Remembering the Schooner Wander Bird — Rounding Cape Horn 1936

Posted on by June 11, 2019

Yesterday we posted about the sinking of the restored pilot schooner Elbe No.5, ex-Wander Bird, following a collision with a container ship near Stade, Germany on the Elbe River. The schooner, launched in 1883, had just completed a $1.7 million renovation. Fortunately while several were injured, none of the 43 passengers and crew died in the collision. An investigation of the incident is ongoing.

The schooner has had a fascinating history. It served as a pilot schooner on the River Elbe for 41 years, carrying pilots to guide ships from the North Sea up the river to the mighty port of Hamburg. She then spent a few years with several owners as a private yacht, named Wandervogel. In 1929, the schooner was purchased by American journalist Warwick Tompkins, who translated the German name to Wander Bird. 

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Pilot Schooner No. 5 Elbe, ex-Wander Bird, Sinks After Collision on River Elbe

Posted on by June 10, 2019

On Saturday, the restored pilot schooner No. 5 Elbe sank following a collision with a containership on its namesake river at Stade, Germany. The 43 people aboard the 1883 built schooner were rescued almost immediately thanks to a quick response from five rescue boats which happened to be in the area on another distress call. Six adults and two children were injured, one seriously, in the collision.

An investigation will determine the cause of the collision between the pilot schooner and the Cyprus-flagged container ship, Astrosprinter. Current reports suggest that the schooner turned across the fairway, directly into the path of the container ship. The Guardian describes the course change as a “failed tack” by the gaff-rigged schooner. Other reports suggest that the container ship was outside the channel lane. 

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Update: Jeanne Socrates Moors Off New Zealand To Make Repairs

Posted on by June 10, 2019

On May 18th, we posted that singlehander Jeanne Socrates, 76, on her fourth circumnavigation, suffered a knockdown on S/V Nereida off the South Island of New Zealand. Despite the loss of solar panels and damage to the wind generator system, Socrates was unhurt, and sails, rig, most instruments, autopilot, and radio were undamaged.

Socrates is attempting to become the oldest person to sail solo around the world non-stop and unassisted. After the knockdown, most would have given up and put into port, but Jeanne has not abandoned her quest. She has put into Timaru Harbour, South Island, New Zealand to make necessary repairs to her Najad 380, Nerieda. As long as she does not go ashore or receive support or supplies, she can continue on her voyage “non-stop and unassisted.”

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Carnival Cops a Plea — $20 Million Fine for Continuing to Pollute

Posted on by June 10, 2019

In April, we posted, Judge Threatens to Block Carnival Cruise Ships from Docking in US Ports, in which U.S. District Judge Patricia Seitz considered temporarily blocking the largest cruise corporation in the world from docking its ships at ports in the United States as punishment for a possible probation violation of a previous pollution settlement.

In 2016, Princess Cruise Lines, a Carnival subsidiary, agreed to pay a $40 million fine for illegally dumping and attempting the cover up the dumping of oil-contaminated waste into the sea. Part of the deal was an agreement that Carnival, Princess and associated cruise lines would, figuratively and literally, clean up their act. The cruise giant was put on five years’ probation.

In a settlement announced on Monday, Carnival agreed to pay an additional $20 million, after admitted to failing to live up to the terms of the probation. A whistleblower reported the dumping of grey water and plastics, falsifying records, and hiding violations from Federal inspectors.

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Remembering the Battle of Midway, 77 Years Ago This Week

Posted on by June 5, 2019

The Battle of Midway, fought from June 3 — 7, 1942, seventy-seven years ago this week, was a major American victory in the Pacific theater in World War II. Only six months after Japan’s attack on Pearl Harbor, Midway was a turning point in the naval war in the Pacific. Key to the victory was the American breaking of the Japanese naval code. Thanks to the code breakers, what had been intended to be another Japanese surprise attack became a well-laid trap by the US Navy. Here is a 15-minute tactical overview of the battle. Well worth watching.

Battle of Midway Tactical Overview – World War II | History

On the 75th Anniversary of D-Day, Remembering Andrew Jackson Higgins and the Higgins Boat

Posted on by June 7, 2019

I am aware of only one man who was praised by both Eisenhower and Hitler. A repost on the 75th anniversary of D-Day.

General Dwight David Eisenhower said that “Andrew Higgins … is the man who won the war for us. … If Higgins had not designed and built those LCVPs, we never could have landed over an open beach. The whole strategy of the war would have been different.”  

Adolph Hitler referred to Andrew Higgins as the “new Noah,” though his admiration was more begrudging. On the 75th anniversary of the Normandy landings, better known as D-Day, it seems worthwhile to remember Andrew Higgins and the amazing Higgins boat.

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Who’s the Pirate — Blackbeard or the State of North Carolina? Supreme Court Will Decide

Posted on by June 5, 2019

Queen Anne’s Revenge

Edward Teach, better known as the pirate Blackbeard, terrorized the Caribbean and the North American East Coast in the early 18th century. Now a documentary filmmaker is claiming that the State of North Carolina is engaging in modern-day digital piracy. On Monday, the US Supreme Court agreed to hear the case brought by filmmaker, Frederick Allen, against state officials in North Carolina who he accuses of unlawfully pirating his footage of the wrecked pirate ship, the Queen Anne’s Revenge, which went down in 1718.

As reported by the LA Times: The case began with the discovery of the wreckage of Blackbeard’s flagship, which sank in November 1718 and was found by a private research group in 1996.

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MSC Opera Crash Prompts New Calls to Limit Large Cruise Ships in Venice

Posted on by June 4, 2019

The crash of the MSC Opera into the dock and a river tour boat while docking on the Giudecca Canal on Sunday in Venice Italy, has prompted new calls for limits or an outright ban of large cruise ships in Venice. After the crash, Venice’s mayor Luigi Brugnaro said, “Once again it is shown that big ships cannot cross the Giudecca Canal.”

“It worries me because it’s something that could’ve happened so many other times, and could happen again today, ” said Jane Da Mosto, an environmental scientist who heads We Are Here Venice, which wants to ban cruise ships.

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Cruise Ship MSC Opera Loses Control in Venice — Hits Dock and Tour Boat

Posted on by June 3, 2019

At about 8:30 AM on Sunday, the cruise ship MSC Opera lost control while docking on the Giudecca Canal in Venice Italy, slamming into the dock and hitting a tour boat. Five people were reported to be injured, but none seriously. The ship was accompanied by two tugs which were unable to control the 65,591 GT ship.  MSC Opera was built in 2004 and has a capacity of around 2,150 passengers and 728 crew. 

“The MSC ship had an engine failure, which was immediately reported by the captain,” Davide Calderan, head of a tugboat company involved in accompanying the ship into its berth, told Italian media. “The engine was blocked, but with its thrust on, because the speed was increasing,” he said.

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World’s Largest Lionfish Tournament Removes 19,167 of the Invasive Predators

Posted on by June 3, 2019

For several years, we have followed the attempts to control, if not eradicate, the invasive lionfish from the waters around Florida and the Caribbean.  Recently, divers participating in Destin, Florida’s Emerald Coast Open, which is described as the “world’s largest lionfish tournament,” removed 19,167 of the invasive predators.    

Sometime in the 1990s, two different species of lionfish made it into the waters of the Atlantic off Florida. Native to the Indo-Pacific, the venomous, predatory fish spread rapidly, decimating local reef fish in the Atlantic, the Gulf of Mexico, and the Caribbean. Lacking local predators to stop its spreading, the lionfish have been described as “one of the most aggressively invasive species on the planet.”

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Coast Guard Rescues Couple From Capsized Sailboat, 65 Miles East of New Jersey

Posted on by June 3, 2019

Coast Guard crews rescued a man and woman from a capsized sailboat in rough seas about 65 miles east of Atlantic City, NJ, late Wednesday night. Heidi Snyder and Peter Bailey, who have been sailing around the world for two years, were traveling from South Carolina to New York City when a microburst capsized their 55-foot wooden-hull sailboat, Bertie. 

Beyond the range of VHS radio, the couple activated their EPIRB (Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacon) which allowed the Coast Guard to locate them clinging to the capsized hull.

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Tragedy in the Congo — Overloaded Boat Sinks on Lake Mai-Ndombe, 45 Dead, 200 Missing

Posted on by May 31, 2019

Sadly, the sinking of overloaded ferry boats in the developing world is not new news. It happens with a great enough frequency that it is easy to overlook. Which may be why these tragedies are worth noting. Last weekend, an overcrowded boat sank on Lake Mai-Ndombe in the Democratic Republic of Congo.  The majority of those on board were teachers going to collect their salaries, a local mayor told the BBC.

According to the provincial governor, Antoine Masamba, the boat had been carrying some 400 passengers, of whom 45 were confirmed dead and 200 were still unaccounted for. The vessel was not meant to carry more than 80 people. Its official manifest indicates that it had about 130 passengers.

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River Cruise Ship Viking Sigyn Collides with Tour Boat in Danube — 7 Dead, 22 Missing

Posted on by May 30, 2019

Mermaid on the Danube

A Viking River Cruises ship, the Viking Sigyn, collided with a tourist sightseeing boat in the Danube River named Mermaid off Budapest on Wednesday night. Of the 33 Korean tourists and two Hungarian crew aboard the sightseeing boat, seven have been rescued, seven have been confirmed dead and 21 are still missing.  

The BBC reports that CCTV footage showed the boat that sank – Hableany, or Mermaid – being hit from behind by a larger tour boat – Viking Sigyn – near the Margit (Margaret) Bridge in central Budapest after 21:00 local time (19:00 GMT).

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USS Batfish Battles Flooding Rivers

Posted on by May 29, 2019

USS Batfish is a Balao-class submarine, known primarily for the remarkable feat of sinking three Imperial Japanese Navy submarines in a 76-hour period, in February 1945. Since 1973, USS Batfish has served as an unlikely museum ship hauled up on shire at the Muskogee War Memorial Park in Muskogee, OK, near the confluence of the Arkansas River, Grand River, and Verdigris Rivers.  Now with the rivers at historic flood levels, the World War II era submarine is afloat on the flood water, as volunteers scramble to keep the old sub from sinking or being overwhelmed by the swirling torrents. Continue reading →

World Superyacht of the Year, My Song, Falls Off Ship

Posted on by May 31, 2019

How is our week going so far? Probably better than Pier Luigi Loro Piana and also no doubt better than the captain of the general cargo ship Brattingsborg. The ship was carrying the 130′ (39.9 meter) yacht, My Song, owned by Mr. Loro Piana, from the Caribbean to the Mediterranean. The yacht was bound ultimately for Porto Cervo, in northern Sardinia, where it was supposed to take part in the upcoming Loro Piana Superyacht Regatta. Sadly, the mega-yacht never made it. The Brattingsborg was struck by a storm near the Gulf of Lion. Sometime late Saturday or early Sunday, the yacht My Song was lost over the side.

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On Memorial Day — New Hope and Concerns for the Last Dreadnought, USS Texas

Posted on by May 27, 2019

For several years, we have followed the efforts to save the USS Texas, the last surviving dreadnought, as well as the only battleship in existence today that fought in both World War I and World War II. Since 1948, the ship has been a museum docked at the San Jacinto Battleground Historic Site in La Porte, TX. In recent decades, the old ship, owned by the State of Texas, has been in a losing battle against time and rust. Texas taxpayers currently spend about $2 million a year to keep it from sinking with small fixes and steadily running pumps.

A bill recently passed the Texas Senate 31-0 to provide $35 million to repair and restore the historic battleship. There has been disagreement in the Texas House on some of the terms of the bill, that states, after the ship is repaired out of state, they would “bring it back to a prominent place in the state for future generations to enjoy and preserving its status as a museum and giving it the respect it deserves for this last standing ship of its kind.”

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Update: Clotilda, the Last Slave Ship Found

Posted on by May 26, 2019

In January 2018, the news broke that a journalist believed that he had found the burned wreckage of the schooner Clotilda, the last vessel to carry Africans into bondage in the United States. By March, however, further research and excavation determined that the wreck was, in fact, not that of the infamous slave ship. Nevertheless, the near-discovery triggered renewed interest in finding the wreck.

Last week, the National Geographic Society reported that the Clotilda has been found, discovered by archaeology firm company Search Inc, which was called in to help by the Alabama Historical Commission to investigate a likely wreck off Twelve Mile Island in the Mobile River delta. The dimensions and construction of the wreck matched those of the Clotilda, as did building materials, the commission said.

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Stepping the Mast of the Tall Ship Providence

Posted on by May 25, 2019

Here is a wonderful short video of the stepping of the mast of the tall ship Providence in Wiscasset, Maine. The 110′ 12-gun sloop-of-war is a replica of the first warship in the Continental Navy, originally chartered by the Rhode Island General Assembly as Katy in 1775. The modern replica is nearing the completion of an extensive restoration and will be sailing this summer to a new home in Alexandria, VA. 

Tall Ship Providence – Stepping the mast!

Celebrate Historic USCG Cutter Lilac’s 86th Birthday with Cake

Posted on by May 24, 2019

If you are near New York City over the Memorial Day Weekend, be sure to stop by the Hudson River Park’s Pier 25 to help celebrate the 86th birthday of the USCG lighthouse/buoy tender Lilac. The historic cutter will be opening for the summer season on Saturday, May 25 and Sunday, May 26 from 2:00 until 6:00 PM. Birthday cake will be served to all visitors.  

Lilac will also be staying open late for a special reception Sunday evening. The reception will celebrate the start of the season, the cutter’s birthday and the opening of a new exhibition of photos by Jean Miele. (Read more below.) The reception is also a celebration of our country’s Sea Services during Fleet Week New York. 

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