Category: maritime

The Blink of an Eye – Building Boats with Kids (video)

Jamestown Distributors and Off Center Harbor.com produced this great video about building boats with kids. It’s definitely worth watching and is guaranteed to generate a smile or two. Enjoy.

Ever wonder how big ships deal with big storms like Hurricane Sandy?

Yesterday I posted about the sinking of the much beloved HMS Bounty during Hurricane Sandy and the tragic loss of one of her crew. The US Coast Guard continues the search for her popular Captain, Robin Walbridge who remains missing as of this post.

In case you ever wondered how big ships deal with big storms here’s an interesting video from Maersk Lines that explains their process.

Flag dip to gCaptain.com

Sad Day: Loss of the HMS Bounty and two of her professional mariners

Early this morning news broke that the HMS Bounty was caught in Hurricane Sandy on her trip south and foundered in heavy weather. Fourteen of her 16 crew members were able to make it into life rafts and were ultimately rescued by the US Coast Guard. Here is an incredible video of this operation.

This is a sobering reminder of the incredible dangers of going to sea. There have been so many tragic losses of tall ships and sail training professionals over the past decade and it’s difficult to process a loss like this. Not enough is known about what transpired about the Bounty in her final moments but two experienced captains have weighed in wondering why the ship ever took to sea in advance of a storm like Sandy. Local captain baffled by HMS Bounty accident and Picton Castle captain questions Bounty being at sea during storm.

So our thoughts and prayers go out to the families of Claudene Christian who died today and Captain Robin Walbridge who is still missing as I write this post.

Finally, the sad news is somewhat offset by the good news that we still have real life heroes today. US Coast rescue swimmers risk it all, accomplishing incomprehensible feats under mind-boggling conditions.  While everyone else is advised to stay out of harms way, they are willing to jump into it save lives. They are true heroes and we can’t thank them enough for what they do, all in a days work.

 

“If we don’t do anything, it will be forgotten”

Seventy five years since his last visit, Samuel Nevins tours the Charles W. Morgan being restored in Mystic Seaport.

My favorite line: “Without a comfortable wife, you don’t have a life.”

Google Doodle Celebrates Moby-Dick’s 161st Berthday Plus Listen to the Big Read!

 

 

We love Moby-Dick at Sea-Fever so it was fun to stumble upon Google’s Doodle celebrating the 161st birthday of it’s publication in England. We can celebrate again next month because it was published in the US on November 14, 1851!

As a present to Sea-Fever readers, here’s the 1st chapter of the Moby-Dick Big Read. Here’s what’s that’s all about:

…an online version of Melville’s magisterial tome: each of its 135 chapters read out aloud, by a mixture of the celebrated and the unknown, to be broadcast online in a sequence of 135 downloads, publicly and freely accessible.

They started posting a chapter a day on Sept. 16, 2012. Tilda Swinton spins an awesome yarn in Chapter 1 – Loomings. There are many other interesting readers and the artwork on the website is definitely worth a visit.

Of course, if you need any help deciphering Melville’s lexicon, there’s no better place to go than Meg Guroff’s awesome PowerMobyDick website.

 

Ghost of the Titanic?

Today marks the 100th anniversary of the sinking of the Titanic. Here’s an amazing image by Swiss light artist Gerry Hofstetter projected onto an iceberg.

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Closer to home, this plaque is affixed to the side of a house across the street from where we live.

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Francis Davis Millet was an extraordinary man. Here’s his entry on Encyclopedia Titanica.

The Amazing Men That Salvage Large Ships (video)

As the Costa Concordia sits on her side a stones throw from the Italian shore, here’s a great short video from Wired that profiles the men that undertake these types of massive salvage operations. The accompanying article is a must read too.

High Tech Cowboys of the Deep Seas: The Race to Save the Cougar Ace Wired February 25, 2008

New Bedford Whaling Museum’s 16th Moby-Dick Marathon

It’s that time of year again. The Moby-Dick Marathon is about to get underway at the New Bedford Whaling Museum this weekend.

There’s lots on scheduled but the heart and soul of the event is the nonstop reading of the American classic. It starts at noon on Saturday, January 7 and if you want a real treat, a little before 1:30 PM get a “berth” at the Seamen’s Bethel across the street and have an authentic Melville experience. Melville’s pew is in the back left of the church.

Moby-Dick Marathon Weekend Schedule of Events

Friday, January 6
5:30 p.m.: Ticketed buffet dinner and cash bar, Jacobs Family Gallery.
7:15 p.m.: Public lecture, “Moby-Dick in American Popular Culture,” with Dr. Timothy Marr, Cook Memorial Theater.

Saturday, January 7
10:00 a.m.: Stump the Scholars II, Cook Memorial Theater.
11:30 a.m.: Moby-Dick “Extracts,” Bourne Building.
12:00 noon: Moby-Dick Marathon begins, Bourne Building.
1:30 p.m. (approx.): Chapters 7– 9 in the Seamen’s Bethel with tenor Jonathan Boyd.
2:30 p.m. (approx.): Marathon continues, Jacobs Family Gallery.
3:00-5:00 p.m.: Chat with a Melville scholar, Wattles Family Gallery.
3:00-5:00 p.m.: “Imaging Moby!” tour with Dr. Robert Wallace, Centre Street Gallery.
7:00 p.m. (approx.): Chapter 35 to Chapter 40. “Midnight, Forecastle” performed by Culture*Park, Cook Memorial Theater.
8:00 p.m. (approx.): Marathon continues, Jacobs Family Gallery.

Sunday, January 8
1:00 p.m. (approx.): Marathon concludes with the Epilogue.

Ongoing related exhibits: “Imagining Moby!,” “Visualizing Melville” and the 1956 Moby-Dick publicity panels. Moby-Dick slide show, Cook Memorial Theater.