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Black bear Lugnut gives birth - video

2012-01-31T07:46:00.000-08:00

The Wildlife Research Foundation in cooperation with the Maine Department of Fisheries and Wildlife has established a live streaming video in a bear den in northern Maine. As you know bears do more than shit in the woods. They give birth there! As did Lugnut, one of the bears they are following. The link above will bring you to the video archive. the home page ahs video live from the den where the bear sleeps, but doesn't shit, so except for lucky moments not much is going on.

One More Thing about Paterno - George Vecsey

2012-01-25T21:28:00.000-08:00

George Vecsey - the recently retired Times sports columnist - and wise observer of men's lives, observes that by making Paterno king those who shouted "We Are Penn State" left him isolated and unguided. - GWC

One More Thing about Paterno - George Vecsey:

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At Brooklyn Prep, Paterno Learned Latin and Bravado - NYTimes.com

2012-01-25T08:50:00.000-08:00

This building at 1150 Carroll Street in Crown Heights
- was Brooklyn Prep which closed in 1972

Mens sana in corpore sano was the maxim of the school. Neither was easy to achieve. Like everyone interviewed in this article I remember Brooklyn Prep as the most demanding school I attended. College at Holy Cross, grad school at BU, law school at Rutgers. None was as challenging as high school. None as rewarding. The study of the classics encouraged a Homeric self-image. If we were good enough to study Cicero and read the Odyssey in the original Greek we were good enough for anything. Just don't be late to class. - GWC

At Brooklyn Prep, Paterno Learned Latin and Bravado - NYTimes.com:

"At the Jesuit high school Joe Paterno attended in Brooklyn, students wore jackets and ties and were taught by priests or by lay teachers in academic robes. The curriculum was also rigorously Old World: students took several years of Latin and many added three years of Greek, with three hours of homework per night the rule.
If they were late or forgot a notebook, students might find themselves detained after school for what Jesuits called “jug,” spending an hour in the courtyard walking in circles.

Fr. Engel was Prefect of Discipline
The prefect of discipline was the Rev. Frederick W. Engel, a tall priest with the fists of a trained boxer who could instantly silence an auditorium filled with 300 shouting boys.
“It wasn’t hell you were afraid of, it was Father Engel,” said Gerry Uehlinger, class of ’67, now a trial lawyer in Maryland."

The school is well remembered in Charlie's Prep the book sponsored by NYU President John Sexton. Charlie Winans introduced us to James Joyce.

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Joe Paterno Leaves a Complicated Legacy - NYTimes.com

2012-01-22T19:59:00.000-08:00

Joe Paterno was, by far the most famous graduate of my high school - Brooklyn Prep. A Jesuit high school in Crown Heights its motto was mens sana in corpore sano. Paterno took it to heart. We all took four years of Latin and most of us studied Greek. He loved Virgil - which I found insufferable. (I loved the Odyssey and Cicero.) Unique among football coaches he took academics seriously. Penn State had a high graduation rate and Paterno was an apostle of academic as well as athletic excellence.

But when an assistant coach reported that he saw a popular former coach sexually assaulting a boy in the football locker room Joe's moral vision failed him. He did the minimum - reported it to university officials, not the police. And when nothing came of that Joe let it slide. Now everyone knows and now Joe Pa is dead. The statue ofPaterno was removed from the front of the stadium; the legend is sullied. It is a shame. - GWC Paterno Leaves a Complicated Legacy - NYTimes.com: "Joe Paterno loved the classics. He quoted Shakespeare to his team, devoured the epics of Virgil and donated his money to help save Penn State’s classics department, even endowing a scholarship in the name of his high school Latin teacher, the Rev. Thomas Bermingham. With Paterno’s death at 85 from lung cancer on Sunday morning, the final thread of his narrative is one fit for the literary tragedies he adored."

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Peter Ralston - premier photographer of the Wyeths' Maine

2012-01-21T11:45:00.000-08:00

Peter Ralston - who co-founded the Island Institute with Philip Conkling - is the house photographer. His pictures grace every issue of the annual Island Journal. He grew up in Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania - the winter home of the Wyeths. A life long friend of Andrew and his wife Betsy, he is a peer and close friend of their son James - himself a distinguished artist. He spent a lot of time at Jamie and wife Phyllis's Kent House, on Monhegan Island. It is so named because it was built by the great illustrator, landscape painter, expedition sailor, and rebel Rockwell Kent. Among Ralston's projects was his commission to make photographic reproductions of Andrew's paintings. If you click on Ralston's name, above, you'll find yourself at his website.

We have a print from the original negative of the top photo - Clearing - which is his signature image. I had the impression from faint recollection that Ralston didn't like it very much (that the sky is overexposed - actually that's just the image I found.) But Peter's comment corrects that error. HERE is the image on his site. As I observed there is great power in the image of the sheep huddled under tow in that skiff. The brightening sky and the sun through the mist convey mystery, hope and vulnerability. The sheep were on their way to Allen Island. Owned by Andrew and Betsy, the stone cross on the island's south eastern bluff was erected by the state of Maine to mark the 300th anniversary of the founding of Maine: Capt. George Weymouth's prolonged anchorage in 1605 from which he explored the St. George River and Georges Islands, and the Penobscot Bay and River. Known as George's Harbor, it is the Wyeths (and my) favorite spot.

Misty Blue - Etta James

2012-01-21T07:51:00.001-08:00

NASA - NASA Finds 2011 Ninth-Warmest Year on Record

2012-01-20T21:17:00.000-08:00

NASA - NASA Finds 2011 Ninth-Warmest Year on Record: "The global average surface temperature in 2011 was the ninth warmest since 1880, according to NASA scientists. The finding continues a trend in which nine of the 10 warmest years in the modern meteorological record have occurred since the year 2000.

NASA's Goddard Institute for Space Studies (GISS) in New York, which monitors global surface temperatures on an ongoing basis, released an updated analysis that shows temperatures around the globe in 2011 compared to the average global temperature from the mid-20th century. The comparison shows how Earth continues to experience warmer temperatures than several decades ago. The average temperature around the globe in 2011 was 0.92 degrees F (0.51 C) warmer than the mid-20th century baseline."

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Mariners guide to NY Harbor

2012-01-19T12:47:00.000-08:00

Thanks to North River, New York Sailing for this:

MARINER'S GUIDE full length from Ray Fusco Inc. on Vimeo.

Rounding the horn: solo around the Americas in a 27 foot sailboat

2012-01-18T20:36:00.000-08:00

You know I love adventures like this. Matt Rutherford has enormous skill and determination. But he's also got the weakest piece of equipment I've ever seen for an ocean voyager - a 40 year old 27 foot boat. Capt. Doug Pohl reports

The Horn

Matt Rutherford

Solo Around the America's Under Sail | An audacious attempt at sailing the Northwest Passage and circumnavigating entirety of both continents, to benefit Chesapeake Region Accessible Boating: "I’ve now doubled the Horn, which means I sailed from 50 south to 50 south non-stop. Back 100 years ago it was common practice, but these days boats usually stop along the way and round the horn in a series of steps from safe anchorage to safe anchorage (understandably so). I spent 22 days in the furious fifties and I had a good time. I had four gales in a row before the Horn but the weather has been nice ever since. That gale I saw coming decreased in strength and it only blew 30kts and the one behind it did the same thing. I love the temperature down here; it’s around 55 degrees which is great for me. At night it gets a bit colder and I can feel it when I breathe, all wrapped up in my warm sleeping bag. What can I say, I’m a Celt. My ancestors didn’t live in warm sunny places. I’ve been spoiling myself by making blueberry pancakes every morning (thanks to self-reliance) along with a cup of coffee. I’ll tell you, life is pretty good!"

Circumnavigating Ellesmere Island - by Sea Kayak - NYTimes.com

2012-01-17T08:57:00.000-08:00

Arctic Adventure - A 1,500-Mile Trip by Sea Kayak - NYTimes.com: "To stave off a breaching 3,000-pound walrus from the cockpit of a small sea kayak, Erik Boomer recommends using the paddle.
“Sort of like a Heisman stiff-arm, hit him in the face and try to feed him the paddle,” he said. “Then start paddling.”
The first 600 miles of the Ellesmere Island expedition had not been so sporting — lots of marching along on skis with skins, towing the boats."

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Seven National All-Time Heat Records Set in 2011 | ThinkProgress

2012-01-14T10:36:00.000-08:00

Seven National All-Time Heat Records Set in 2011 | ThinkProgress: "By Dr. Jeff Masters, in a Wunderblog repost:

"The year 2011 was the tenth warmest year on record for the globe, but the warmest year on record when a La Niña event was present (Ricky Rood has a discussion of this in his lastest post.) Seven nations and one territory broke all-time hottest temperature records. This is a far cry from 2010 (which tied for the warmest year on record), when twenty nations (plus one UK territory) set all-time hottest temperature records. One all-time coldest temperature record was set in 2011; this was the first time since 2009 one of these records was set. The all-time cold record occurred in Zambia, which ironically also set an all-time hottest temperature record in 2011."

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USCG Icebreaker Healy aids Russian Tanker Renda

2012-01-13T21:57:00.000-08:00

The Renda, a Russian tanker, is bringing fuel to ice-jammed Nome Alaska, aided by our only icebreaker in the arctic. This is the price of the Tea Party. We have only the USCG Healy. The Polar Star has been drydocked since 2006 thanks to federal budget cuts.

Maine Shrimp Boil Recipe | Stephencooks

2012-01-08T17:39:00.000-08:00

It's an aromatic, herbal broth!

Maine Shrimp Boil Recipe | Stephencooks

Waiting for the Margaret E

2012-01-06T15:30:00.000-08:00

The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission set a short winter shrimp season. It opened the 30 day trawl a month late on January 2. MWF only - 3 days/week. A short day, too: nets on spools at 1 PM. But last night after two days of fishing the regulators bent: fishing allowed until 3 PM. So if you're into the fish you can keep going - maybe get your limit - 5,000 lbs.
So the fleet came in heavy as darkness fell this snowy Friday evening at Friendship harbor - where perhaps twenty lobstermen have rigged their boats to drag nets instead of haul lobster traps. We waited for the Margaret E at Wallace's Lobster for our first shrimp of the season. I like 'em cajun style. Just seems right.

(click on images to enlarge and slideshow)

No. 22 Harvard Loses to Fordham - 60 - 54 NYTimes.com

2012-01-04T20:32:00.000-08:00

OTHERWISE: No. 22 Harvard Loses to Fordham - 60 - 54 NYTimes.com:

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Men at work: Friendship harbor at year's end

2011-12-31T10:39:00.000-08:00

Friendship harbor (click on photos to enlarge)

rigged for trawling

Friday, December 30, the last workday of the year was a busy day in Friendship harbor. By a rough estimate of the dinghies at moorings in the morning about 20 fishing boats were out - baiting and hauling traps, or bringing them in for storage in the off season. Others were getting ready for the shortened shrimp season. The Department of Marine Resources has declared:

"The 2011/2012 fishing season specifications are a total allowable catch (TAC) of 2,000 metric tons, with the season closing when landings are projected to reach 95 percent of the TAC (1,900 mt). The trawl season will start January 2, 2012 with three landing days a week (Monday, Wednesday, Friday). Vessels may only land once a day. The trap season will start February 1, 2012 with a 1,000 pound landing limit per vessel per day [and no days out]."

Delayed a month, it will be a short season, hard on Friendship's fleet.

Find the North Star

2011-12-28T19:01:00.000-08:00

FindDipper.html:

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Volvo: Somewhere in the Indian Ocean

2011-12-27T20:07:00.000-08:00

In one of the strange finishes in the history of yacht racing: leg 2 - Capetown to Abu Dhabi finished not at Abu Dhabi but at an undisclosed Indian Ocean port - to avoid the risk of attack by pirates! The boats were lifted aboard a freighter and transported for several days to the United Arab Emirates where they will re-start bound for the next port- Abu Dhabi!

Jamie Steeves turns second sardine carrier to new use - Rockland - Camden - Knox - VillageSoup Gazette

2011-12-27T18:27:00.000-08:00

by Shlomit Auciello
ROCKLAND — Jamie Steeves has made a mission of finding and restoring damaged old wood-hulled commercial fishing boats and returning them to use on the waters where they were intended to serve. Steeves, who owns J & J Lobsters in Rockland with partner Joanne Campbell, has just brought the former sardine carrier Ida Mae to the railway at North End Shipyard, where it is being scraped, caulked and painted in preparation for a new life.Steeves turns second sardine carrier to new use - Shlomit Auciello - Rockland - Camden - Knox - VillageSoup Gazette:

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Giulio Verne Lays Power Cable Beneath the Hudson - NYTimes.com

2011-12-27T05:59:00.000-08:00

I was mystified by the strange ship 100 yards off shore at 56th street where I first spotted it, as I made the left off the Henry Hudson parkway. The Times has identified the craft: the Giulio Verne, an Italian cable-laying ship. Owned by Prymian Powerlink, its specifications show it is 133 meters, 8,800 tons, and uses 15 - 20 tons of fuel per day when under way on the open sea. It is inching its way to Edgewater New Jersey to connect the New Jersey power grid to New York's - to help wean the state from dependence on the Indian Point nuclear plant. Powerbridge, LLC is doing the job. They also ran a cable from Sayreville, NJ to Levittown on Long Island - 65 miles. Another project will bring power from Maine to Boston and south.

The Times article tells the story of the diver working below, and the excellent coffee and food served on the Italian ship. Stop by when they get to Jersey - maybe they'll have a panettone left over from Christmas. They'll surely have Illi espresso. They can pick that up at Zabar's.

Crew Lays Power Cable Beneath the Hudson - NYTimes.com:
Update: I got some shots from 79th Street where the ship is moored now. HERE they are.

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Vinyl - George Vecsey

2011-12-18T20:35:00.000-08:00

In which the great Times sports columnist George Vecsey marks his retirement and emergence as blogger: teaching his granddaughter about jazz. A favorite of his is Pharaoh Sanders - The Creator Has a Master Plan. Vinyl - George Vecsey:

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Who Has Fairest Lobster Trap Tree of All? - NYTimes.com

2011-12-17T18:42:00.000-08:00

Rockland's lobster trap tree

The Times reports that Jonesport's lobster trap tree has surpassed the one in Rockland!

New England Asks - Who Has Fairest Lobster Trap Tree of All? - NYTimes.com:

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40 years: from the Whitbread to the Volvo Ocean Race

2011-12-17T17:40:00.000-08:00

The Whitbread round the world race became the Volvo Ocean Race 10 years ago. It is the premier crewed ocean race. Right now the boats are racing from Capetown to Abu Dhabi. I guess everything follows the money. Personally I liked the southern route: leave all the great capes to port.

Pescadotes: Ship in Ice

2011-12-16T09:59:00.000-08:00

Thanks to my wife I have a photograph from an original negative of Frank Hurley, photographer on the doomed antarctic voyage of the Endurance, led by Ernest Shackleton, who brought the men home after months on the ice. Joe Warren's watercolor reminds me of the scene in Hurley's photograph.

100 years ago: Amundsen triumphs, Scott freezes

2011-12-12T21:24:00.000-08:00

Roald Amundsen - the great Norwegian explorer and navigator took the short route to the south pole. He got there on December 14, 1911 - and back safely. Robert Falcon Scott - burdened by the weight of British science - knowledge, not adventure was the goal - did not get there and did not get back. This slideshow tells some of Scott's story, which is brilliantly told by law professor and historian of science Edward J. Larson, in his recent book “Empire of Ice: Scott, Shackleton, and the Heroic Age of Antarctic Science". John Wilford brings us up to date. - GWC

Amazing Race to the Bottom of the World

John Noble Wilford - New York Times - December 12, 2011

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VIDEO - Arctic Sea Ice 2011 Preliminary Minimum/NorthwestPassage2012.com

2011-12-12T21:07:00.000-08:00

Northwest Passage 2012 dot com: VIDEO - Arctic Sea Ice 2011 Preliminary Minimum: Data from NOAA

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2010 Spike in Greenland Ice Loss Lifted Bedrock, Implying "We’ll Experience Pulses of Extra Sea Level Rise” | ThinkProgress

2011-12-11T21:10:00.000-08:00

2010 Spike in Greenland Ice Loss Lifted Bedrock, Implying "We’ll Experience Pulses of Extra Sea Level Rise” | ThinkProgress:

Ohio State University News Release

"An unusually hot melting season in 2010 accelerated ice loss in southern Greenland by 100 billion tons – and large portions of the island’s bedrock rose an additional quarter of an inch in response.
That’s the finding from a network of nearly 50 GPS stations planted along the Greenland coast to measure the bedrock’s natural response to the ever-diminishing weight of ice above it."

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S/V Iron Maiden

2011-12-11T10:42:00.001-08:00

I found Iron Maiden at the dock in Ventura. At 70 feet lwl/lod, 18.6 beam, 9 foot draft, she is what she claims to be on her website: an overbuilt reinforced steel explorer. For details and lots of pictures go to the ship's website. A few of my pictures are below:

Sitting in Sitka:

2011-12-11T10:16:00.001-08:00

Maggie has returned to New York and Richard and Issuma are sitting in limbo, making repairs as winter sets in on the edge of the Tongass National Rain Forest - Sitka Alaska. A town of about 10,000 on Baranof Island, it was colonized by Russians in 1799. At 57 degrees north and 135 degrees west, I estimate it is an 800 mile run to Vancouver at 48 North, 123 West. Alaska coastal winters are pretty moderate (in the 30's, now) but underway the windchill and the freezing spray counsel staying at the dock, making repairs.

Volvo Ocean Race | PUMA reach Cape Town after epic journey

2011-12-06T17:24:00.000-08:00

The Times story on Puma is great. I didn't even know the Volvo race was starting. The fate of one-time obsessions.
Three boats of the six starters retired from the first leg (Spain to Cape Town). Two were dismasted. They expect to start leg II.
NY Times Puma slide show HERE

from the Volvo Ocean Race website

PUMA Ocean Racing powered by BERG, who set off from Alicante with the rest of the fleet back on November 5, made it into the Cape Town port late on Tuesday night, 6 December.
The boat was lifted down from TEAM BREMEN, the container ship sent to pick them up, and the team motored her round to the shore base at around 1am for a raucous welcome from friends and well-wishers, whooping and cheering and wearing 'The Show Mast Go On' T-shirts, and more tender moments with family.Volvo Ocean Race 2011-2012 | PUMA reach Cape Town after epic journey:

The
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Taisy's anniversary card

2011-12-05T19:07:00.000-08:00

We went to Friendship for our 20th anniversary. We didn't make it to the post office, so we didn't know of the anniversary card from Taisy. I gave it to Marilyn to open, confident that the message inside would touch us both. We were not disappointed.

Taisy's anniversary card - George Conk - Picasa Web Albums:

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a woman of substance - Issuma

2011-11-27T19:30:00.001-08:00

Maggie

Motoring Along | Issuma:

Issuma: Peril Strait, Sergius Narrows

2011-11-24T16:22:00.001-08:00

Peril Strait, Sergius Narrows, north of Sitka, in November. How much more do you need to know to be sure to be careful about when you make that passage. The current runs about 6 - 8 knots, through a narrow channel, according to the tide tables. Richard describes his careful timing of Issuma's passage. He didn't want to make that run when the # 8 buoy laid over like the picture above. Of course the weather did not cooperate. He got the tide right but had to pass through the narrows in a snow storm and strong wind. Tough enough as we see in this picture below which he took as they passed #8 Nun which marks a ledge.

3 Small Cameras Come Up Big in Photo Quality - NYTimes.com

2011-11-23T21:12:00.000-08:00

3 Small Cameras Come Up Big in Photo Quality - NYTimes.com: "If you’re a camera buff, you can give thanks for the arrival of three of the best cameras ever made: the Sony NEX-7, the Samsung NX200 and the Canon S100."

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She Moved Through the Fair - Van Morrison

2011-11-16T11:05:00.001-08:00

with the Chieftains

Siobhan McKenna

2011-11-16T11:02:00.001-08:00

Today is the birthday of the late great Irish actress Siobhan Mcenna

Star of the County Down

2011-11-16T11:01:00.001-08:00

Man To Sail Around World To Decrease Awareness Of Important Issues | The Onion - America's Finest News Source

2011-11-14T10:19:00.000-08:00

pointless, aimless voyager

It's about time!

Man To Sail Around World To Decrease Awareness Of Important Issues | The Onion - America's Finest News Source:

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Veterans « tugster: a waterblog

2011-11-11T20:01:00.000-08:00

PC 1264 - a subchaser - was built by Consolidated - which now is a yacht yard on Pilot Street, City Island. My father's sub chaser was built by Luders in Stamford. The remains of PC 1264 are sunk on Staten Island. Tugster has the story.
Veterans « tugster: a waterblog:

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Escape from Yakutat | Issuma

2011-11-09T21:13:00.000-08:00

Cape Spencer, AK - entrance to the Inside Passage

Richard Hudson and crew on Issuma got a weather window and made the 140 mile run from Yakutat Bay to Cape Spencer - the entrance to the Inside Passage. Looks like winter in Vancouver, not Yakutat. Congratulations, Richard!
Good thing - because NOAA is reporting an epic storm in the Bering Sea.

Away | Issuma: "Late the next day, we approached Cape Spencer (picture) in good conditions, with a tailwind, intermittent rain and hail from a mild frontal passage, and 5m/16' following seas."

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Epic Bering Sea Storm Lashes Alaska's Western Coast With Hurricane-Force Gusts and Blizzard Conditions - ABC News

2011-11-09T20:58:00.000-08:00

Alaska Weather: Bering Sea Storm Lashes Alaska's Western Coast With Hurricane-Force Gusts and Blizzard Conditions - ABC News:
h/t Jesse Fradkin

"On the remote Alaskan coast of the Bering Sea, a storm of "epic magnitude," in the words of the National Weather Service, is punishing local villages with high winds and blizzard conditions.
Winds along the coast reached 40 to 55 mph, with hurricane-force gusts of 85 mph. Forecasters warned of 30-foot waves, and sea levels 8 to 10 feet above normal. Even for western Alaska, one of the stormiest places in America, this storm was unusually fierce.
"One of the worst Bering Sea storms on record will cause widespread strong winds and coastal flooding," said a warning from the weather service. "This will be extremely dangerous and life-threatening storm of an epic magnitude rarely experienced.""

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Leave, Return, Repeat | Issuma

2011-11-08T21:23:00.000-08:00

Will Issuma have to winter in Yakutat, Alaska?

Ivumbu hit the road earlier and is now in the Inside passage. But Richard has now made three attempts to make the 140 mile run to the beginning of the Inside Passage. Will they be wintering in Yakutat, Alaska? - GWC

p.s. notes on weather sources for the Northwest Passage are HERE.

Leave, Return, Repeat | Issuma:

"The critical thing to keep in mind about travelling in high latitudes is how easy it is to get into a survival situation. The Gulf of Alaska (and anywhere that far north) is a really unforgiving place in November. We weren't in any danger, but, if we wore ourselves out by getting cold hand-steering outside for hours in freezing spray, the danger was that if anything went wrong (like an engine problem, or taking on water), we would be exhausted, and not necessarily capable of quick, rational thinking and action."
We had tried for several weeks to leave Yakutat, and knew this break in the weather might be the last one until spring.It is really hard to turn back, when you know you are likely to make it if you just persevere and tough it out. But while the risk of something going wrong was small, it was still there, and I decided it was better to return to Yakutat.We turned around. Before easing off the throttle and setting sails (as the wind was now with us), we were making 8.7 knots. We had spent all day coming less than 30 miles, and we were soon back at the dock in Yakutat,Was Issuma going to spend the winter in Yakutat?

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NY Marathon winners

2011-11-06T10:27:00.000-08:00

Everyone that finishes is a winner, of course, but here are the top finishers: Geoffrey Mutai of Kenya (a course record - 2:05:06)and Firehiwot Dado of Ethiopia (2:23:15).

Warm Hands - Issuma

2011-11-01T16:22:00.000-07:00

Richard Hudson has advice here on how to keep your hands warm and dry.
He says that when he actually handles lines he does not wear gloves. Not even 3/4 length finger gloves?? As usual practical advice.

Disenchantment Bay | Issuma

2011-10-29T22:24:00.000-07:00

To the left is the intrepid mariner Richard Hudson (no relation to Henry) in a portrait by crewmember Maggie. Here he is at Disenchantment Bay, Alaska. He explains "In 1792, Alessandro Malaspina, an Italian nobleman and Spanish Naval officer, was looking for the Northwest Passage for the King of Spain. Sailing up Yakutat Bay until stopped by the ice from the glaciers, he named the NE part of Yakutat Bay Puerto del Desengano (Disenchantment Bay). "

Below is a picture of fellow traveler Ivumbu sailing just ahead of Issuma at Yakutat Bay, Alaska.

Disenchantment Bay | Issuma:

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The Tweed Run

2011-10-22T21:09:00.000-07:00

Bill Cunningham photographs bicycling about New York in Tweed: The Tweed Run

Rockaways Gaeltacht- NYTimes.com

2011-10-21T19:34:00.000-07:00

Ed Shevlin drives a garbage truck for
the sanitation department. He has been awarded a Fulbright
so he can continue his Irish language study.

Thomas Costello, my great grandfather, came to Brooklyn from Casla, just west of Galway, across a narrow finger of Galway Bay from where the ferry leaves for the Aran Islands. When Taisy and I visited 10 years ago we walked into the grocery store and everyone was speaking Irish, as they called it. Irish kids - who have to study Gaelic as a second language - go there in the summers to live with Irish-speaking families. Today in the Irish Riviera - the Belle Harbor section of the Rockaways in Queens a bit of that world lives. - GWC

Ed Shevlin Polishes His Irish While Collecting the Trash - NYTimes.com: "THE jolly trash man was going about his route in the Rockaways, Queens, when he spied a woman in front of her house."

“Cé hé bhfuil tú?” he greeted her. Naturally, the woman replied, “Tá mé go maith.” “Ceart go leor,” the trash man shot back.

This exchange — roughly: “How are you?” “I’m fine.” “Ah, grand!” — was in Irish, the Gaelic language that survives only in parts of Ireland — and to a lesser extent, along the garbage route of Ed Shevlin, 51. The route winds through the Belle Harbor section of the Rockaways, where conversations were once commonly conducted “as Gaeilge.
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Issuma: Yakutat Bay

2011-10-20T19:11:00.000-07:00

Maggie has joined the crew at Yakutat. They seem to be travelling tandem now with Ralf on Ivumbu, who is more of a diarist than Richard to check out Ivumbu's blog.

Issuma: single-handed from Kodiak

2011-10-17T21:32:00.000-07:00

Kodiak Harbor, Kodiak Island, Alaska

Cape St. Elias, Kayak Island

Richard Hudson departed Kodiak harbor - single-handed and headed across the Gulf of Alaska. Taking the long route - in case the storm to his south headed north, he made Cape St. Elias, Kayak Island in about three days. My guess is that was a 300 mile run, leaving him about 350 miles northwest of Juneau. I assume he is going to take the inside passage to Vancouver, a route memorably described by Jonathan Raban in Passage to Juneau.

How to use Pine Tar:

2011-10-16T21:29:00.000-07:00

Genuine Pine Tar: 100% Organic authentic Stockholm pine tar.: "An Ancient Pine Tar Recipe: Thinning with organic boiled linseed oil is recommended to obtain faster penetration and reduce stickiness. Apply warm if possible.

Combine equal parts of Genuine Pine Tar and Purified Organic Linseed Oil - boiled, 100% cleaned and sterilized linseed oil from Allback, Sweden.
Heat to 80 degrees F and mix thoroughly.
Apply warm if possible."

How to Use Pine Tar Preservative | eHow.com: "Pine tar, when mixed with linseed oil and turpentine, is sometimes called Old Down East Deck Coating or boat soup. Pine tar is a protective coating for wood and dates back to the nineth century Vikings. Pine tar helps to waterproof and protect wood. This pine tar mixture is also absorbed into the oakum, or rope caulking, and acts as a preservative. It dries in the open air and does not feel sticky when touched."

One quart of pine tar to 1 gallon of 100% mineral spirits, seasoned with turpentine. Yum!

Pine Tar; History And Uses: "Pine Tar; History And Uses

by Theodore P. Kaye

Few visitors to any ship which as been rigged in a traditional manner have left the vessel without experiencing the aroma of pine tar. The aroma produces reactions that are as strong as the scent; few people are ambivalent about its distinctive smell. As professionals engaged in the restoration and maintenance of old ships, we should know not only about this product, but also some of its history.
Wood tar has been used by mariners as a preservative for wood and rigging for at least the past six centuries"

'via Blog this'

Bass Fishing Time at Montauk Lighthouse - NYTimes.com

2011-10-14T20:39:00.000-07:00

Montauk Light - all photos NY Times

The waters of Gardiners Bay and Long Island Sound rip around Montauk Point, carrying bait fish and the stripers and blue fish that prey on them. And this time - October - is prime time. Keepers have to be 38 inches.
And they're good eating. Below is a video recipe for poached striped bass. - GWC

Bass Fishing Time at Montauk Lighthouse - NYTimes.com:

by Corey Kilgannon

"REX ADILI of Totowa, N.J., took up fishing several years ago because he wanted a relaxing hobby. Then he discovered Montauk, and bought a crash helmet.

Fishing here is an extreme sport, especially on the perilous rocky shores around the Montauk Lighthouse, where boots with tungsten-carbide spikes are needed for traction, where fisherman wield $1,000 rods, where fights regularly break out over fishing spot"

'via Blog this'

Cod Fishing in Massachusetts | Hunter Angler Gardener Cook

2011-10-12T19:19:00.000-07:00

Cod Fishing in Massachusetts | Hunter Angler Gardener Cook:
"As most anyone in America knows, the stocks of codfish, haddock and pollock have crashed due to overfishing. Groundfish, as this trio of species are known, once supported the entire region’s economy. They may even have been an impetus for the early exploration of North America. Now they’re gone. We killed our golden goose.

This too tugged at me as we left Gloucester Harbor last Saturday in a driving rain and sullen, oily seas. Do I really want to be targeting a fish so depleted? Do I want to be the guy who caught the last codfish?"

'via Blog this'

Columbus Day Weekend

2011-10-10T08:39:00.000-07:00

It started with the first frost, followed by indian summer - both great weather for James running across the marsh at full tilt, and doggy paddling in the river. (More in the slideshow.)
And it was a great weekend for Marilyn and me - celebrating our 20th anniversary at our place in Friendship. (click on photos to enlarge)

Into the Pacific: Issuma

2011-10-09T20:24:00.000-07:00

Richard Hudson reports on September 28 that Issuma departed Dutch Harbor late afternoon and passed from the Bering Sea into the Pacific Ocean. After a night `heaving to' at sea in the lee of some reefs, they passed through the Shumagin Islands, part of the Aleutian chain. The rocks to the left are "The Haystacks".
Issuma is southbound, perhaps for Hawaii.

Dutch Harbor remains U.S. Top Fishing Port

2011-10-04T09:55:00.000-07:00

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration released its seafood rankings for 2010, and Dutch Harbor/Unalaska at the entrance to the Aleutian chain tops the list for landings. Approximately 515 million pounds of seafood crossed the docks here last year – that’s almost 100 million more pounds than Reedville, Virginia, the next busiest port. The community has now been first on that list for 22 years in a row.

Seven other Alaskan communities are also on that list. Kodiak ranks fifth with 325 million pounds, and Cordova is eighth with almost 150 million pounds. Naknek, Ketchikan, Seward, Sitka, and Petersburg also made the top 20.

Northwest Passage 2012 dot com: Unalaska Alaska Remains America's Top Fishing Port:

2011-10-03T19:56:00.000-07:00

George Snyder is about to begin a very difficult course of treatment. Sara, Cree, Jesse, Sam & Toby gathered with George for a blessing ceremony in Native American style at George & Sara's Home in Occidental, California this past weekend. May the Lord be with you.
Video by Mike Loisel

Issuma: Dutch Harbor, Aleutian Islands

2011-10-01T21:00:00.000-07:00

Issuma arriving at Dutch Harbor, Aleutian Islands

Issuma has arrived at Dutch Harbor , Alaska, having passed through the Bering Sea. The largest fishing port (by volume) in the United States, it is 1,014 due southwest of Anchorage, near the south end of the Alaskan Peninsula at the beginning of the Aleutian Island chain.

At 53° 53′ 20.34″ N,166° 31′ 38.06″ W the town is the prime location of Deadliest Catch. A southerly course to Honolulu seems a likely next port. From there Chile? And Cape Horn?

Weather Underground reports the weather today as overcast, 45 degrees at 5 PM with lots of rain in the forecast. the average mean temperature in January is 31.5F and 52F in August. It rains 250 days of the year.

Bering Sea Rainbow | Issuma

2011-09-30T16:31:00.000-07:00

Issuma under sail with a rainbow to guide them on the Bering Sea from St. Paul toward Dutch Harbor (southwest of anchorage), September 21, 2011

Bering Sea Rainbow | Issuma:

Latitude: 55 36.9'N
Longitude: 168 43.2'W

Bering Sea Rainbow

We had great winds when sailing south from St Paul towards Dutch Harbor, as we left anchor just as the gale started to ease. We didn't need many sails, and made good speed. The rainbow ahead was kind enough to show us the way.

'via Blog this'

IMVUBU completes NW Passage - reaches Kodiak, Alaska

2011-09-28T21:38:00.000-07:00

Kodiak Harbor, Alaska

False Pass Harbor, Alaska

Imvubu - Capetown launch - 2009

Northwest Passage 2012 dot com: IMVUBU completes NW Passage - heads south to Kodiak Alaska: "Imvubu is a 53-foot Barens Seatrader sailing yacht. She is built for adventure and going to out-of-the-way places with a steel hull and two masts (called Ketch rigged for those more technically minded). In car terms she is a comfortable, heavy 4x4 rather than a dainty saloon or a sports car. Imvubu is Zulu for hippopotamus and like her namesake she is at home in the water, fairly broad in the beam yet can be ferocious when provoked. She weighs 35 tons un-provisioned and about 40 tons with water, fuel and provisions.
She was launched in June 2009 in Durban where she was built"

'via Blog this'

Red Sox nation flies south, brings angst - The Boston Globe

2011-09-28T21:29:00.000-07:00

The coup de grace

Jon Papelbon gave up two runs after striking out the first two batters in the ninth. I watched the last place Baltimore Orioles celebrating like they had won the World Series, the Red Sox dugout slowly exit, and then Tampa Bay - which can't even fill a stadium when they win the pennant - celebrate when Longoria's 13 inning home run over the Yankees gave then the flag. It's enough to make you go back to being a Mets fan. - GWC

Red Sox nation flies south, brings angst - The Boston Globe: "BALTIMORE—Like drivers who slow down to look at traffic crashes, some Red Sox fan had to be here. They had to watch with their own eyes in Camden Yards as their team faced epic collapse on the last day of the season."

'via Blog this'

Issuma: Cape Prince of Wales

2011-09-26T20:51:00.000-07:00

Cape Prince of Wales - Bering Strait

Issuma passed through the Bering Strait on September 8. Problems with the battery for the sat phone have made posting and email difficult. But Richard is catching up so check out the Issuma site for his reports, scrolling down to get the chronology. He comments on passing through the Bering Strait that summer is over and cold weather lies ahead:

Sailing past Cape Prince of Wales with a delightfully favorable wind. Cape Prince of Wales is at the end of the Bering Strait. The Northwest Passage runs from Davis Strait in the east to Bering Strait in the west. While we have now completed the Northwest Passage, the difficult part is mostly still ahead--the trip south, late in the year.

NOAA: Estuaries

2011-09-26T20:41:00.000-07:00

September 24 was National Estuaries Day. New York Harbor - from Sandy Hook to Pelham Bay is an estuary. So is the Back River and the Medomak and St. George River watersheds up in Maine. And the Chesapeake Bay.

NOAA's National Ocean Service Education: Estuaries: "An estuary is a partially enclosed body of water, and its surrounding coastal habitats, where saltwater from the ocean mixes with fresh water from rivers or streams."

'via Blog this'

Surf City Surf Dog competition - in pictures | Life and style | guardian.co.uk

2011-09-26T10:25:00.000-07:00

You will note that there are no Labrador Retrievers in this competition? Too smart.

Surf City Surf Dog competition - in pictures | Life and style | guardian.co.uk:

'via Blog this'

No Traffic, No Noise, on Rat Island- the Bronx - NYTimes.com

2011-09-26T09:41:00.000-07:00

Rat Island is near Barron's boatyard, City Island

Rat Island - a hazard between City Island and Hart Island - the site of New York City's Potter's Field - is for sale.

No Traffic, No Noise, on an Island Off the Bronx - NYTimes.com: "It has no electricity or sewer lines. Much of it is under water at high tide. It has no shelter, nor a ready spot to build one. It does not even come with a dock."

'via Blog this'

Heritage Cup 2011

2011-09-20T17:39:00.000-07:00

Heritage Cup 2011

The 6th Annual Heritage Cup Race - part of the Wooden Boat Regatta Series - is October 1 at Hempstead Harbor Club, Sea Cliff, New York.

Star Class Centennial Regatta - Larchmont

2011-09-19T13:04:00.000-07:00

click images to enlarge

Larchmont Yacht Club hosted the Centennial Regatta of the International Star Class Yacht Racing Association. Over 100 boats competed - 98 moderns, 9 wood, and 13 classics in four days of racing. The legendary keel boat - recently bounced from the Olympics in favor of X-games type hot racers - is the favorite of world champion sailors like Torben Grael and Paul Cayard.

I got lucky today on my way back from the Indian Harbor Classics race in Greenwich. I found myself motoring west on North River as the Star fleet beat to windward on the Long Island Sound. Here is the link to the shots I took. And HERE is the link to shots by a pro. Video below.

Issuma: through the northwest passage!

2011-09-11T20:05:00.000-07:00

Issuma has passed through the Arctic Sea, into the Chukchi Sea, and the Bering Strait. They are now anchored on the Bay of Port Clarence (65° 15′ 58″ N, 166° 51′ 10″ W) an area on the Seward Peninsula, in the Nome Region. They saw little ice. No surprise since sea ice in the arctic has hit an historic low. Dramatically different from circa 1845 - the time of the doomed Franklin expedition of the Royal Navy.
Richard reports today (9/11) that they were out of touch for a while - sat phone charging problems. When time and conditions permit he'll put up the posts he could not transmit. Blogger showed me no new posts, but closer followers were getting position reports, so scroll down on Issuma's blog for more on the arctic passages.
Next stop may be Brevig Mission (pop. 276), then on down the Bering Sea to the Aleutian Islands, and...

Northwest Passage 2012 dot com: Arctic ice cover hits historic low - The Last Icy Arctic Northwest Passage in 2012 on M/V GREY GOOSE

2011-09-11T17:53:00.000-07:00

Take that, Rick Perry!. - GWC
Northwest Passage 2012 dot com: Arctic ice cover hits historic low - The Last Icy Arctic Northwest Passage in 2012 on M/V GREY GOOSE: "The area covered by Arctic sea ice reached its lowest point this week since the start of satellite observations in 1972, German researchers announced on Saturday.
"On September 8, the extent of the Arctic sea ice was 4.240 million square kilometres (1.637 million square miles). This is a new historic minimum," said Georg Heygster, head of the Physical Analysis of Remote Sensing Images unit at the University of Bremen's Institute of Environmental Physics."

'via Blog this'

Northwest Indians - return to canoes

2011-09-10T21:14:00.000-07:00

The Times has a great slide show HERE about Swinomish Indian families returning to their traditional canoes for weeks of summer travel.

Mast Mate

2011-09-10T19:39:00.000-07:00

Dave Seroy replaced the headsail sheave on the masthead of his Bayfield 24 named Leandra. It's a long way up and down. He climbed the rig using Mast Mate. The shots overlook City island YC's mooring field on Eastchester Bay. See the video below.

I bought it - 22' Eastern

2011-09-09T20:46:00.000-07:00

I have given up on the Lyman. Just can't get that engine running right - not trustworthy enough for transporting grandkids - or myself. So I bought a boat. Not another mass of mahogany, no ooh and aah at the dock. Just a solid, older fiberglass hull by Eastern - the New Hampshire skiff builder. Homeport: Hatchet Cove, Friendship, Maine.
21' 10", 2,200 lbs, 90 hp 2 stroke Merc, 1983 hull, center console

22' Eastern at Jeff's Marine, Thomaston, ME

Cruise to Sing Sing

2011-09-07T05:31:00.000-07:00

Northwest Passage 2012 dot com: Icebreakers: Proof the US lacks big thinkers and Arctic vision

2011-09-05T08:35:00.000-07:00

Polar Star - UUSCG icebreaker drydocked since 2006 due to budget cuts.
It was the first ship to cross the Arctic Sea over the North Pole.

Northwest Passage 2012 dot com: Icebreakers: Proof the US lacks big thinkers and Arctic vision: "Our country lacks big thinkers championing our interests in polar regions. Big thinkers like President Thomas Jefferson who defied critics by dispatching Lewis and Clark into the “wastelands,” big thinkers like President John F. Kennedy who met emerging Soviet threats by leading this nation into space exploration."

But we do have Jim DeMint and Michelle Bachmann. - GWC

Skywalkers - Ironworkers at the WTC - NY Times

2011-09-04T16:28:00.000-07:00

Credit: Damon Winter/NY Times

The Times Magazine today has a great photoessay about the ironworkers who are erecting the new tower at the World Trade Center site. The photos are reminiscent of the famous Lewis Hine shots of the Empire State Building. Slideshow HERE. Text HERE. Video HERE.

A ‘Canoe Family,’ if Only for a Few Weeks - Slide Show - NYTimes.com

2011-09-04T12:36:00.000-07:00

A ‘Canoe Family,’ if Only for a Few Weeks - Slide Show - NYTimes.com: "Canoes from tribes throughout the coastal Northwest converged on the Swinomish reservation, the host for an annual week of traditional dancing, singing and celebration. For some, the journey involved weeks of paddling."

'via Blog this'

Margaretville flood

2011-08-28T21:17:00.001-07:00

Hurricane Irene: Storm Warnings : The New Yorker

2011-08-28T20:15:00.000-07:00

Jim Cantore, of the Weather Channel, in Battery Park.
Photograph: The Weather Channel/Getty Images.

Weather channel syndrome - its meaning for our time.
Global warnings: a taste of things to come? - GWC

by Adam Gopnik - the New Yorker

News Desk: Hurricane Irene: Storm Warnings : The New Yorker:

"We happened to be seeing out the summer on Cape Cod last week, thinking we’d come home Sunday, when news that the hurricane was on its way first got around. We blessedly don’t have the Internet or a television in the house we rent up there; you get your news by biking down to the local grocery store for the paper or just by hearing what’s up on the beach—or, when the satellite decides to pass over in a good mood, from the occasional snatch of info you can grab from your iPhone. Talking round with friends, it sounded like Sunday would be mighty rainy and windy and that it would be prudent to come home sooner. Since traffic is always horrific coming home from the Cape on Saturday, we decided to drive back Friday night."

'via Blog this'

Eagle Island light

2011-08-28T18:53:00.000-07:00

Islands are places of dreams, where, we imagine, we are free to build lives of our own choice, free to be alone, and free to leave to join the rest of the world. Eagle Island in the east Penobscot Bay is a place that elicits such dreams.

Pescadotes: Herreshoff New York 30

2011-08-28T16:33:00.000-07:00

The New York 30 - designed as a club boat for the New York Yacht Club (which has a sidewalk in New York and a dock in Newport) is one of Nat Herreshoff's masterpieces. Nice job here by Joe Warren to capture boat and summer sky. In the old style `30' refers to waterline length, not length overall.

Pescadotes: herreshoff ny 30

Irene-damaged wharf - City Island Yacht Club

2011-08-28T14:18:00.000-07:00

Francine Alheid's flickr photostream is HERE

We built a Lumber Yard Skiff!

2011-08-28T12:46:00.000-07:00

At the WoodenBoat School, Brooklin, Maine, August 22-26, 2011 we (Dave, Casey, Walter Baron and me) built a 16 foot Lumber Yard Skiff!
Walter is the designer and boat builder. See his work at Old Wharf Dory Co. My slide show is embedded below.
Casey's excellent slides are HERE

And here's a video of the LYSS making its way up the rapids below a dam:

Issuma: 105' West -- Cambridge Bay, Nunavut

2011-08-27T16:56:00.000-07:00

Go due North from Boulder Colorado for a thousand miles. You'll find Issuma there. But three cruise ships got there first to Cambridge Bay, the Victoria Islands, Nunavut, Canada.
As Yann, the boat's builder and first captain commented "What do you have to do to get away?

Issuma: heading west!

2011-08-19T21:32:00.000-07:00

The + marks Bellot Strait.
The big island to the east is Baffin.
Below it is Labrador.

Issuma is so far north that the compass needle points down. This is looking like the beginning of a northwest passage, NOT a circumnavigation of Baffin Island. Bellot Strait - which Issuma just traversed westbound - is the northernmost point on the North American continent. Perhaps wintering at an arctic port is the plan. The photo is of the Bellot Strait which Richard describes below. Go directly to Issuma to learn how they did on their passage through the strait.

"Bellot Strait is an 18 mile long passage between Prince Regent Inlet and Peel Sound. It was named after Lieutenant Bellot of the French Navy who came across it in 1852. It has a difficult reputation due to its fast tidal currents and a rock that is awash (so hard to see) near the eastern end of it. While there was no ice when we passed, Bellot Strait has a reputation for quickly jamming with ice. The Sailing Directions note: "The tidal streams run with great strength through Bellot Strait...In the vicinity of Magpie Rock, the currents are highly variable; localised 7-8 knot westerly currents have been reported on the north side of the channel at the same time that equally strong easterly currents were flowing on the south side. Mariners should exercise extreme caution in this area."

Iceberg in Labrador Sea - from a satellite

2011-08-17T19:49:00.000-07:00

This photo by NASA astronaut Neil Garan is of an iceberg in the Labrador Sea - where Richard and Issuma have been wandering.

Perseid meteor seen from space station

2011-08-17T08:53:00.000-07:00

NASA astronaut's pictures from space show a meteor entering the atmosphere during the Perseid meteor showers.

Issuma: circumnavigating Baffin Island

2011-08-16T17:53:00.000-07:00

Issuma reports its current position as the Bellot Strait - the picture here is of Devon Island - the largest uninhabited island on earth. It is the site of the Mars on Earth project's research. They think it is the most Mars-like place on earth and they have been up there with robots.
On one side of the Bellot Strait is Somerset island. That is the second image. I get nervous and dizzy just thinking about being that far north - and that remote. On Somerset island was the last outpost of the Hudson Bay Company - Fort Ross.

Yrvind talk about knots - YouTube

2011-08-16T17:27:00.000-07:00

Sven Yrvind demonstrates the Secure knot - a kind of super bowline.

Yrvind talk about knots - YouTube

Septuagenarian Swede sets sail across Atlantic in tiny boat | News | Pbo

2011-08-16T16:57:00.000-07:00

Sven Yrvind may be a madman, but he's not crazy. He has a great sailing resume. His adventures have taken him across several oceans, often solo. His was the first yacht to land at the remote South Atlantic island Tristan da Cunha, and he set a record rounding Cape Horn on a 20-footer in winter. In 1980, under the name Sven Lundin, he was awarded the Royal Cruising Club medal for seamanship.

At an expected average boat speed of 2.5 knots Sven hopes Bris will reach Madeira in less than 30 days.

Read more about Sven and Bris on www.yrvind.com.

Septuagenarian Swede sets sail across Atlantic in tiny boat | News | Pbo

Arctic Ice Thinning 4 Times Faster Than Predicted by IPCC Models, Semi-Stunning M.I.T. Study Finds | ThinkProgress

2011-08-14T21:02:00.000-07:00

Arctic Ice Thinning 4 Times Faster Than Predicted by IPCC Models, Semi-Stunning M.I.T. Study Finds | ThinkProgress

Issuma crosses Baffin Bay from Greenland

2011-08-14T19:24:00.000-07:00

Issuma has crossed Baffin Bay and is now in Canadian waters NORTH! of Baffin Island at 74.0 North. The graphic is a scanned copy of a weather fax ice chart, with Issuma's track superimposed. They are on the latitude of the Northwest passage. It's a straight shot to the Bering Sea! They wouldn't. They couldn't - not this late in the year. We may have to wait for the next post - Richard's sat phone contract has expired and the telephone renewal link isn't working!

A stroll through Wyeth's Giverny - NYTimes.com

2011-08-13T19:12:00.000-07:00

The Farmhouse of Wyeth’s ‘Christina’s World’ - NYTimes.com: "To Wyeth the Olson farmstead was a little like the garden at Giverny was to Monet several decades earlier: an inexhaustible subject for his paintings."
I, of course, concur. For a dozen years we have rented the hosue on Stones Point across Maple Juice Cove from the Olson House. This is a nice piece to encourage visitors to come for the magic of mid-coast Maine, of Wyeth's - and my - garden at Giverny. We're all channeling Monet. - GWC (all photos are mine)

Alvaro & Christina

Christina's world - the iconic image

Andrew's grave

SeaPaddleNYC 2011

2011-08-12T07:26:00.000-07:00

SeaPaddlers on the ship canal near Baker Field

Caught without my camera as a fabulous parade of paddlers - most standing, many in kayaks made its way north with the flood tide above the GW Bridge on a beautiful late summer morning, heading into a soft northerly. Maybe I should do it in my Walker Bay 8' rowboat? 26 miles round Manhattan. The currents had better be right. Organized by SeaPaddleNYC, the whole flotilla looked great - with well-marked escort boats.

The most northerly point? 72.45 N - Issuma

2011-08-11T05:52:00.000-07:00

In 1587, John Davis made his third and last voyage to Davis Strait and what is now called Baffin Bay. Davis named this 300m/1000' cliff Sanderson's Hope, after his main financial backer, William Sanderson of London. Davis wrote 'no ice towards the north but a great sea, free, large, very salt and blue, and of an unsearchable depth'. - Richard Hudson 8/10/11

Will Upernavik, Greenland, 72.45 N be the point where Richard too turns back? I would spend some time in Upernavik, Greenland if I had the chance. Nice little town. Beautiful sunset light at 11:30 PM this time of year. Long, dark winters, of course.

Life on the water in New York

2011-08-09T13:37:00.001-07:00

Stones Point

2011-08-08T20:25:00.000-07:00

26 for dinner at our Stones Point reunion 2011! Click on the photo for the whole slide show!

Issuma: Greenland - showers and wi-fi

2011-08-05T21:01:00.000-07:00

Somandshjemmet - showers & WiFi

Aasiaat, Greenland is on Baffin Bay, north of the Labrador Sea. It is north of Nuuk - the largest settlement. Formerly Danish, it is now autonomous - with Danish support, as the name of Seaman's house shows. In the second shot Issuma is against the bulkhead. Aasiaat's tides are moderate - today's 2.3 meters is about as high as it gets. (We had more than that today on the Muscongus Bay.)
Richard mentioned ice awhile back but not in the run across the Labrador Sea. The Canadian Cost Guard advises about ice.
- GWC

Issuma: Greenland at last

2011-08-04T20:54:00.000-07:00

Richard Hudson and crew have arrived in Aasiat, Greenland. this was Richard's fourth attempt in three years. He tells the story HERE

Issuma: Luck, resourcefulness on the way to Greenland

2011-07-31T06:26:00.000-07:00

Cartwright harbor - Labrador

As they headed into Cartwright, Labrador for rigging repairs, engine trouble developed on Issuma. They are now approaching Greenland. - GWC

wo weeks ago, as we sailed into Cartwright Harbor Two weeks ago, as we sailed into Cartwright Harbor (pictured). A few hundred metres away from the dock, we started lowering sails and prepared to start the engine to motor onto the dock. The engine oil level was unexpectedly high. The oil was black, so I figured the fuel pump had leaked fuel into the crankcase, as I saw no signs of water. We started the engine and motored onto the dock.
After shutting down the motor, the oil was checked again, and now it looked like a chocolate milkshake, a sure indication that water was mixed into the oil. The oil was changed and the filter washed out with fuel. I'd bought a dozen "compatible" oil filters at the auto parts store in Rimouski a month ago and hadn't used any of them yet, so hadn't yet realized that none of thembe fit the engine. So, I needed to find the source of the water getting into the fuel and change the oil and filter enough times to clear all the water out (when water mixed with antifreeze mixes with the oil, the antifreeze prevents the oil from lubricating the bearings and it soon destroys the engine if the engine is continued to be run). No suitable oil filters were available in Cartwright.
The engine in Issuma is made by John Deere, but marinized (mostly this means adding a heat exchanger and a seawater pump so seawater cools the antifreeze/water that the engine is cooled with) by Baudouin. As Baudouin is in France, with only one dealer in Canada (in Montreal), versus John Deere being the real manufacturer of the engine and having many dealers all over the place, including Newfoundland, I figured they would be the best place to have a new oil cooler and head gasket (the two possible ways for the engine water/antifreeze to get into the oil) sent from.
I called up the John Deere dealer from the payphone in the store (no cellular service here) and ordered the parts. The John Deere dealer needed the serial number of the engine to get the correct oil cooler. Unfortunately, when Baudouin marinized the engine, they REMOVED the serial number plate from the engine, putting their own serial number plate in its place. I had a service manual for the engine, which said there were three possible oil coolers, and had pictures of each type. I emailed a copy of the relevant page of the service manual to the John Deere dealer, and he thought he could get the right one based on that.
The oil filters took six days to arrive, as the dealer thought they would be best shipped to Goose Bay by air and then transferred to something else to get to Cartwright. After a few days, everyone in Cartwright knew we were at the dock, waiting for parts, and people helped us out. Innu Mikkun airlines got the parts and put them on a charter flight that was going to Cartwright. Then I was able to change the oil and filter several times and determine that the problem was the oil cooler.
The oil cooler, which had to be sent from Ontario, arrived after several more days. Unfortunately, it was not the same type as the old one, so didn't fit. Knowing there was a machine shop in Goose Bay (a 5 hour drive), I hitchhiked to Goose Bay, got a part modified at the machine shop the next day, and hitchhiked back. Several more hours of installing the oil cooler and replacing hoses (they needed to change size to work with the new oil cooler) and the engine was running properly.(pictured). A few hundred metres away from the dock, we started lowering sails and prepared to start the engine to motor onto the dock. The engine oil level was unexpectedly high. The oil was black, so I figured the fuel pump had leaked fuel into the crankcase, as I saw no signs of water. We started the engine and motored onto the dock.

After shutting down the motor, the oil was checked again, and now it looked like a chocolate milkshake, a sure indication that water was mixed into the oil. The oil was changed and the filter washed out with fuel. I'd bought a dozen "compatible" oil filters at the auto parts store in Rimouski a month ago and hadn't used any of them yet, so hadn't yet realized that none of thembe fit the engine. So, I needed to find the source of the water getting into the fuel and change the oil and filter enough times to clear all the water out (when water mixed with antifreeze mixes with the oil, the antifreeze prevents the oil from lubricating the bearings and it soon destroys the engine if the engine is continued to be run). No suitable oil filters were available in Cartwright.

The engine in Issuma is made by John Deere, but marinized (mostly this means adding a heat exchanger and a seawater pump so seawater cools the antifreeze/water that the engine is cooled with) by Baudouin. As Baudouin is in France, with only one dealer in Canada (in Montreal), versus John Deere being the real manufacturer of the engine and having many dealers all over the place, including Newfoundland, I figured they would be the best place to have a new oil cooler and head gasket (the two possible ways for the engine water/antifreeze to get into the oil) sent from.

I called up the John Deere dealer from the payphone in the store (no cellular service here) and ordered the parts. The John Deere dealer needed the serial number of the engine to get the correct oil cooler. Unfortunately, when Baudouin marinized the engine, they REMOVED the serial number plate from the engine, putting their own serial number plate in its place. I had a service manual for the engine, which said there were three possible oil coolers, and had pictures of each type. I emailed a copy of the relevant page of the service manual to the John Deere dealer, and he thought he could get the right one based on that.

The oil filters took six days to arrive, as the dealer thought they would be best shipped to Goose Bay by air and then transferred to something else to get to Cartwright. After a few days, everyone in Cartwright knew we were at the dock, waiting for parts, and people helped us out. Innu Mikkun airlines got the parts and put them on a charter flight that was going to Cartwright. Then I was able to change the oil and filter several times and determine that the problem was the oil cooler.

The oil cooler, which had to be sent from Ontario, arrived after several more days. Unfortunately, it was not the same type as the old one, so didn't fit. Knowing there was a machine shop in Goose Bay (a 5 hour drive), I hitchhiked to Goose Bay, got a part modified at the machine shop the next day, and hitchhiked back. Several more hours of installing the oil cooler and replacing hoses (they needed to change size to work with the new oil cooler) and the engine was running properly.

After shutting down the motor, the oil was checked again, and now it looked like a chocolate milkshake, a sure indication that water was mixed into the oil. The oil was changed and the filter washed out with fuel. I'd bought a dozen "compatible" oil filters at the auto parts store in Rimouski a month ago and hadn't used any of them yet, so hadn't yet realized that none of thembe fit the engine. So, I needed to find the source of the water getting into the fuel and change the oil and filter enough times to clear all the water out (when water mixed with antifreeze mixes with the oil, the antifreeze prevents the oil from lubricating the bearings and it soon destroys the engine if the engine is continued to be run). No suitable oil filters were available in Cartwright.

The engine in Issuma is made by John Deere, but marinized (mostly this means adding a heat exchanger and a seawater pump so seawater cools the antifreeze/water that the engine is cooled with) by Baudouin. As Baudouin is in France, with only one dealer in Canada (in Montreal), versus John Deere being the real manufacturer of the engine and having many dealers all over the place, including Newfoundland, I figured they would be the best place to have a new oil cooler and head gasket (the two possible ways for the engine water/antifreeze to get into the oil) sent from.

I called up the John Deere dealer from the payphone in the store (no cellular service here) and ordered the parts. The John Deere dealer needed the serial number of the engine to get the correct oil cooler. Unfortunately, when Baudouin marinized the engine, they REMOVED the serial number plate from the engine, putting their own serial number plate in its place. I had a service manual for the engine, which said there were three possible oil coolers, and had pictures of each type. I emailed a copy of the relevant page of the service manual to the John Deere dealer, and he thought he could get the right one based on that.

The oil filters took six days to arrive, as the dealer thought they would be best shipped to Goose Bay by air and then transferred to something else to get to Cartwright. After a few days, everyone in Cartwright knew we were at the dock, waiting for parts, and people helped us out. Innu Mikkun airlines got the parts and put them on a charter flight that was going to Cartwright. Then I was able to change the oil and filter several times and determine that the problem was the oil cooler.

The oil cooler, which had to be sent from Ontario, arrived after several more days. Unfortunately, it was not the same type as the old one, so didn't fit. Knowing there was a machine shop in Goose Bay (a 5 hour drive), I hitchhiked to Goose Bay, got a part modified at the machine shop the next day, and hitchhiked back. Several more hours of installing the oil cooler and replacing hoses (they needed to change size to work with the new oil cooler) and the engine was running properly.

Atlantis lands ending the New Frontier

2011-07-21T06:06:00.000-07:00

Atlantis has landed ending the manned space shuttle program.
When we had our first sputnik moment we were seized by fears - the Russians were smarter, at least definitely better at math. They were overtaking us. Some - like the ultra conservative Phyllis Shlafly - worked up hysterical claims that the Russians had nuclear bombs orbiting above us.

Americans were unnerved and intrigued by the prospect of space exploration. Rocket was the favorite word of the day. We were seized by a dream of exploration like that of the nineteenth century explorers - Lewis & Clark, Peary, Scott, Shackleton, and the triumphant Amundsen. John Kennedy tapped that spirit. The theme of his administration was the "new frontier" and we went to the moon. The shuttle was an attempt to routinize manned space flight. It didn't work out very well. There wasn't really very much to do up there, I guess. As we look back it is impossible to forget those who died in the effort, particularly Christa McAuliff the school teacher and the six others who died in the Challenger catastrophe.

Arctic Sea Ice Record Shrinking - National Sea Ice Data Center

2011-07-19T20:20:00.000-07:00

from the National Sea Ice Data Center (click to enlarge image)

Arctic Sea Ice News & Analysis:

"Figure 1. Arctic sea ice extent on July 17, 2011 was 7.56 million square kilometers (2.92 million square miles). The orange line shows the 1979 to 2000 median extent for that day. The black cross indicates the geographic North Pole."