The Internet is full of fascinating stuff. No matter where your interests may lie, you can find blogs and websites that entertain and educate. A Shipwright in Training: from psychologist to boatbuilder is one of those blogs that I enjoy reading so I’d thought I’d share it here.
Continue reading A Shipwright in Training: from psychologist to boatbuilder (blog)
Here’s a 2 minute music video/ad for the Tall Ships Youth Trust that does a good job of capturing the sail training experience. (The Sailing Channel via YouTube) Enjoy.
Technorati tags: Tall Ships Youth Trust, sail training
In stark contrast to what happens to many old ships, as recently reported here by gCaptain.com, today’s NY Times (September 8, 2007) has a great story and slideshow about the second life of a 69 year old former oil tanker, Mary A. Whalen, as the stage for Puccini’s opera Il Tabarro. “Don’t Rock the Boat; Opera in Progress” was written by Melena Rzik with great photos by Michael Nagle.
Both Ms. Salguero (the director of PortSide New York, a nonprofit company that owns the Mary A. Whalen and promotes the Red Hook waterfront) and the owners of American Stevedoring, which provides a free berth for the Whalen were eager to help, as a way to remind New Yorkers that there is a working port in their midst. In addition, said Matt Yates, the company’s director of commercial operations, “it’s such a cool idea.”
Not only does the former tanker serve as the set, but some of the actors have some interesting credentials as well.
World’s Best Logos and Brands blog did a brief history of the logo for APL, formerly known as American President Lines. They write:
Because of the international nature of trade, transportation company logos are every bit as significant as national flags. Even as recently as 50 years ago, steamships were the lifeline for many remote parts of the world, and people relied heavily on the services offered by shipping companies like APL and its predecessors.
Today in 1866 marked the finish of one of the great sailing ship races ever. From the UK Tea Council website:
The greatest and most famous clipper race took pace in 1866. 10 clippers bound for London set out from Fouchow on 28 May. Fastest away were Taeping, Fiery Cross and Serica, but Ariel swiftly gained on them. So evenly matched were these four ships and their crews that the clippers were frequently within sight of each other as they raced across the Indian Ocean, round the Cape of Good Hope and north across the great Atlantic.
The former Russian submarine K-77, aka Juliett 484, had been operating as a museum in downtown Providence, RI since 2002 when it was swamped by a powerful storm that swept through the region on April 17, 2007. (Where the Russian sub used to be: The floating museum succumbs to the storm’s battering and sinks – Projo.com – April 18, 2007)
FOX News reporter Laura Ingle posted “Sunken Submarine Becomes Training Ground for Army and Navy Divers” on her blog, Laura’s Lowdown.
Regularly updated website of the salvage progress. Check out the recent photos of the Army and Navy divers’ efforts as well as some photos of the sub’s current predicament. Continue reading US Army and Navy rescuing sunken Russian submarine
One of the most dramatic and photographic maritime casualties in recent years involved the Pasha Bulker which ended up on the Nobby’s Beach in Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia. I hadn’t been able to find footage of the successful salvage efforts until late the other night. Check it out.
According to Today in Literature’s website, 400 years ago today, William Shakespeare’s Hamlet “was performed on board the merchant ship “Red Dragon,” anchored off the coast of Sierra Leone. Scholars regard this amateur, one-show-only production by the ship’s crew as the first staging of a Shakespearean play outside of Europe, one that predates any New World Hamlet by about 150 years. Even if all went “trippingly on the tongue,” it is anyone’s guess what sense the bard’s most puzzling play could have made to the four local chiefs who attended the premiere — with filed teeth, nose rings, tattoos in the shape of exotic animals, and no English.” (Some things don’t change; this sounds like your average freshman literature class!)
The rest of this interesting article can be read here.
Thanks to Coudal Partners.
Not sure how I missed this vessel in the past, but the Schooner Martha turned 100 this year. That’s an incredible milestone!
Here’s a link to a great Seattle Times article by Eric Sorensen entitled Couple work to keep century-old schooner afloat.
Owned and operated by the Schooner Martha Foundation, this grand old vessel has a rich history which included actor James Cagney as an owner. Her current stewards are Robert and Holly Kays d’Arcy, a couple from Port Townsend, WA.
William Yardley wrote an interesting article in today’s NY Times (September 4, 2007) entitled “Bringing the Oceans to the World” in High Tech.
“This is a mission to Planet Ocean,” said Mr. Delaney, a professor at the University of Washington. “This is a NASA-scale mission to basically enter the Inner Space, and to be there perpetually. What we’re doing is bringing the ocean to the world.”
Technorati tags: NY Times, oceanography, marine science
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