Offshore Sailing - Ocean Navigator

01 Jan

Key West sets latest 'no-discharge' area

Ocean NavigatorOffshore Sailing

What is the most responsible way to effectively deal with sewage generated from commercial and yacht traffic? Since the Clean Water Act was introduced in 1972, it has been illegal to dump raw sewage into the oceans. Yet many vessel operators flout the law, stating that shore-side pump-outs are inadequate or non-existent. However, some operators, either out of fear of being caught or a genuine environmental conscience, use holding tanks or employ a shipboard treatment system like a marine sanitation device (MSD). Several state and local governments around the U.S. have implemented "no-discharge" areas, however, which effectively prohibit the use…

01 Jan

Mariners Museum supporting marine research

Ocean NavigatorOffshore Sailing

The Mariners' Museum in Newport News, Va., is a maritime treasure, its exhibitions on nautical arcana, art and artifacts is vast and well catalogued. The museum also supports research and exploration efforts. Most recently, Mariners' has offered a $750 research grant for nautical research, whether a doctoral thesis, monograph or scholarly presentation. The museum reports that the subject matter need not be too specific, potential subjects, for example, being lifeboats, life saving, safety at sea and the U.S. Coast Guard. Applications are accepted each year from January through May -- May 15 this year -- and are reviewed by the…

01 Jan

Their father's work

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Their Fathers' Work - Casting Nets with the World's Fishermen by William McCloskey Their Fathers' Work documents 30 years of experience in the world's fishing industry from the perspective of the fisherman. McCloskey, whose personal interest has always brought him down to the docks, worked on fishing boats around the world and brought his varied and raw accounts together in this book.Crabbing in Alaska, long-lining on the Grand Banks, or seining for sardines off Chile's bold shore, the author describes the fishing life, long hours and back-numbing labor. It is as hard a life as it ever was, according to…

01 Jan

Low bridge shears off schooner's topmasts

Ocean NavigatorOffshore Sailing

The 145-foot West Coast training schooner Californianwas sheared of its topmasts in May after a navigational error resulted in the vessel passing under a low bridge. Californian, which is operated by the Nautical Heritage Society in San Clemente, Calif., as a training vessel for school groups and private charters, was being piloted under the Benicia Bridge upriver from San Francisco Bay when the incident occurred. "Both topmasts hit the bridge, and when that happened the flying jib stay sprung the jibboom and bowsprit upward," said Steve Christman, founder and president of the Society. "It was the result of someone not…

01 Jan

Grissom's Liberty Bell found at sea

Ocean NavigatorOffshore Sailing

A search for Gus Grissom's Mercury capsule Liberty Bell 7, which sank accidentally following a 1961 suborbital flight, was partially successful in May. The Discovery Channel sponsored the expedition that found the capsule in 15,600 feet of water 350 miles east of the Florida coast, but an attempt to recover the nine-foot capsule failed when a deep-towed sonar unit broke loose and sank. Liberty Bell 7 sank suddenly in July 1961 when the hatch unexpectedly blew off during recovery operations. Grissom barely escaped alive before it flooded and sank. A team of ocean engineers and salvage experts with Oceaneering International…

01 Jan

Hutton's Sea Cloud

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Like Bill Gates' mansion and Donald Trump's Tower, millionaire financier, Edward F. Hutton's yacht had to scream "success." To that end, in 1930, Hutton ordered the construction of an extravagant pleasure vessel as a wedding gift for his equally well-heeled wife, Marjorie Merriweather Post (of Post Grape Nuts fame). The 316-foot, four-masted barque initially slipped down the ways at the famous Krupp Germania Werft shipyard at Keil, Germany, on April 25, 1931, bearing the name Hussar. Krupp was instructed to install every cutting-edge convenience 1930's technology could offer. This included four auxiliary 800-hp diesel engines feeding power through an electric…

01 Jan

First powerboat race 'round the world

Ocean NavigatorOffshore Sailing

The first-ever round-the-world powerboat race will begin from Charleston, S.C., in January 2001 in a fleet of vessels that at first glance appear more like lake cruisers than extreme powerboats. The 20-foot aluminum vessels, designed by Dave Jackman, are self-righting, and they will be operated by a two-person crew on a voyage that is expected to last 10 months. The vessels' 20-hp engines can make turns for a top speed of six knots (six knots!) and will likely be built by the Arkansas-based SeaArk, a manufacturer of commercial aluminum vessels. Contact Magellan Challenge race organizer Jim Betts in Point Pleasant…

01 Jan

Flotilla to invade Governor's Island

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A group of citizens will protest sale of Governors Island to the highest bidder for fear of improper development. Image Credit: Robert Cameron A flotilla of an estimated 1,000 vessels of all sizes will attempt to call attention to the sale of Governors Island in New York City to the highest bidder. Organized by the Governors Island Group and the Metropolitan Waterfront Alliance, Governors Island for the People! will converge at Governors Island on June 2, "celýbrating the National Monument and dramatizing the urgency of action needed to save the rest of the island." Twenty acres of the island…

01 Jan

Crash landing ends navigator's dreams

Ocean NavigatorOffshore Sailing

A crash landing in a privately owned vintage military plane destroyed the dreams of a commercial airline pilot who had hoped to start an airborne school for navigation enthusiasts. The 1944-built, AT-7/SNB-type warbird (featured in this column in Issue # 106, May/June 2000) was being brought down to an airstrip near the owner's home in Urbana, Ill., when the craft's wheel brakes suddenly locked, sending the plane end-over-end. Eventually it came to rest on its back, according to Douglas Brutlag, a commercial 767 pilot who was flying the plane with a partner . None of the crew was injured, he…

01 Jan

Volvo race boats' vitals displayed at race HQ

Ocean NavigatorOffshore Sailing

An oversized display of sailing instruments is mounted on a section of mast at the headquarters of the Volvo Ocean Race in Southampton, England, which can be programmed to receive almost real-time updates from any one of the eight competing boats. Each of the boats, which were on layover in Cape Town at press time, following the end of the first leg, is equipped with B&G sailing instruments. Feedback to headquarters is refreshed every 10 minutes, providing the race operations personnel with access to round-the-clock information, like boat speed, wind force, direction and relative angle, and compass course. Each of…