Galway - Marstrand photo finish

The picture above shows the few yards that separated Boston-based Puma from Irish-crewed, Chinese-bult Green Dragon at the finish of the 415 mile Galway to Marstrand leg. Ken Read, Puma skipper describes the leg and their luck in a way that any round-the-buoys sailor will recognize here.

The fleet is seen above in the Marstrand harbor. It's a beautiful spot, with a 700 year old viking fort atop the small island, which guarded the entrance to Gothenburg (Goteborg) whence Marilyn's grandparents sailed to America. And not nearly as cold as you might imagine. Milder than New York, actually, though dark in the winter - but long days in summer. Volvo is headquartered a few miles away. The fleet has sailed more than a circumnavigation now - with a leg to go.

images: VOR (c) 2009

The Mackerel-crowded Sea: Sustainable fisheries

The evidence at the public landing at Port Clyde on the Gulf of Maine is that there are a lot of mackerel in the sea. And a hook with an eel on it will tell you the same in the East River about the striped bass, and a shiny jig about bluefish. But what about the others? The Times has invited specialists who study the matter to comment here. Among those on the good list: haddock, east coast scallops, and Alaska wild salmon - at record levels now.

Scallop draggers - Barnegat Light

"We drag it just above the bottom - the steel rings and fingers scrape em up, into the bag", said the captain of the William & Lauren. "Shouldn't be giving away my secrets - but that's about all there is to it." (click on the 3rd thumbnail to see details)

We never think about scallop draggers until we see a short item about a winter search off the coast of New Jersey or Nantucket. That's why the Coast Guard developed Rescue 21. And that's why there are rigid-inflatable motor life boats with a pair of 200 horsepower engines ready to fly out of the Coast Guard stations at Barnegat Light, Atlantic City, New Bedford and the other fishing ports along the coasts. Speed could save a crew member, like on the F/V NORTHERN EDGE – Dec. 20, 2004, 75-ft scallop boat sank 45 miles SE of Nantucket, 5 lost, 1 survivor.

These shots were taken at Barnegat Light and the Marina at Barnegat Light, a busy fishing port more famous as a summer resort beach town on the Jersey shore 45 miles south of Sandy Hook.

Here is some video of a scallop dragger at work. I know there are people who think it is crude, rapacious, and destructive of the ocean bottom. Maybe but I really don't feel any sympathy for a scallop as I bake it or an oyster as I pop it into my mouth with some tabasco.

400 Years - Henry Hudson and the North River

For more information, check HERE

Phil Bolger - RIP

He was a

perfectionist, Philip Bolger, dead by his own hand at 81. He couldn't bear the decline of his powers, as his wife and partner Susanne Altenberger and friends recount in this death announcement. He thought boats should do what they set out to do, not do everything. He preferred simplicity - as in the Gloucester light dory (compare it to Winslow Homer's), but he could also manage the complex: as in his design of a replica of a 1757 frigate the HMS Rose.

Penobscot Bay Pilots

I have often wondered - who are the pilots who navigate those massive tankers and bulk carriers through the Penobscot Bay. They are the men and women (like Capt. Jane Ryan) of the Penobscot Bay & River Pilots Association. They serve Searsport, Bucksport, and Bar Harbour.

The switch from the 61 foot pilot boat to ship via the ladder over the side may be a piece of cake on balmy days like the afternoon I took the shot above. But what about in a gale like this?

Blues man

Corner of Astor Place & Lafayette Street in front of then Astor Wines & Spirits.

Image: George Mocsary

Lilac - a little noticed steamer turns 76

Bowsprite has posted new work. My favorite is Lilac, seen here. A one-time Coast Guard lighthouse tender, it is docked at Pier 40 near Houston Street. Tugster has gotten down below and taken shots of the engine room today and has links to historic shots like the one below. It shows the engine room in the ship's glory days when it was the USCG vessel Oak.

And here is the link to the Lilac Preservation Project. You can visit it, support it, etc.

Issuma: Salvador to Recife

Richard Hudson is on the move again.

A four day sail from Salvador to Recife (the northeast corner of Brasil).

Here is the link to his site - which is also in the blog roll on the right of the page.

Volvo: grrr...Lobster Pots Stop Green Dragon

The Volvo fleet took off from Boston for Galway Saturday. A sentimental reverse voyage to me because my great grandfather Thomas Costello came to New York from there. And probably the same for the Curtises from County Clare, which explains my mother's name.

Traveling on a Volvo 70 is not very different from a famine ship: below decks most of the time, probably sick as a dog in rough seas, cause there are skylights but nothing you could call a port hole. So you spend most of your time in the amenity-less haven of pipe bunks and gear below deck. Click on the thumbnails to get a closeup view.

Getting out of Boston Harbor was tricky - with the tanker Nor'Easter blocking the way, as the picture shows. And then the dread with which we all live Down East: lobster pots.

The skipper of Green Dragon - the Chinese-built Irish-crewed boat reports:

Green Dragon - Ian Walker (Skipper)

Why did I have to mention the threat of lobster pots yesterday? Today as we rounded Cape Sable off the Southern tip of Nova Scotia we were confronted by hundreds of them and to make matters worse, it was low tide and the lines were slack with little or no pattern.

After zig zagging our way through with a lookout forward we eventually hooked one on our leeward daggerboard. Five minutes later we had three of them entangling us. After backing down and clearing two of them we realised one line had sawn its way through the leading edge of the port daggerboard. We managed to raise the board and cut it free but we are left with a 250 cut in the laminate of our daggerboard one metre up from the tip. The rope we hit must have been over a metre below the surface!

We cannot leave the board in this state or the laminate will peel away and the board will start to disintegrate. Right now the watch system is on hold and we have four teams of people working onboard. Two people are sailing the boat as fast as they can with no daggerboards, three people led by Neal are working to repair the damaged board down below and three people led by Damian are working to swap the windward board end-for-end into the leeward case and two people are eating or resting.

Hopefully we will have the daggerboards reversed and can sail at 100% in the next hour and the port daggerboard can hopefully be fixed before we have to go upwind. This is a big disappointment as we were in sight of 5 boats and sailing well. We can only hope that we don't lose touch with the fleet and live to fight another day.

Got to go and help.

Ian

For more, click HERE

Images: Taisy