Friday, August 31, 2018

MENHADEN AKA BUNKER ARE BEING TAKEN IN THE MILLIONS!

Artie Raslich Photography | MENHADEN AKA BUNKER ARE BEING TAKEN IN THE MILLIONS!

 am going to tell you, what I saw today was extremely upsetting to me!
I was on the American Princess Cruises whale and dolphin watch today Thursday August 30th. We had a great day and sighted 11-13 humpbacks, possibly a Minke whale, 20 dolphins and a few sharks. That’s all great but it could be the end of seeing the whales and dolphins in our waters! The day I have been dreading is here! The large Omega Protein factory purse seine net ships are taking our local Bunker fish aka Menhaden by the millions!!!!
Why is this happening and how is this happening? A few bills failed to pass in the NYS Assembly that protect our precious Menhaden AKA Bunker fish.  "Assembly Bill A10506A" would have banned industrial purse seining in New York Waters. Now, any commercial fishing vessel, who buys a permit, can come into our waters and take our menhaden fish legally!
Today, a state-of-the-art menhaden killing machine called the "Rappahannock" cleared out a large section of the ocean of menhaden right in front of us! The Rappahannock drove the whales inshore looking for food, this is total BS!!! It’s a wakeup call to all NYers who love the ocean, because the Rappahannock and ships like this are going to clear out ALL the menhaden, if we let them! They did in the Chesapeake Bay, they destroyed that bay now they are up here doing the same to this area! The whales, dolphins, bass, blues, sharks and everything else that eats them will be gone. Fisherman should be up in arm, almost all the fish they catch eat menhaden! When the menhaden is gone the fish are gone! 

Wednesday, August 29, 2018

PHOTOS: Narragansett Bay Classic Yacht Rendezvous 2018 Scuttlebutt Sailing News

PHOTOS: Narragansett Bay Classic Yacht Rendezvous 2018 Scuttlebutt Sailing News: The Narragansett Bay Classic Yacht Rendezvous with racing in the Panerai Herreshoff Classic Yacht Regatta and Panerai Newport Classic Yacht Regatta. Racing

Tuesday, August 28, 2018

Highlight film of Volvo Ocean Race

The Volvo Ocean Race, successor to the Whitbread is no more.  Volvo is no longer lead sponsor and it is now known as The Race.  It will be run in IMOCA Open 60's like the single-handed Vendee Globe.  So this is the highlight film of the last Volvo round the world race.  Wanna buy a one-design Volvo Ocean 65, cheap?

Monday, August 20, 2018

Blue Heron Stalks the Back River

Today a Blue Heron stalked the Back River behind our house.  There have been few this year.  Their frequent visits in years past led us to call the area behind our house Heron Bend.








Surveying Greenland's northern reaches - Ocean Research Project

Matt Rutherford - founder of Ocean Research Project - first came to my attention as he approached Cape Horn.  The first person to circumnavigate the Americas single-handed and non-stop. 309 days, 27,000 miles.  His story is told in the delightful, even inspiring movie Red Dot on the Ocean.

Having shown himself a master mariner he formed ORP.  Now a NASA grantee they have for the past few years been surveying the northernmost reaches of Greenland.  They do CTD- current, temperature and depth measurements - key raw data NASA scientists need to understand the upwelling warming water that melts glaciers.  The video below tells the story.


VIDEO: (click on it if the play arrow does not display)


Taking measurements on Croker Bay- blog post


Saturday, August 18, 2018

Master and Commander - Camden, Dark Harbor, and Eagle Island

Much of the joy of sailing is that it puts you in the embrace of the elemental. Tide, current, wind, waves, sun, moon, fog, lightning, thunder, mist, rain, light and dark all matter - immediately.  And the hazards so near at hand - granite ledges, shallows, limited visibility - force an alertness which we otherwise can mostly ignore.
So it was on our voyage across the Penobscot Bay to Dark Harbor/Islesboro, then over the top of North Haven, to Oak, then Eagle Island which is Russ & Ellen's homeport. - gwc
Aboard Sophie - Camden to Dark Harbor, to Eagle Island
Master


Commander





Eagle Island Light




Namesake of the brig Sophie, Jack Aubrey's first command

A Dark Harbor 20 - Ames Cove, Dark Harbor


Marilee a 1926 Herreshoff NY 40


Chinese Shrimp Farmers Protest Environmental Enforcement - Seafood Source

OTHERWISE: Chinese Shrimp Farmers Protest Environmental Enforcement - Seafood Source: Chinese Shrimp Farmers Protest Environmental Enforcement - Seafood Source A stand-off between shrimp farmers and authorities in easter...