Filed under: Oceans, photography | Tags: beluga whales, Franco Banfi, photography
The Daily Mail has an amazing collection of photographs of Beluga whales at a rehab farm in the freezing waters of Northern Russia’s White Sea. According to the article, “the whales are not endangered but under threat from pollution and loss of habitat.”
This project creates an interesting photo shoot.
“And it’s definitely a case of choosing the short straw for one volunteer who gets to stay above ground in -30C winds, making sure the ice hole doesn’t freeze over and trap the group.”
‘Photographing a story in very cold water can turn into a logistical nightmare,’ admits Franco Banfi (photographer).
Check out all of the images and the entire story as well as Banfi’s website.
Filed under: Moby-Monday, new media | Tags: Matthew Wasteland, Moby-Dick, Penny Arcade, Split Reason, video games
This thing (a mock cover for Moby-Dick, “the literary classic that inspired the epic video game”) reminds me of this thing (a T-shirt featuring a mock screen from an “Ahab vs Dick” video game) and this thing (a mock announcement of a Wii Moby-Dick game) and, sadly, this thing (an essay about why there may never actually be a Moby-Dick video game.) Sigh.
Margaret Guroff is the editor and publisher of Power Moby-Dick.
Filed under: sailing | Tags: 1000 Days at Sea, Mars Ocean Odyssey, Reid Stowe
Remember 1,000 days ago? Probably not. That’s a looooong time.
Well, this Saturday, January 16, 2010 will mark 1,000 days at sea without touching land for Reid Stowe and his Mars Ocean “Odd-@-Sea.” (I’ve written a few times before about this adventure.)
Actually, it just seemed like a few months ago that he left New York Harbor with his greenhorn shipmate, Soanya, on this record setting voyage. Well, she had to get off (I don’t think we need much more explaining about that) which allowed Stowe to shoot for another record, the longest solo sea voyage in history. There seems to be some question about if and how these records will be “officially” recognized but in the end, you have to give credit that the guy perseveres!
What type of man is capable of this type of extreme adventuring? Here’s an interview he did at 800 days that may or may not help answer that question.
If you’re in NYC, there’s a ceremony at South Street Seaport followed by a party at Ryan Maguire’s Ale House this Satuday, January 16, 2010. Unfortunately, Stowe won’t be there because, not surprisingly, he’s somewhere out at sea waiting for better weather before he returns to his homeport of New York.
Fair winds, following seas and a safe passage home!
While traditional publishing is currently “in irons,” here’s a magazine that’s long over due.
Seriously. Sail training and tall ships have always had the challenge of reaching out to wider audiences and educating them about the invaluable life experience. It’s even more difficult to engage young people who would benefit most from sail training. For starters, the term sail training is really not that, well, sexy.
Until now.
Here’s what TALL SHIP SEXY says:
This year, TALL SHIP SEXY Magazine will make its first appearance at the Great Lakes’ tall ship events of 2010. Geared towards tall ship enthusiasts, trainees, and crewmembers age 16-35, the goal of the magazine is to make tall ships and tall ship sailing more accessible and appealing to the diverse world in which we live.
With its youthful and glamorous (but honest) spin on all things tall ship, TALL SHIP SEXY does what no other publication is doing to date. We provide an inside look at the crewmembers, the lifestyle, and the vessels of the industry. We will gain readership due to the magazine’s voyeuristic appeal; articles will include “Crew Bunks: See what is kept hidden during tall ship tours” and “What to pack When there’s not Enough Room: A look at crew gear and necessities”.
While the website doesn’t currently indicate an outright endorsement by the American Sail Training Association, it does highlight some facts and figures of the TALL SHIPS CHALLENGE Series which will be the site for TALL SHIP SEXY’s launch this summer.
TALL SHIP SEXY magazine has a website and a Facebook page. A couple of young professional mariners are currently profiled on the website, giving us a sneak peak of what lies on the horizon for the magazine. It’s no secret that this type of feature is an effective way to attract new young readers or customers; just take a glance at the magazine rack at your local Barnes & Noble.
TALL SHIP SEXY magazine claims to be the first magazine of its kind, but Captain Kim Carver’s Jack Tar Magazine has sailed similar uncharted maritime publishing waters and her Sexy Women of Maritime Calendars (PG-13) showed us that thankfully not all tall ships sailors look like this.
Fair winds, following seas, good luck and great success in this sea-venture!
Filed under: maritime
Here’s a fun parody of this blog and my company’s namesake, Sea-Fever by John Masefield.
I must go down to the seas again, where the billows romp and reel,
So all I ask is a large ship that rides on an even keel,
And a mild breeze and a broad deck with a slight list to leeward,
And a clean chair in a snug nook and a nice, kind steward.I must go down to the seas again, the sport of wind and tide,
As the grey wave and the green wave play leapfrog over the side.
And all I ask is a glassy calm with a bone-dry scupper,
A good book and a warm rug and a light, plain supper.I must go down to the seas again, though there I’m a total loss,
And can’t say which is worst: the pitch, the plunge, the roll, the toss.
But all I ask is a safe retreat in a bar well tended,
And a soft berth and a smooth course till the long trip’s ended.Arthur_Guiterman (1871-1943)
According to Wikipedia, Guiterman was an American writer best known for his humorous poems. He was born of American parents in Vienna, graduated from the College of the City of New York in 1891, and was married in 1909 to Vida Lindo. He was an editor of the Woman’s Home Companion and the Literary Digest. In 1910, he cofounded the Poetry Society of America, and later served as its president in 1925-26.
Poets’ Opportunities Greater than Ever Before; Arthur Guiterman Tells How to Make a Living Out of Verse and Gives a List of Don’ts for Aspiring Poets ;- Advises Writing on Topical Themes (PDF) New York Times, November 28, 1915
Filed under: Moby-Monday, storytelling | Tags: Blair Thomas, Michael Smith, Moby-Dick, Tim Vermeulen
Chicago does Melville this month as artist Tim Vermeulen, known for his “obsessive self-portraiture,” exhibits paintings based on iconic passages of Moby-Dick, a book the show’s description calls “one of the strangest productions in the history of all the arts.” Vermeulen’s paintings are on display at Chicago’s Packer Schopf Gallery through February 13.
Meanwhile, puppeteer Blair Thomas and singer/songwriter Michael Smith will present a new “chamber puppet cantata” version of the book at Millennium Park January 28 through 30. This marks the first time your none-too-hardy correspondent has ever wanted to visit Chicago during January.
Margaret Guroff is the editor and publisher of Power Moby-Dick.
Filed under: life, maritime, maritime heritage | Tags: boat building, Lawrence W. Cheek, New York Times, Rocking the Boat
That’s what Lawrence W. Cheek, a writer from Whidbey Island, WA says how a friend describes “the long days of deadly tedious filling and sanding” the hull (fairing) of his current boat building project.
Cheek wrote a great Preoccupations column for the January 9, 2010 New York Times (Finding an Answer in Rough Seas) about the benefits of building a boat other than having a boat at the end of the process. He calls it a “post graduate seminar in character building.”
It works pretty good for youth too!
Filed under: FotoFriday, maritime, photography | Tags: FotoFriday, Tim Ruttledge, Tim's Times
The above photo was taken by Captain Tim Ruttledge. Here’s what he wrote on his Flickr page which is a place the you should visit because he’s a talented photographer:
Snow storm off the coast of Utsira, Norway last night. The wind was blowing a gale into the bargain and we were rolling like a dog on wet grass, I fired up the starboard searchlight to check the main deck and saw a lot of wet snow flakes flying towards me, tried to catch the effect on a longish exposure.
Tim also has a great blog called Tim’s Times and you can read a little more about this photo there too. Snow, storms and seasickness (December 25, 2009)
I’m sure that you’ve all read Moby-Dick. Right? OK, maybe not entirely. But this weekend you have the chance to have it read to you.
Sail on over to the New Bedford Whaling Museum and put down an anchor (because this book takes a while to get through) and experience the 14th Annual Moby-Dick Marathon!
The Whaling Museum’s blog, which is conveniently titled Whaling Museum blog, has lots of fresh chum on the upcoming weekend. Check it out.
However, those of you who make the journey from afar, should be forewarned that you will unfortunately not be able to hop aboard the world’s largest ship model, the Whaleship Lagoda. The room that serves as her berth is currently under renovation. This is reason enough to schedule another trip to this great maritime museum.
Since you you’ll literally be missing the boat, why not cross the street and visit one of the most historically important buildings in New Bedford, the Seamen’s Bethel, and sit in the pew that Melville frequented and dream about going to sea in ships. I’m on the board of this great old institution, the New Bedford Port Society, whose mission involves “the moral improvement of seamen.” Sounds like one of those never ending jobs to me.
While the Whaling Museum is offering you a whole white whale weekend, Sea-Fever brings you Moby-Monday every week of the year thanks to Meg Guroff from PowerMobyDick. So if you have a whale-like appetite for Melville’s classic, make sure you stop by here every Monday morning. You won’t be disappointed!
