WHAT?!

First of all, any seaman, military or commercial, can tell you there is no heckler known as the “Filipino Monkey“. Rather it’s a phrase that’s been uttered anonymously by thousands of mariners for decades. This harassing radio call with racial origins is made over the radio when a sailor hears the distinct accent of a Filipino mariner on the VHF radio.

Why you may ask?

Mostly out of boredom but also for the simple reason that it is sure to get a heated response.

It also happens to be the bane of every Watch Officer’s existence; a joke that is no longer funny but refuses to die. Tim’s Times gave us the details behind this heckle back in September 2008:

The two tone alarm has gone again and this time it’s a pan pan from La Coruna Radio, other side of the Bay of Biscay. You wouldn’t mind so much if it was just the official users of VHF and MF radio that you had to contend with, but oh no there is every manner of animal sound, and jungle noise on the VHF from people who should not be on the radio, let alone a ship. One moron was calling out, “Gorilla from Manila, and Filipino monkey” my watchman who is from Manila laughed and said that it is often Indian’s who call this out to provoke a response from Filipinos, who say “Indian I can’t see you, but I can smell you”. So childish and these guys are in charge of ships, frightening, and these days it is all being recorded, so you must be dealing with stupidity, says a lot for the profession….

Boing Boing tells us;

Indeed, the voice in the audio sounds different from the one belonging to an Iranian officer shown speaking to the cruiser, USS Port Royal over a radio from a small open boat in the video released by Iranian authorities. He is shown in a radio exchange at one point asking the U.S. warship to change from the common bridge-to-bridge channel 16 to another channel, perhaps to speak to the Navy without being interrupted…

“For 25 years there’s been this mythical guy out there who, hour after hour, shouts obscenities and threats,” he said. “He could be tied up pierside somewhere or he could be on the bridge of a merchant ship.”

And the Monkey has stamina.

“He used to go all night long. The guy is crazy,” he said. “But who knows how many Filipino Monkeys there are? Could it have been a spurious transmission? Absolutely.”

Initially I was shocked that a Navy ship, or any ship, could not have known the taunt was a joke. This is seamanship 101. I clearly remember having the taunt whispered in my ear by an upperclassmen during my plebe year that the Naval Academy and by the time I received my officers license I had heard it hundreds of time. How could the officers of the cruiser Port Royal not know this was a common joke? I’m admitting still confused but after hearing the audio file I must say it doesn’t sound like the typical ‘Filipino Monkey’ taunt.

I’ll give the last comment to the cruise ship captain quoted by the Navy Times since it’s both accurate and contains good advice to mariners:

“It was just a gut feeling, something the merchants did. Guys would get bored, one guy hears it, comes back a year later and does it for himself,”

The former skipper noted that he warned his crew about hecklers when preparing to transit Hormuz. “I tell them they’ll hear things on there that will be insulting,” he said. “You tell your people that you’ll hear things that are strange, insulting, aggravating, but you need to maintain a professional posture.”

A civilian mariner with experience in that region said the Filipino Monkey phenomenon is worldwide, and has been going on for years.

“They come on and say ‘Filipino Monkey’ in a strange voice. They might say it two or three times. You’re standing watch on bridge and you’re monitoring Channel 16 and all of a sudden it comes over the radio. It can happen anytime. It’s been a joke out there for years.”

While it happens all over the world, it’s more likely to occur around the Strait of Hormuz because there is so much shipping traffic, he said.

You can watch the Iranian video at EagleSpeak.

The Captain’s Christmas: Cartoon; MGM/United Features Syndicate.
Originally Released on December 17, 1938

…The Captain is going to surprise the kids by dressing as Santa Claus, but the peg-legged pirate villain, John, takes his place. However, John and his wacky henchman get into the spirit, giving the Captain and the kids a Christmas Eve celebration that brings down the house- on their heads…

The Big Cartoon Database: Watch The Captain’s Christmas On Video »

Ice-bound Russian ships wrecked off Kamchatka »

Aral: the sea that vanished overnight »

The Art of cartoonist Kurt Schaffenberger; The Aquaman Story » (via grottu)

Military divers to help clear undersea tires in Fort Lauderdale »

Having cleared harbors and assessed dam safety in Iraq, a team of military divers is likely to come to Fort Lauderdale to work on an environmental mess inflicted on South Florida in the 1970s.

Broward County has requested the return of Army and Navy divers to haul up thousands of waste tires that had been dumped off Broward County in a failed attempt to create artificial reefs. Previous operations brought up about 72,000 tires before being suspended as divers became busy with the war in Iraq, earthquake rescue in Haiti and other missions.

keep reading (video) »

Snapped in the Sea: Underwater Photo Winners

Makassar, Sulawesi Island, Indonesia: Once the world most busiest port and center of global spice merchants, the port of Makassar is not used much anymore.

National Geographic: winners of global photography contest »

Remembering the Christmas Whale from
A Cape Cod Notebook on WGBH (via thingsihappentolike)

St. Mary’s College of Maryland staff wave farewell Sunday to the Sea Voyager, which housed 240 SMCM students for almost two months. STORY ON BAYNET »

St. Mary’s floating dormitory sets sail »

Officials at St. Mary’s College of Maryland announced Monday that the Sea Voyager, a 286-foot cruise ship that served as an impromptu residence hall for 240 students, had returned to sea.

So ends a unique experiment in waterfront living. Students at Maryland’s public liberal arts school spent nearly two months housed in cabins on the idle ship, as college leaders repaired their mold-sullied dormitories on land.

• also: Maryland college says goodbye to cruise ship dorm (USA Today)

German POWs carrying body of American soldier killed in Battle
of Bulge through snowy Ardennes field

Vivid new Battle of the Bulge photos offer never-before-seen look at the war-weary soldiers braving the frigid weather as they fight off Nazi Germany’s last major offensive of World War II »

Breathtaking new photographs, including several vivid full-color images, offer a never-before-seen look at the war-weary soldiers in the Battle of the Bulge who fought through the frozen Ardennes Forest in a mountainous region of Belgium in the dead of winter.

They show soldiers on both sides battling the frigid weather as they fought each other during Nazi Germany’s last-ditch effort to drive back Allied forces between December 1944 and January 1945. The pictures were released by Life Magazine on the 67th anniversary of the start of the grueling battle. –via greatestgeneration

go see »

Ship Sunk 4 Centuries Ago Virtually Reconstructed In 3-D

Sunk in 1606, the Portuguese merchant ship Nossa Senhora dos Martires is sailing again — in 3-D presently but perhaps one day in reality. If the cyber-replicated vessel ever does hit the high seas, the way will have been paved by the research of a persevering Texas A&M University nautical archaeologist combined with the high-tech applied study of a graduate student well versed in computer-based visualization techniques.

more »

Poster forSergei Eisenstein‘s October (1927); Posters of the Stenberg Brothers »

IMDb: October (Ten Days that Shook the World): In documentary style, events in Petrograd are re-enacted from the end of the monarchy in February of 1917 to the end of the provisional government and the decrees of peace and of land in November of that year. Lenin returns in April. In July, counter-revolutionaries put down a spontaneous revolt, and Lenin’s arrest is ordered. By late October, the Bolsheviks are ready to strike: ten days will shake the world. While the Mensheviks vacillate, an advance guard infiltrates the palace. Anatov-Oveyenko leads the attack and signs the proclamation dissolving the provisional government.

Love at Sea by Cassia Lupo (via thingsihappentolike)

Rambles Through our Country – Children’s Map (1890) originally posted to the BIG Map Blog.

Brooklyn Bridge by Currier and Ives (1885) originally posted to the BIG Map Blog.

Chevalier map of San Francisco (1912)

see also:

• Map of Proposed and Operational Telegraph Lines (1855)
• Los Angeles – the wonder city of America (1934)

The Neptune on Penfeld River, c. 1892, by Edmond Chagot

The Neptune was an ironclad battleship of the French Navy. She served in the Mediterranean squadron until 1898, when she was used as a school ship, and as a hulk from February 1908, and was was eventually sunk as target off Cherbourg.

see also: Le Neptune (via myoctoberrevolution)

New Orleans: Showing Mississippi excursion boat The President, c 1955 »

Gottfried Franz – Munchhausen Underwater (via mudwerks)

Sea Gull in Heavy Seas by Alfred T. Agate

On August 18, 1838, six United States Navy ships left Norfolk, Virginia on an expedition to the South Pacific. On board were 424 officers and crewmen and nine scientists, setting off on a mission to explore and survey the islands of that region, investigate their commercial potential, and assert American power.

Lieutenant Charles Wilkes commanded the expedition. At the time of his appointment he was in charge of the Depot of Charts and Instruments at Washington, D.C., an organization now known as the Naval Observatory.

Being a peaceful expedition of discovery, the ships were stripped of heavy armament and its space was given over to scientific exploration. The nine civilian scientists, referred to as the “scientifics” by the sailors, were tasked with observing and describing the resources of the various islands.

These men were among the most able in their fields: James D. Dana, Minerologist, Charles Pickering, Naturalist, Joseph P. Couthouy, Conchologist, Horatio C. Hale, Ethnographer, William Rich, Botanist, William D. Brackenridge, Horticulturalist, Titan Ramsay Peale, Naturalist, and Joseph Drayton and Alfred Agate, the two artists, or “draughtsmen.”

keep reading on thingsihappentolike »

Captain John Gray’s parents grave in Old Calton burial ground in Edinburgh (by Stephen Callaghan) – via darknightatsea

Cable Laying Ship Giulio Verne by NJ Photographer

Chinese Navy Hospital Ship “Peace Ark” – November 8, 2011

Peace Ark Ship (Set: 27)

It’s a time-honored tradition at Navy homecomings – one lucky sailor is chosen to be first off the ship for the long-awaited kiss with a loved one. Today, for the first time, the happily reunited couple was gay.

The dock landing ship Oak Hill has been gone for nearly three months, training with military allies in Central America. As the homecoming drew near, the crew and ship’s family readiness group sold $1 raffle tickets for the first kiss. Petty Officer 2nd Class Marissa Gaeta bought 50 – which is actually fewer than many people buy, she said, so she was surprised Monday to find out she’d won.

Her girlfriend of two years, Petty Officer 3rd Class Citlalic Snell, was waiting when she crossed the brow. They kissed. The crowd cheered. And with that, another vestige of the policy that forced gays to serve in secrecy vanished.

–By Corinne Reilly; The Virginian-Pilot © December 21, 2011

Video report on You Tube »

cryptofwrestling

H.P. Lovecraft by Sean Phillips (via dirtyriver)

Some great gag cartoons from a very well-worn copy of SEX REARS ITS LOVELY HEAD, “a rib-splitting collection of cartoons about the biological urge assembled from the best of America’s foremost family magazines,” edited by Jerome Beatty, Jr. Copyright 1956 by Bantam Books, Inc.

Mike Lynch Cartoons: SEX REARS ITS LOVELY HEAD edited by Jerome Beatty, Jr.

Coast Guard releases Top 10 videos of 2011, announces Video of the Year contest »

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Coast Guard announced Wednesday the release of its Top 10 video compilation for 2011, highlighting the year’s most compelling cases from the work done every day by America’s Coast Guard.

The Coast Guard also announced its 2011 Video of the Year contest in which the public is invited to vote for their favorite video. The contest begins Thursday, with voting open through Jan. 13, 2012. Starting Thursday, and continuing through Dec. 31, the Coast Guard’s official blog, the Coast Guard Compass, will publish one of the Top 10 videos each day including commentary from a service member who participated in the mission. Voting for the 2011 Video of the Year will remain open through Jan. 13, 2012, so each video will have ample opportunity to be “Liked.”

Each day of the contest people may vote for their favorite videos by choosing “Like” on the Coast Guard’s Facebook page or on the Coast Guard’s YouTube 2011 Videos of the Year playlist.

more on the 1790 blog

Beaver Harbour, New Brunswick — Original (3767 x 5079)
On the Bay of Fundy, 1955. The illustrator’s signature appears to read “Hames Hill”.

The Schneider Trophy Contest 1929 – official programme cover

A stirring front cover from the 1929 Schneider Trophy Contest souvenir programme that was produced by Gale & Polden (a major publisher of thing military in Aldershot) on behalf of the organisers the Royal Aero Club. The competition to take the coverted trophy took place over a course across the Solent on England’s south coast as illustrated here. It really captures the feeling of excitement that flight had in peoples imaginations at the time – fast, sleek seaplanes speeding through the skies!

Original (4308 x 5862)

Clovelly harbour and village, Devon

Clovelly was a working herring-fishing port before its scenic charms started to attract sightseers in the 19th century. Reaching the town was difficult for paddle steamers, whose passengers had to be carried ashore by rowing boats. As this photograph shows, the village is built on a cliff, and the High Street, known locally as ‘Up-a-long’ and ‘Down-a-long’, is one of the steepest streets in England. Photo circa 1906

grottu

The story behind the French navy pompom onI See Stripes

A Girl in Every Port; German Navy Postcards

Two 17 cm/40 (6.75″) guns on SMS Deutschland

Kaiserliche Marine: German Imperial Navy Postcards, Set 42

vintage postcard – SMS Deutschland and SMS Gefion. Arrival at Kiautschou Bay, 1899

• from Imperial Germany in China »
• another view: SMS Deutschland + SMS Gefion

SMS Deutschland + SMS Gefion3

SMS Deutschland postcard on MaritimeQuest

Torpedo Boat Crew / Torpedo Division 1. Photographed at Wilhelmshaven, original postcard dated 24th November 1914 (worldnavalships.com)

The Deutschland; LIFE magazine 1939 — Original (3815 x 5188)

Real photo of the German Imperial Navy / Deutsche Kreigsmarine ship SMS Deutschland

Our beloved beneath-the-sea behemoth battles Krampus, the Anti-Santa, to help keep your Christmas Merry. Happy Holidays from The Kraken Rum. (kraken-research)

Happy Boxing Day!

Few Americans have any inkling that there even is such a thing as Boxing Day, let alone what the reason might be for a holiday so named. And even though Boxing Day is celebrated in Australia, Britain, New Zealand, and Canada, not all Gift that many people in those countries have much of a notion as to why they get the 26th of December off.

The holiday’s roots can be traced to Britain, where Boxing Day is also known as St. Stephen’s Day. Reduced to the simplest essence, its origins are found in a long-ago practice of giving cash or durable goods to those of the lower classes. Gifts among equals were exchanged on or before Christmas Day, but beneficences to those less fortunate were bestowed the day after.

And that’s about as much as anyone can definitively say about its origin because once you step beyond that point, it’s straight into the quagmire of debated claims and dueling folklorists. One of the more elaborate versions of this origin involve boxes kept on sailing ships:

The title has been derived by some, from the box which was kept on board of every vessel that sailed upon a distant voyage, for the reception of donations to the priest — who, in return, was expected to offer masses for the safety of the expedition, to the particular saint having charge of the ship — and above all, of the box. The box was not to be opened until the return of the vessel; and we can conceive that, in cases where the mariners had had a perilous time of it, this casket would be found to enclose a tolerable offering. The mass was at that time called Christmass, and the boxes kept to pay for it were, of course, called Christmass-boxes. The poor, amongst those who had an interest in the fate of these ships, or of those who sailed in them, were in the habit of begging money from the rich, that they might contribute to the mass boxes; and hence the title which has descended to our day, giving to the anniversary of St Stephen’s martyrdom the title of Christmas-boxing day, and, by corruption, its present popular one of Boxing Day.

more on Snopes

sovietpostcards: Happy New Year postcard by T. Sazonova and Yu. Prytkov (1964)

Merry Pirate Christmas by Phredd »

Uke Hunt Podcast #12 by bossa – via feastingonroadkill

The Swashbuckling Bearded Old Man of Christmas and his marauding band of famous shipmates follow their map to Christmas Treasure.

Monkey Fist

Monkey Fist is a smack-talking, potty mouthed, Yankee hating, Red Sox fan in Baltimore, Maryland.  In addition to compiling Maritime Monday, she blogs about nautical art, history, and marine science on Adventures of the Blackgang.

Submit story ideas, news links, photographs, or items of interest to her at MM@gcaptain.com.  She can also out-belch any man.

sussex / hastings: blessing of the sea – Anything Goes England; vintage postcards; LARGE

Fog Signalling at Sea – A postcard from “The Star Series – G.D. & D., London”.- Postmarked Hadleigh, Suffolk on 30 Dec. 1906

Cigarette Card – Disembarking Mail at Sea | Ogden’s Cigarettes “Royal Mail” (series of 50 issued in 1909) see also; click forward for entire set

4CP | Four Color Process

British Railways – British Transport Catering – Cornish Riviera Express train, 1962 »

Gas bag vehicles were built during World War One and (especially) World War Two in France, the Netherlands, Germany and England as an improvised solution to the shortage of gasoline. Apart from automobiles, buses and trucks were also equipped with the technology. The vehicles consumed ‘town gas’ or ‘street gas’, a by-product of the process of turning coal into cokes (which are used to make iron).

Gas Bag Vehicles »

Oh, There You Are… The latest from One Eighteen »

Mass Whale Hunting in Faroe Islands Leave Sea Blood Red

Being an autonomous province of Denmark, where whaling is banned, the Faroe Islands’ laws allow the mass slaughter of pilot whales, beaked whales and dolphins to observe the annual tradition. Whaling in the Faroe Islands in the North Atlantic has been practiced since about the time of the first Norse settlements on the islands. The meat and blubber of pilot whales have long been a part of the islanders’ national diet.  MORE »

Darwin Beer Can Regatta »

Roman Polanski’s Neptune »

Massive galleon from a box-office bomb docked in Genoa; Tunisian-built rig is docked in the Port of Genoa, where its looming rigging towers over modern Italian boats. MORE »

• see also: Rubjerg Knude Lighthouse »

Kennebec Captain: Moneyball and Safety Management Systems

In this post I  connect the book Moneyball with shipboard SMS (Safety Management Systems).

Moneyball, (stealing from Wikipedia) “is a book about the Oakland Athletics baseball team and its general manager Billy Beane The premise of the books is that the collected wisdom of baseball insiders  is subjective and often flawed.”

Shipboard, the process is the Safety Management System which  are: “instructions and procedures to ensure safe operation of ships” -  there’s more to it of course but that’s the heart of it…

KEEP READING »

Patterns of sea stars as exquisite mosaics, attractive, and each time is different. Cambodia (Photo and caption by Andrey Narchuk/Nature/National Geographic Photo Contest); Big Picture »

• go looky »
• See also: The Rime of the Ancient Mariner » - Iron Maiden: “Old English Geezers interpreting even older English geezer’s epic poetry about spooky maritime stuff”.
• Octopus Sends Dead Crab as Warning to Humanity » (be sure to read the comments)

…First he bought a written-off tug and hired craftsmen to rebuild it totally. Only engines and bottom of the old ship remained which will be substituted as well because old engines of the Soviet times occupy a lot of space… The ship belongs to Aleksandr Ktitorchuk who is one of the most famous photographers of Ukraine. People from showbiz and world of fashion know the person well enough… The ship is often hired by people who want to celebrate meaningful events of their life…

Awesome Ship In the Harbor of Kiev »

Yank Skipper Who Led Sumatra’s Riverboat Oil Pirates »

Bob Bartlett and local inhabitant aboard ship during Bartlett’s Arctic Expedition, 1933 »

• Smithsonian Institution Archives; Field Books of Waldo LaSalle Schmitt (1887-1977) »

General George Campbell of Inverneill CB., Esquire, sometime a Major General in the Honourable East India Company’s service »

Destroying Chinese war junks, by E. Duncan (1843) – The iron steam ship HMS Nemesis, commanded by Lieutenant W. H. Hall, with boats from the Sulphur, Calliope, Larne and Starling, destroying the Chinese war junks in Anson’s Bay, on 7 January 1841

Photograph of the East India Company factory in Painam, Sonargaon, Bangladesh, taken by W. Brennand in 1872. Sonargaon was a major producer of the celebrated Dhaka muslins. In the mid-17th century the East India Company established several factories in the district for exporting muslin. Company rule in India »

Chromolithograph, “Indigo factory, Bengal,” (1867) from William Simpson’s ‘India: Ancient and Modern’. Bengal was the world’s largest producer of indigo in the 19th century. Company rule in India »

Photograph titled, “Head of Ganges Canal, Hardwar” taken by Samuel Bourne in 1860, but published in 1895, showing the headworks of the Ganges Canal in Haridwar, India.  FULL SIZE »

Ceremonial barge or long-boat

Peking Embassy: An embassy from the East-India Company of the United Provinces, to the Grand Tartar Cham, emperor of China: delivered by their excellencies Peter de Goyer and Jacob de Keyzer, at his imperial city of Peking wherein the cities, towns, villages, ports, rivers, &c. in their passages from Canton to Peking are ingeniously described…  MORE »

Men at Work; Mauretania – Boiler room after the conversion to oil burning, 1921. Tyne & Wear Archives & Museum on Flickr

The SS Rohilla was built and launched by Harland and Wolff shipbuilders in Belfast. launched on the 6th September 1906, she was delivered to the British Indian Steam Navigation Co. Ltd on 17th November 1906. The SS Rohilla was named after Afghan tribes who had sought refuge in India during the 18th Century.

In 1908 the SS Rohilla entered service as a permanent military. On the 6th August 1914 she was requisitioned as a Hospital ship and became known as the HMHS Rohilla. She was refitted with the necessary equipment and all her passenger accommodation became hospital wards.

HMHS Rohilla departed from Southampton 16th August 1914 and sailed to Scapa Flow to start training. From there, on the 29th October 1914, the Rohilla set sail for what would be her last voyage…

MORE »

Nevasa; Built for British India Steam Navigation by Barclay Curle (Yard No. 498) Launched 26 Dec 1912 and completed 5 March 1913.

On completion she joined her sister ship Neuralia in the Calcutta service until the First World War when she was taken up in August 1914 as a troopship to carry Territorial army soldiers out to India to relieve the regular garrison.

In January 1915 she was converted to a hospital ship with accommodation for 60 wounded and was employed as such until March 1918 with most of her service in this guise being from India to Basra, Suez and East Africa. MORE »

Vallathol (The Shipping Corporation of India) »

Detail from Clyde Shipping Co’s April to May 1904 passenger handbook »

The mid-Victorian paddle steamer at its best: PS Columba, pictured here on a busy day (Paterson Collection) 1878 »

• Exhibition: SCOTLAND BY STEAM (Set: 82)

The puffer Vital Spark 

What is a Puffer? A Clyde Puffer is a steam coaster which could carry cargo and deliver it without needing external equipment to unload it: a mini-bulk carrier.  MORE »

• Scottish Maritime Museum; Puffers and Coasters »

Golden Age Comic Book Stories: Jerry Grandenetti (1926-2010) »

fuckyeahoceancreatures: Ciaran Duffy – The last two captains left on a tiny fishing island take the only boat and set out to hunt the Squiddlepus. Images are gouache paintings cut out and placed on a table, lit, and photographed. See All

grottu

via sailorjunkers

Click here to view the embedded video.

The Seafarers, Sea of Love  – Animated cartoon following the adventure of three sailors as they pursue the elusive “Ivory Mermaid” !!  [4-1/2 minutes] – Episode 2

A Celestial Planisphere, or Map of the Heavens: (Pl. VIII.) Engraved by W.G. Evans under the Direction of E.H. Burritt. Hartford, Published by F.J. Huntington 1835. Entered according to act of Congress Septr. 1st 1835, by F.J. Huntington, of the State of Connecticut. –via fuckyeahcartography

coolchicksfromhistory: There is no such thing as a female viking. The Old Norse term vikingar applied exclusively to men who sailed from Scandinavia for the purpose of raiding or trading. Women only ever sailed for the purpose of establishing new colonies in distant lands; for settlement.

Women in Viking Age society were in charge of the household, and in charge of making certain that food lasted through the winter. When the men were away raiding and trading, women were in charge of the farm. Although women were bound to house and family, they held a great deal of influence in society, often having full control over the distribution of food and clothing.

There is no evidence that female warriors, valkyrie, ever existed outside of mythology. Though women were most likely trained in swordsmanship in order to defend their homes.

BBC: Judith Jesch examines the role women played in the Viking world »

Every Girl Pulling for Victory, Back Up the Boys, Keep Him Smiling, Morale is Winning the War

These chipper slogans grace the 20 posters, handbills, brochures, stickers, song lyrics, newspaper ads, and cartoons found in a United War Work Campaign Scrapbook recently acquired by the John W. Hartman Center for Sales, Advertising & Marketing History. This collection of fundraising and morale-boosting materials was produced for a multi-institutional drive during the final months of World War I.

The campaign coordinated the efforts of seven organizations that had previously managed individual fundraising drives: the YMCA, YWCA, American Library Association, War Camp Community Service, National Catholic War Council (Knights of Columbus), Jewish Welfare Board, and Salvation Army. Each organization would continue to address their traditional demographic or service focus (for example, the Knights of Columbus worked primarily with Catholic communities, and the American Library Association sent books to soldier encampments) while organizing their activities around a central set of promotional messages.

• more »
• United War Work Campaign Scrapbook »

WW2 D-Day Landings Full Boat! »

…The aircraft is a Catalina PBY-5A model and was bought from the US Navy by Thomas W Kendall, a retired businessman who converted it to a luxury flying yacht. In the spring of 1960 Mr Kendall took a pleasure trip around the world with his wife and children together with his secretary and her son. A photographer joined the group to cover part of the trip for life magazine…

• HOW TO BE A RETRONAUT Abandoned Sea Plane »

The Island Of Dead Ships on English Russia

I Sea Stripes – Ho Chi Minh with (East) German Sailors »

via pinupenigma
- header image source valentinovamp -

For allowing Europe to dump it’s religious
loons on you since 1620;

Thank You America.

- via feastingonroadkill -

Monkey Fist

Monkey Fist is a smack-talking, potty mouthed, Yankee hating, Red Sox fan in Baltimore, Maryland.  In addition to compiling Maritime Monday, she blogs about nautical art, history, and marine science on Adventures of the Blackgang. Submit story ideas, news links, photographs, or items of interest to her at MM@gcaptain.com.

She can also out-belch any man.

We recently had to map out all ship types for a client of Unofficial Networks, the maritime consulting arm of gCaptain.  This is only the first draft so I’m sure we forgot a few (let us know in the comments section) and there are debates in regards to some of the categories but we thought you would be interested in this visualization of the data. Click HERE to download the full sized version.

The power and beauty of time lapse photography is rarely as dramatic as when it is shot from a ship. This clip of the Houston Ship Channel, 500 Knots on the Houston Ship Channel is a real pleasure to watch. Portofhouston.com tells us that, The Houston Ship Channel has been a catalyst for growth in Harris County since the first journey of a steamship up Buffalo Bayou in 1837. The ship channel plays a critical role in today’s community as well. It generates jobs and opportunities that allow businesses to flourish. A 2007 study by Martin Associates says ship channel-related businesses support more than 785,000 jobs throughout Texas while generating nearly $118 billion of statewide economic impact. Additionally, more than $3.7 billion in state and local tax revenues are generated by business activities related to the port. It is projected that the Port of Houston will continue to be an important factor as north-south trade expands.

Fred Fry pointed us to this amazing time lapse video by our favorite maritime photographer. Click HERE for the details.

Another amazing Time Lapse video from our friend Lou Vest of the Houston Pilots. You can find more of Lou’s amazing photos on Flickr (link).

A time lapse video made by setting a camera to take photos at six second intervals during a trip outbound on the Houston Ship Channel. I used Quicktime to assemble over 2000 individual photos into a 3 minute movie representing an actual time of over 3 1/2 hours. The ship was only moving at 5-6 knots for the first half of the trip and up to 10 knots in the open areas away from the docks. The journey begins just below the Port of Houston turning basin at the end of the channel and continues down to Morgan’s Point at the head of Galveston Bay. We still had 32 miles to go to get out to the pilot station in the Gulf of Mexico at that point. The ship is a Panamax tanker 600 feet long by 106 feet wide.

The Dream Tanker, one of the largest liquified natural gas (LNG) tankers in the world, now travels in style. Comedian-turned-painter Jimmy Onishi and 40 elementary school students have designed monster-sized psychedelic murals for the ship’s spherical tanks. The total area covered by the murals is large enough to cover 100 buses. The 120,000-ton Dream Tanker, owned by an affiliate of Osaka Gas, measures 289.5 meters (950 feet) long and 49 meters (160 feet) wide. With 4 independent spherical tanks measuring 43 meters (140 feet) in diameter, the tanker can hold up to 67,000 tons of LNG. Osaka Gas decided to decorate the tanker with graphics in celebration of the company’s 100th anniversary. The company asked Kansai-area elementary school students to draw pictures, which Jimmy Onishi then incorporated into his giant images of a fish, crab, shrimp and turtle. Sumitomo 3M Ltd. then used computers to process the images and printed them onto a special adhesive film, which was attached to the tanks. Read More…

Photos from her commissioning in 2006 can be found HERE.

National Theater – Hungary

Japanese Maritime Museum

Concrete Tall Ship Korea

Gerechtsgebouw, Antwerp

The Ship Residence

The Ship Residence – High upon a promontory on South Bass Island in Lake Erie at Put-in-Bay, Ohio, sits the Owners and Captains Quarters of the former Great Lakes Shipping Boat, The Benson Ford. The boat was built by Henry Ford and named after his grandson many years ago. After fifty years of service on the Great Lakes, the Benson Ford was scheduled in 1986 to be scrapped at the Port of Cleveland, Ohio. On the top front section of the boat were the walnut paneled state rooms, dining room, galley, and passenger lounge designed by Henry Ford for his own pleasure while traversing the Great Lakes on business. (Source: Sea-Fever)

Collingwood’s Vessel: a Retirement Home for Elderly Fisherman

Ship Drydock Design – The scheme is a retirement home for elderly fisherman that also houses a working men’s club for members of Newcastle’s fishing community,” Pearson writes. “As a reflection of the separation and torpor of this unique society, the scheme takes the notion of the ship in an architectural context, to create an ersatz environment which interacts with the city around it as if it were a dry docked vessel. The environmental technologies and the ways in which the notional ship has been translated into an architectural system are the focus of this study.” (Source: BLDBLOG)

BIG Maritime Museum Denmark

BIG’s Maritime Museum – BIG [the Bjarke Ingels Group], has recently won a competition [by unanimous decision, even though they apparently didn’t adhere to the design brief - ninjas in true form] to design the Danish Maritime Museum in Helsingør, DK. While searching for an appropriate site for the proposed project, the firm discovered an abandoned 150m long, 25m wide, and 9m deep concrete dry dock within eyesight of Kronborg Castle . (Source: MNY)

The Floating Islands

Floating Islands – A design by Vincent Callebaut Architectures, Floating Islands is a flexible masterplaned multi-energy town. By using current power generators and other green technology this is a futuristic design for green living. Callebaut’s vision is “creation which consists in mixing a scientifical and cultural survey with a computer programmatic approach in order to transcribe in architecture landscape distortions or ecosystem abstractions. Each architectural project at any scale, wants to anticipate through this digital hybridization, the future lifestyles by inventing new imaginary worlds. More poetic worlds. More equitable worlds. More natural worlds. Actually, more humanistic worlds! “

Performing Arts Center, Seoul

Performing Arts Center, Seoul - ” Whereas the orchestra is in rehearsal, we continue our walk towards the places switched by the sound of the soprano and the violins. The both performing rooms of 1500 seats each are megaliths submerging from the floor. They are located at the extremities of the island and each of them is isolated from the road by two blocks gathering together annex functions like workshops and rehearsal rooms, public sanitary, offices and technical spaces. Their double layer of concrete protects the shows from feared sounds of low frequencies coming from the freeway traffic. They are very white and diffuse a extraordinary light ! The roundness of these hulls makes us think of the most beautiful ships and plays with the shadows of the linen seams which projects itself at the surface. ” (Source)

Nantes Slavery Memorial

Nantes Slavery Memorial, France – Bonder + Wodiczko are received an ACSA award for their work on the design of a memorial to the abolition of slavery [Memorial à l’abolition de l’esclavage] in Nantes, France. Visitors to the memorial will walk along an altered landscape, littered with plaques commemorating each ship that carried slaves into Nantes [the plaques will display the name of the ship, the date, the number of slaves on board, and the number of slaves who lost their lives on the voyage]. Having walked along the length of the glass [which you can see actually slips through the ground plane], visitors descend a monumental staircase into a subterranean passage where these three aforementioned witnesses – the river, the quay, and the sky – meet [through the reflection from the glass] in one confined space. (Source: Architecture.MNP)UPDATE: Reader Submissions

Milwaukee Art Museum

Milwaukee Art Museum – The Calatrava-designed Quadracci Pavilion, the first Calatrava-designed building to be completed in the United States, first opened to the public May 4, 2001. On that date the museum opened the new exhibition galleries, larger museum store and auditorium in the Quadracci Pavilion along with the completely renovated and reinstalled permanent collection galleries. (Via Joe Smith)

Canada Place, Vancouver Cruise Ship Terminal

Canada Place -  Constructed for Expo 86 as the pavilion for Canada and was the only venue for the fair that was not at the main site on the north shore of False Creek. It can be reached via the SkyTrain line and the nearby Waterfront Station subway terminus. The striking white sails of the building has made it a prominent landmark for the city, as well as drawing comparisons to the Sydney Opera House in Sydney, Australia. (Google Earth View)

McDonalds Fish Ship – “Alaska Ocean”

If you have ever eaten a McDonald’s Filet-o-fish there is a good chance that it came from the Alaska Ocean. The Alaska Ocean is the largest catcher/processor ship in the U.S. fleet with a capacity to catch and process 300 tons of Alaskan Pollock each day. The Alaska Ocean yearly catch accounts for nearly 40% of commercial caught fish in the U.S.

Alaska Ocean Seafood was established in 1988 for the purpose of processing and marketing seafood products. In 1990, the company commissioned the catcher/processor Alaska Ocean, designed and built specifically to catch and process Alaska pollock and Pacific whiting. At 376 feet, the Alaska Ocean is the largest catcher/processor in the U.S. fleet. atsea.org

Vessel Specifics
C/P Alaska Ocean
Length: 376 feet
Horsepower: 6250
Tonnage: 7419
Crew capacity: 150
Products: Bering Sea pollock and Pacific Whiting surimi and fillet, pollock roe, fishmeal, fish oil

From the gCaptain Archives:

In honor of the EPA’s Pollution Week, let’s take a look at an archived post on Skysails. But first, here is a brief update into the current state of affairs provided by Skysails:

Within the framework of the pilot phase, the SkySails-System is being explored on board the MS “Michael A.” and the MS “Beluga SkySails” during regular shipping operations. Throughout these trials the system’s level of robustness and reliability is first of all being elevated to that demanded by our customers and its suitability for daily use established. Subsequently the system’s performance will be evaluated extensively and optimized.

On both ships – the “Michael A.” and the “Beluga SkySails” – the SkySails-System has been put into operation successfully. The customer vessels remain in regular commercial operation throughout the pilot phase. Initially, two to three SkySails engineers will be aboard of each ship. All components are being long-term tested during use of the SkySails-System on board. The results immediately flow into the process of improving and optimizing the product. Read full update…

On her maiden voyage, the Beluga SkySails set sail to Venezuela from Bremen on January 22, 2008 and reached the Norwegian port of Mo-I-Rana on March 13, 2008 after travelling a total of 11,952 nautical miles.

Archived post originally posted in Jan. ’08.

Three years ago at the World Expo in Aichi Japan SkySails promised a revolutionary design with the ability to reduce fuel consumption aboard ship by up to 24%. Last week the dream became reality. BBC News tells us:

There is something rather magical about being up on deck of a giant cargo ship as it pushes its way out to sea. Ten thousand tonnes of metal heaving through the water, the ship’s giant masts glistening in the winter sun. But there is something even more magical about being aboard MS Beluga SkySails. On the face of it, this vessel – which is carrying parts of a timber production line to Venezuela – looks like any other cargo ship.

MS Beluga SkySails believes its fuel bill will be cut by £800 ($1,560) a day. “We can demonstrate that you can combine economy and ecology,” Verena Frank of Beluga Shipping explains. “Economy, because you can reduce fuel consumption and fuel costs, and on the ecological side of things, we reduce emissions.”

The kite is controlled by computers. One computer helps it to fly in figures of eight in the sky – maximising the power it produces. Another computer adjusts the kite’s direction. If the project is successful, expect to see even bigger kites soon – some up to 5,000sq m (53,820sq ft) in size pulling ships across the seas and oceans. Read More…

Video

Also be sure to watch National Geographic’s Profile of SkySails.

Background

In 2001 skysails started with the development of
the world‘s first practicable towing kite propulsion
system for commercial shipping and luxury yachts.
then after five years of intense developmental work,
the basic research and engineering was completed
near the end of 2005. In early 2006 the final
development phase prior to the market launch of the
skysails-system began on board the approximately
55-meter buoy-laying vessel ms “Beaufort“.
The first skysails-systems are being installed on pi-
lot customer cargo ships in 2007.

Partnership

The MS Beluga SkySails, will carry the first parts of a complete particle board factory from Bemen to Venezuela on behalf of DHL Global Forwarding, the ocean and air freight carrier of the Deutsche Post World Net Group. The multipurpose vessel will set sail early next week. What makes it so special is a new wind propulsion system with a huge towing kite that provides additional thrust for the ship at sea – a sustainable solution for reducing fuel consumption, costs and emissions.

Why

The economic force driving the resurgence of interest in wind power is the rising cost of fuel oil, which has topped $100 a barrel in futures markets. A freighter’s fuel consumption can be cut by 10 percent to 15 percent if a kite is used to pull the ship.

In addition to fuel costs, ship emissions is an important environmental topic for the shipping industry. In a 2007 report published by The Environmental Science and Technology Journal 60,000 deaths per year worldwide were attributed to vessel emissions. The following map charts the annual increase in sulfur emissions in the world’s shipping lanes.

The Technology

(Source: National Post)

(Source: SkySails Brochure)

(Source: BBC News)

Beluga SkySails in the media:

• NPR – Bryant Park Project
• National Geographic Video
• NYTmes Blog Article

The Competition

SkySails is not the only company looking to provide alternative energy solutions to power commercial ships. From solar sails to wing kites various companies worldwide are looking for solutions that will benefit the environment and cut down on high fuel costs. Lets take a look at some of the technology currently being developed.

KiteShip

KiteShip – 2006 was been a good year for the California-based company KiteShip, which makes “very large free-flying sails”— basically, giant traction kites that harness the wind to pull very large free-floating objects. If you’ve ever gone to the beach and seen someone kite-surfing — standing on a board while being pulled by a kite — then you’ve seen a traction kite in action. KiteShip currently sells the Outleader, which helps increase yacht speeds. And it is working to improve the range and the speed of fast ferries and oceangoing research vessels without burning more fuel. Dave Culp, the engineer who helped found KiteShip, calls the three-person operation a “micromultinational.” Read More…

M/V Orcelle

M/V Orcelle – At 820 feet long ‘Orcelle’ is shorter than the Queen Mary 2 (1,132ft) and the QE2 (963ft). The ship is called the E/S Orcelle after the Orcelle Dolphin – the French word for Irrawaddy dolphin, one of the world’s most critically endangered species. The E/S stands for “environmentally sound ship”. The vessel will include a cargo deck the size of 14 football pitches. Wave energy is to be harnessed by 12 dolphin like fins an the ships hull. While, sun and wind energy is collected by three giant rigid wingsails, also covered in solar panels. Read More at SolarNavigator…

Related Links: Green Flagship Homepage | PDF Brochure | Solar Shipping Links

Solar Navigator

M/V Solar Navigator Swath – the Solar Navigator started out as a SWATH design, first exhibited at Earls Court in 1995. Since that time various wave piercing models have been developed and tested, the aim being to improve performance and reduce build costs. Both teams estimate similar travel times. One day it may be possible to travel around the world on solar power, in under 80 days. Jules Verne would have loved this. See also, the Swiss Transatlantic Sun 21 attempt using the almanac below. Read More…

Related Links: Building the SWATH Model | ZDnet Article | CNN Coverage

Magenn Air Generator

Magenn Air Generator - While designed for shore based power stations, not ships, could they one day be repurposed? “

Magenn’s system is a lighter-than-air wind turbine capable of powering a rural village – the 30 metre wide, helium-filled “Air Rotor System” contains a turbine that spins around a horizontal axis and can produce 10 kilowatts of energy as it floats above the ground while attached to a copper tether. Larger models — ones that might power a skyscraper — are also reportedly in the works. The company claims the governments of India and Pakistan have expressed interest in the first version. Magenn is planning to launch a 1kw prototype (costing around C$1 million) into the air above Ottawa this (northern) spring.” Read More…

Related Links: Laddermilk Kites

|

AquaSailor

AquaSailor – The concept involves a series of supertankers specially designed and constructed for the carriage of potable water. The water is transported onto land through small, offshore facilities known as Single Point Moorings (SPMs). Using unique Solar Wing sails with solar cell array technology reduces fuel consumption and emissions by nearly 50% on the voyages compared to the conventional tanker of this size and hydrodynamic characteristics.

LNG As Propulsion

LNG Propelled Cruise Ship – As part of its development work, Wärtsilä has developed a new coastal cruise ferry using liquefied natural gas (LNG) as fuel. LNG is an efficient way to cut emissions. All SOX emissions are eliminated and the NOX and CO2 emissions are reduced by about 80% and 20% respectively (see figure 1). LNG is not only an environmentally sound solution, but also economically interesting at today’s oil prices.

The new ferry is designed for cruising along the Norwegian coast between small coastal communities. As this still represents a relatively untouched natural landscape, an environmentally friendly ship solution is required. The same ship and machinery concept could also be applied easily to other passengership operations, such as short-route ferries and expedition cruise vessels. Read More…

Increasing Efficiencies

Floating On Bubbles Of Air

Bubbling Ship – One promising solution derives from the work of Yoshiaki Kodama, director of the Advanced Maritime Transport Technology Department at Japan’s National Maritime Research Institute (NMRI) in Tokyo. Kodama’s team proposes to shoot a layer of bubbles from slots near the bow of the ship. The bubbles will travel along the hull of the ship, with enough bubbles trapped under the ship’s surfaces so that the constant replenishment is sufficient to maintain the blanket of bubbles. Read More…

Shark Skin Coatings

SharkSkin Coatings – To find a way to persuade algae to move on rather than killing them scientists at the University of Florida turned to nature. Sharks don’t have algae or barnacle problems despite being underwater all their lives. Shark skin is made up of tiny rectangular scales topped with even smaller spines or bristles. This makes shark skin rough to the touch. This irregular surface makes it difficult for plant spores to get a good grip and grow into algae or other plants. Read More…

Boats

Much of the technology being developed for shipping companies with big budgets and fuel costs will trickle down to our smaller coastal friends. Here’s a look at green initiatives for boaters.

Solar Sailor

Solar Sailor – Hybrid marine power combines electric drives with the power and range of hydrocarbon and/or alternative fuels. Solar panels charge the electric engines to offer better acceleration, quicker emergency stopping and easier handling. Although useful for applications such as tourism, recreation and fishing, they also under scrutiny for duty as urban ferries, where they would use 50% less fuel, generating a correspondingly 50% less emissions. Passengers also experience less noise, vibration and fumes. But the solar wings are not passive. They can be adjusted, so as to act like real cloth sales, … … with boat speeds of 8-10 knots having been achieved, cutting fuel consumption even further. If wind speed hit 35 knots, a computer lowers the sails into the roof where they offer zero windage. A 140 passenger craft, with speeds of 20 knots has more recently been developed. Read More…

Related Links: SolarSailor FAQ | Treehugger Profile | Company Homepage

Windmill Turbine Boats

Windmill Turbine Boats – While small dingy’s have been tested using windmill turbine design, the inventor hopes this to be a technology used on future vessels of all sizes. His estimated date for first launch? 2028

Related Links: Inventor’s Page | Treehugger Article

SkySails SuperYacht

SkySails SuperYacht – Humphreys Yacht Design, together with SkySails, will be exhibiting the concept for a high-performance hybrid super yacht at this year’s Monaco Yacht Show. Powered by SkySails, this 40-meter trimaran can reach speeds of up to 18 knots without the help of its main engine, and up to 30 knots with the main engine. Naturally the two power sources can be used in combination to conserve fuel. With SkySails a shaft-driven generator can be activated, which charges batteries that can supply the main diesel-electric propulsion as needed. This way, with suitable wind conditions, the hybrid yacht can be powered without having to depend on oil. Yacht owners can now sail in a way that is ecologically responsible, without having to sacrifice the comfort they’ve come to enjoy. And, this type of propulsion provides owners a high degree of security and independence in times of crisis. Read More…

This weeks photo was taken by gCaptain Staff from a roof top in downtown San Francisco, California. It is of a Container Ship operated by Yang Ming passing through San Francisco Bay.