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.
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.”
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.
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.
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.
In 1933, the US Congress created National Maritime Day to recognize the maritime industry in the United States. The date chosen to celebrate the new holiday was May 22, in honor of the day that the auxiliary packet ship Savannah sailed from its namesake city in 1819. The Savannah is credited as the first steamship to cross the Atlantic Ocean.
Bragging rights notwithstanding, if one is to be honest about the history, Savannah was neither a proper steamship nor did she actually cross the Atlantic under steam. She was built as a sailing packet ship and did have a 90 HP steam engine installed which drove twin paddle wheels, but she didn’t carry enough fuel to make the passage under steam power. On the eastbound voyage across the Atlantic, the Savannah used her engine for 80 hours in a voyage of 29 days and 11 hours. On the westbound voyage, which lasted 40 days, she did not use her engines at all.
The Pacific and Atlantic coasts have seen the return of large marine creatures that have been absent for decades. On the East Coast, New York City has seen the return of humpback whales which had been missing from local waters for an entire century. The whales began their return almost a decade ago and are now a favorite of whale watching tours in the outer harbor. The humpbacks have also returned to Long Island Sound and make periodic visits to the inner harbor as well.
On the West Coast, off southern California, boaters have seen sharks “as big as buses.” Basking sharks, the second largest shark after the whale shark, have reappeared after an absence of three decades. No need to be concerned about going into the waters where they swim, however, the 20-26 feet long basking sharks eat only krill.
Photo: Oscar Kontovkhan
Fedor Konyukhov, a 67-year-old Russian Orthodox priest, recently arrived in the Chilean town of Puerto Williams, after rowing 11,500 kilometers from Dunedin, New Zealand to Cape Horn. He thanks Saint Nicholas the Miracle Worker for helping him survive the 154-day voyage on the Southern Ocean, one of the roughest, coldest oceans on Earth.
As reported by the South China Morning Post, Fedor Konyukhov set off from New Zealand on December 6, and arrived in Diego Ramirez Islands, Chile on May 9. At 154 days, no one has spent longer in the Southern Ocean, in any kind of boat let a lone a rowing boat. The previous record was 59 days.
A new report by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) criticizes the Navy and the shipyard, Bath Iron Works, for serious deficiencies with the DDG 1000 Zumwalt-class destroyer program. The report found more than 320 “serious deficiencies” found upon inspection when the shipyard delivered the first-in-class USS Zumwalt’s hull, mechanical and electrical systems in May 2016. Another 246 “serious deficiencies” were found after acceptance trials in January and February 2018 for the USS Michael Monsoor, the second of three “stealth” destroyers built in Maine.
The report was critical of the Navy’s failure to complete the design and engineering of the USS Zumwalt, the first of three destroyers of the calls prior to the start of fabrication. “This approach contributed to numerous design changes after the fabrication start and significant cost increases and schedule delays,” the report notes. “Nearly ten years later, development and shipboard testing of technologies continues, each of which could lead to discovery that could disrupt the design stability the Navy currently claims.”
Singlehander Jeanne Socrates, 76, on her fourth circumnavigation, suffered a knockdown on S/V Nereida off the South Island of New Zealand. Despite damage to solar and wind charging equipment, Socrates is unhurt, and sails, rig, most instruments, autopilot and radio are undamaged. She sent the following message:
A brief note to let you know that we were knocked down, losing both solar and wind charging items as a result, just before dawn on Wed 15th May local time. Position: 150ml SW of S end of South Island, New Zealand
We have been following the development of the Wind Challenger Project since it first was unveiled in 2012. Initially developed by the University of Toyko and now with the support of Mitsui O.S.K. Lines and Oshima-shipbuilding, the concept is for a sail assisted ship with retractable wing sails.
The design solves several problems with hybrid sail-assisted ship concepts. Because the masts and sails retract vertically, they dramatically reduce parasitic drag when the ship is motoring into the wind. The retracted masts also make cargo handling far easier. The design is also scalable. The Wind Challenger base model is a handy-sized bulk carrier but versions have been developed up to Capesize ships. Here is a video highlighting the latest incarnation of the project.
American diver breaks record with journey to the Mariana Trench
American adventurer Victor Vesco broke the record for deepest submarine dive ever in the Challenger Deep in the Pacific Ocean’s Mariana Trench. In his four hours at the bottom, he saw fascinating and exotic sea creatures. He also saw a plastic bag and wrappers for sweets. Plastics pollution has reached even the deepest extents of the oceans.
This weekend Hamburg celebrated its Hafengeburtstag 2019, the 830th anniversary of the founding of the Port of Hamburg, established in 1189 by Frederick I.
And celebrate they did. An estimated 300 ships participated and were greeted by over one million visitors from all over the world, who came to the banks of the Elbe to enjoy the sights, sounds, exhibits, music and food of the globe’s greatest maritime festival. Here is a video of the Farewell Parade of Ships. Thanks to Roberta Weisbrod for contributing to this post.
A repost appropriate for Mother’s Day.
Sailors choose their tattoos for various reasons. Among the most popular sailor tattoos are anchors, hearts and swallows. Not infrequently, “Mom” also made an appearance as a reminder of loved ones and home. On Mother’s Day it seems appropriate to look at sailors’ tattoos which reminded them of “Mom.”
Remy Melina, in the Live Science blog, writes about the popularity of “I Love Mom” tattoos: The “I Love Mom” tattoo first became popular during World War II. As they traveled around the world, U.S. Navy sailors got tattoos to document their achievements and memories. Tattoo parlors began to pop up near military bases and patriotic tattoos came into vogue, according to John Gray’s book “I Love Mom: An Irreverent History of the Tattoo.”
Aside from wanting to express their patriotism, the homesick sailors started to request “mom” or “mother” tattoos as a sentimental reminder of home. Continue reading
Just returning from its seventh round the world voyage, the barque Picton Castle will set off again this summer bound for the Great Lakes to take part in the Tall Ships America’s Tall Ships Challenge — Great Lakes 2019. The ship is seeking trainee crew. From their website:
You too can be part of this amazing voyage. By signing up to join the Picton Castle as a trainee crew member, this can be your summer of sailing ship memories. Sign aboard for as little as one week, two weeks, or for the full three-month voyage. The longer the better, we always say.
The media has been full of reports about the sanctions violating North Korean bulk carrier, dubiously named Wise Honest. Virtually every headline begins with “US seizes North Korean ship” or some variation thereof. The Justice Department also used the word “seized” to describe the taking control of the ship by the US in a press release dated yesterday, May 9, 2019.
The story seems a bit confused, however. One might assume from the verb “seized” that the US apprehended the bulk carrier, whereas, in fact, the ship and crew were arrested a year ago in April 2018 by Indonesian authorities. The ship was found to be carrying coal in violation of international sanctions. Apparently, the transfer of the ship to the US was only completed recently. The ship, Wise Honest, is reported to be approaching U.S. territorial waters in American Samoa, in coordination with the U.S. Marshals Service and the Coast Guard.
After a voyage of 147 days covering more than 2,000 nautical miles, French adventurer Jean-Jacques Savin, 72, has successfully drifted across the Atlantic Ocean on the wind and currents in his 10′ by 9′ orange barrel-shaped craft.
He departed from El Hierro, one of the Canary Islands, west of Morocco, at the end of last December. After arriving in the Caribbean on May 2, an oil tanker towed Savin and his barrel to the tiny Dutch island of St. Eustatius. His Facebook page reports that he is now on board a cargo ship on its way to Martinique.
Blue Marlin, Photo: Spanish Navy
On Sunday, May 5th, armed pirates boarded the semi-submersible heavy-lift vessel Blue Marlin, 80 nautical miles offshore of Equatorial Guinea on the west coast of Africa. The ship, operated by the Dutch firm Boskalis, had unloaded cargo near Luba port, Bioko island, and was bound for Valetta, Malta when the pirates attacked.
Boskalis said in a statement, “By acting quickly and professionally, all twenty crew members were able to secure themselves in the citadel.” A citadel is a secured space in the vessel equipped with various means of communication and emergency rations. The captain activated the Ship Security Alert System (SSAS) which alerted the Spanish and Equatorial Guinean navies of the attack. Two helicopters were mobilized from Equatorial Guinea, followed by two navy vessels from Equatorial Guinea and the Spanish navy to rescue the ship. On the morning of March 6th, a special operations team boarded and searched the ship, by which point the pirates appear to have fled. Continue reading
Cruise Fever is reporting that Royal Caribbean is having to rearrange the itineraries for the Allure of the Seas for the next five months due to mechanical issues with one of the three Azipods, the pod propulsion units which drive the ship. The ship is one of the largest cruise ships in the world with a capacity of over 8,000 passengers and crew. Royal Caribbean will be dropping certain port calls as the ship will be operating at slower speeds with only two functioning pods. Apparently, 25 different itineraries are being modified.
The news has a strong sense of déjà vu. In early 2014, the Allure of the Seas was taken out of service to repair a faulty azipod. The ship, delivered in late 2010, has been having pod problems for most of its operating life.