, washed up unexpectedly on the Irish coast near the village of Ballycotton in County Cork. Now three months later, the Alta remains where she was dashed onto the rocks by the hurricane-force winds of Storm Dennis. No one is entirely sure what to do about her.

The problem is that the owner of the “ghost ship” has apparently ghosted. The authorities have had no luck locating those who own and are responsible for the 44-year-old, 77-meter cargo vessel. The concern is that the scrap value of the ship is close to zero and if the owner is not located the cost of removing the wreck will be borne by the Irish government. 

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5,000 Tonne Capacity Offshore Crane Collapses During Load Tests

Posted on by May 6, 2020

How is your day going? We hope that it is going better than the folks who were load testing a new 90 meter high Liebherr TLC crane on the offshore installation support vessel Orion 1. The crane had a 160-meter long boom and is designed to have a lifting height of up to 180 meters—almost twice as high as the Statue of Liberty—and a lifting capacity of 5,000 tonnes at more than 30 meters outreach. We use the past tense of “had” a 160-meter long boom, because during the load test something went badly wrong, as can be seen in the video below. Fortunately, there are no reports of anyone seriously injured in the accident. 

Orion 1 is owned by COSCO (QIDONG) OFFSHORE CO., LTD, and was moored at the quayside at the Liebherr construction yard in Rostock, Germany during the load test.

“Freakishly Warm” Gulf Waters May Contribute to Severe Spring Weather & Hurricanes

Posted on by May 5, 2020

As if a pandemic is not enough to worry about, the effects of climate change appear to be delivering some particularly nasty weather this year. The waters of the Gulf of Mexico have been described as being abnormally warm, freakishly warm, and “on fire,” as average surface water temperature never fell below 73 degrees over the winter for the first time on record. Cities from Texas to Florida experienced unusually warm winters.

“Out of 90 days this winter, Miami saw a record-setting 69 of them reach 80°F or warmer!” wrote Miami broadcast meteorologist John Morales for the website WxShift, a project of Climate Central. 

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Ships Sunk in “Exercise Tiger” Disaster Finally Protected

Posted on by May 4, 2020

Two Landing Ship Tanks (LSTs), sunk in a disastrous rehearsal of the D-Day landing, have been granted protected status by the government of Great Britain. At least 749 US sailors and soldiers died when the ships were attacked by German E-boats, fast patrol torpedo boats, in late April of 1944, on the coast of Devon. 

“Exercise Tiger” was the largest of several “rehearsal” landings made on UK beaches prior to the actual landings on D-Day in June 1944. Slapton Sands off Devon was selected as a site as it resembled part of the French Normandy coast chosen for the landings. “Exercise Tiger” was intended as a realistic rehearsal for the landings on Utah Beach by American forces.

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Capturing Cape Hatteras – A Night Under The Stars Of The Outer Banks

Posted on by May 3, 2020

A calming post for a spring Sunday. Here is another wonderful time-lapse by Wes Snyder. From the Youtube description: 

“Capturing Cape Hatteras” is a time-lapse of the Milky Way, crescent moon, and sunrise on March 20th, 2020. Amidst all the concerns of the spreading coronavirus, and our county being shut down to any outside visitors, we decided to head out onto the abandoned beaches of Buxton, NC, for a night of stargazing on Hatteras Island.

Capturing Cape Hatteras – A Night Under The Stars Of The Outer Banks

To see more of Wes Snyder’s work, check him out on Facebook, Instagram, or his website. Also check out his new book, Journey Through The Outer Banks.

Stuck on a Sailboat During the Pandemic — US Virgin Islands Gets Crowded

Posted on by May 3, 2020

Unless you happened to be very wealthy, hiding out on a boat may not be the best strategy during a pandemic. While billionaires may be able to jet off to their yachts in the Grenadines, the merely comfortable may find themselves stuck with limited ports of call and few options. Across the Caribbean, the South Pacific and even on the East Coast, boaters are discovering ports closed to new arrivals or subject to new regulations that seem to change day-to-day.

One of the few safe havens in the Caribbean currently is the U.S. Virgin Islands. Continue reading →

Virtual Shanty/Chantey Sing, Part 2 — Singalong with the Sheringham Shantymen

Posted on by May 1, 2020

Yesterday, we posted about a virtual chantey sing this Sunday, organized by New York’s South Street Seaport Museum. Here is a slightly different take on a virtual shanty sing.

The Sheringham Shantymen are celebrating their 30th anniversary and they are inviting everyone to join in an on-line singalong. The group has recorded their version of the shanty, “Drunken Sailor” and invites you to sing with them.  Here’s how it works:

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Virtual Shanty/Chantey Sing, Part 1 — South Street Seaport

Posted on by April 30, 2020

New York’s South Street Seaport Museum‘s monthly Chantey Sing is returning virtually, this Sunday, May 3rd from 2-4pm.

From the Seaport announcement: From our living rooms and kitchens, and even from the deck of Wavertree, join our round-robin of shared songs, featuring members of the New York Packet and friends. Listen in, lead or request a song, and belt out the choruses for your neighbors to hear during a Virtual Chantey Sing this Sunday, May 3, 2020 from 2-4pm. The event is FREE. Sign up here to receive the Zoom link 24 hours prior: www.seaportmuseum.org/ChanteySingMay.

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USS Kidd Diverts to San Diego with Coronavirus Outbreak, Over A Quarter Test Positive

Posted on by April 29, 2020

USS Kidd, an Arleigh Burke-class destroyer, was diverted to San Diego following a shipboard outbreak of the coronavirus. The ship had been deployed off South America on an anti-drug-trafficking mission when the outbreak occurred. So far, 64 of the crew on the Kidd have tested positive, or roughly 27% of the sailors tested so far. 

While on its way to San Diego, the Kidd rendezvoused with the amphibious assault ship USS Makin Island which is equipped with an onboard intensive care unit staffed by a fleet surgical team to assist with care and screening of the crew. 

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Bioluminescent Dolphins in the Pacific

Posted on by April 28, 2020

We recently posted about neon blue waves in Newport Beach, CA caused by the action of the moving water on a phytoplankton bloom. Here is a short video of dolphins swimming at night lit by the bioluminescent plankton.  Stunning. Thanks to Irwin Bryan for contributing to this post.

Dolphins Swimming in Bioluminescence

60 Years Ago, USS Triton Circumnavigated the Globe Submerged

Posted on by April 27, 2020

Voyage of USS Triton

A good story for the lockdown.

In February 1960, the USS Triton set out on a most unusual shakedown cruise. The nuclear-powered radar picket submarine sailed from New London, CT, and returned in May, having circumnavigated the world submerged, becoming the first submarine in history to do so.

In an overall voyage of 84 days, the circumnavigation itself, starting at and returning to St. Peter and Paul Rocks, took 60 days and 21 hours, traveling 26,723 nautical miles at an average speed of 18 knots. USS Triton’s course retraced Ferdinand Magellan’s historic first circumnavigation.

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In the Time of COVID-19, the Unexpected Voyage of the Wylde Swan

Posted on by April 26, 2020

The Wylde Swan has returned to the Netherlands. The schooner, said to be the world’s largest topsail schooner, was completing an educational cruise of the Caribbean with 25 Dutch high school students, ages 14 to 17.

The plan was for the students to fly home from Cuba in March but with the outbreak of the pandemic, that became impossible. Instead of boarding airplanes, the decision was made to reprovision the ship and to sail it and the students across the Atlantic back to its base in Harlingen, in the Netherlands. So, the high school students, along with a professional crew of 12 and two teachers, set off on an almost 7,000 kilometers (4,350 miles) voyage onboard the 60-meter (200-foot) topsail schooner.  The Wylde Swan arrived in port today.  

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Navy Recommends Reinstating Fired Roosevelt Captain

Posted on by April 25, 2020

Yesterday, senior Navy officials recommended that Captain Brett Crozier be reinstated as commander of the aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt. Captain Crozier was fired after a letter expressing concern about the health and safety of his crew in a shipboard coronavirus outbreak was leaked to the press.

“Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Mike Gilday has presented recommendations to the acting secretary of the Navy, James McPherson,” the Navy said in a statement on Friday. “Secretary McPherson is continuing discussions with Secretary of Defense Mark Esper.”

Rather than accept the recommendation Defense Secretary Mark T. Esper is taking time to consider whether to sign off on reinstating the captain of the nuclear-powered carrier. Reportedly, Esper’s decision to hold up the investigation has surprised Navy officials, who believed that the defense secretary would leave the process in the hands of the military chain of command. Ironically, Captain Crozier was fired for going outside the chain of command to express concern for the health of his sailors. Continue reading →

USNS Comfort Leaving New York — the Limitations of Hospital Ships

Posted on by April 24, 2020

US military doctors, nurses, and technicians are among the best in the world, able to step in and to do their jobs under a range of challenging and demanding conditions. Fortunately, over 500 professionals from the Army, Navy, and Air Force are currently working alongside civilian medical professionals in New York City’s still overstressed hospitals. The military doctors and nurses are getting glowing reviews from all concerned. 

The hospital ship USNS Comfort will soon be leaving New York harbor to return to its base in Virginia. Reviews of the hospital ship’s performance have been mixed at best.

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Red Tide, Blue Waves

Posted on by April 23, 2020

Photo: Patrick Coyne

Recently, an outbreak of red tide off Newport Beach, California discolored the Pacific waters during daylight and then, once the sun had set, put on an amazing show of bioluminescence which turned the ocean waves a vivid neon blue. Not all red tide is bioluminescent, but when the conditions are right the phytoplankton bloom which makes up the tides can explode into a blue light when stirred by the action of the waves. A trio of photographers captured the most recent display. To see more check out their Instagram.

Red tides and blue waves have been occurring from time to time on the California coast for a number of years. Here is a video from San Diego in 2014.

Bioluminescent waves in San Diego, Red Tide Blue Waves

USS Roosevelt Update: Over 700 Infected, Sailors Test Positive Despite Isolation

Posted on by April 22, 2020

The plan was to start moving sailors who had completed a 14-day coronavirus quarantine back on the carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt beginning this Saturday. Politico reports that that plan has been delayed after a number of sailors tested positive for the virus even after their isolation period. Some of the sailors who recently tested positive had previously tested negative, one Navy official said. The ship has been dockside in Guam since March 27th.

The move potentially delays the ship’s departure amid new questions about the spread of Covid-19.

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The Almost Carrier, USS America, Steams Toward South China Sea

Posted on by April 21, 2020

The UK Daily Mail’s headline, as shown on Google, read “USS America aircraft carrier steams to intercept Chinese ships…”

The story behind the headline is that the USS America and the guided-missile destroyer USS Bunker Hill are being deployed to intercept a Chinese government survey ship and several Chinese Coast Guard vessels in a contested stretch of the South China Sea near Malaysia. US officials have accused China of taking advantage of the distraction posed by the coronavirus outbreak to increase its maritime presence in the region. The deployment of the USS America Expeditionary Strike Group is intended as a show of force.

Despite the Google headline, the USS America is not, at least according to the US Navy, an aircraft carrier. Continue reading →

Juna, the Beluga, at the Wedding

Posted on by April 20, 2020

We recently posted about a penguin on a “field trip” interacting with a beluga whale at Chicago’s Shedd Aquarium. The post brought to mind a story from years ago about a young couple, Kim & Kevin, who decided to get married at the Mystic Aquarium, in Mystic, Connecticut. They decided that the service would be held directly in front of the beluga tank. As entertainment, they hired a mariachi band, “Los Trovadores de America.”  

It seems that a beluga named Juna became very interested in the mariachi band and began to move along with the music. Someone caught it on video (of course), and put it up on Youtube. Juna being serenaded by the mariachis has become a minor internet sensation getting almost 6 million views, so far. The video is after the page break.

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