WBChristie
Member
Recommended reading “At any cost - love, life and death at sea” Peter Tangvalds autobiography. Also, his son was lost at sea fairly recently.
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New Boat 4 Sled
- Thread starter sleddog
- Start date
New Zealand's recently sailed Mahurangi Regatta is quite the classic yacht gathering! A bit like our own Master Mariners.
http://classicsailboats.org/mahurangi-regatta-january-27-2018/
Gotta love THELMA: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s7HQF5x6jjw
Maybe some remember THELMA from her time on SF Bay.
http://www.classicyachtcharitabletrust.org.nz/trust_boats.htm?boat_id=5
http://classicsailboats.org/mahurangi-regatta-january-27-2018/
Gotta love THELMA: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s7HQF5x6jjw
Maybe some remember THELMA from her time on SF Bay.
http://www.classicyachtcharitabletrust.org.nz/trust_boats.htm?boat_id=5
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Nigel the gannet and two concrete friends. (New Zealand Department of Conservation)
Nigel, a handsome gannet bird who lived on a desolate island off the coast of New Zealand, died suddenly this week. Wherever his soul has landed, the singles scene surely cannot be worse.
The bird was lured to Mana Island five years ago by wildlife officials who, in hopes of establishing a gannet colony there, had placed concrete gannet decoys on cliffsides and broadcast the sound of the species’ calls. Nigel accepted the invitation, arriving in 2013 as the island’s first gannet in 40 years. But none of his brethren joined him.
In the absence of a living love interest, Nigel became enamored with one of the 80 faux birds. He built her — it? — a nest. He groomed her “chilly, concrete feathers . . . year after year after year,” the Guardian reported. He died next to her in that unrequited love nest, the vibrant orange-yellow plumage of his head contrasting, as ever, with the weathered, lemony paint of hers.
“Whether or not he was lonely, he certainly never got anything back, and that must have been [a] very strange experience,” conservation ranger Chris Bell, who also lives on the island, told the paper. “I think we all have a lot of empathy for him, because he had this fairly hopeless situation.”
As he persisted in this futile courtship, Nigel accrued something of a fan base. Mana is a scientific reserve that, like other New Zealand islands, has been the focus of replanting and rodent eradication efforts. Friends of Mana Island, one of the groups that has planted trees and shrubs, said on Facebook that Nigel “won the hearts” of members and volunteers who “spent many hours over the years maintaining the concrete colony.”
A photo of Nigel’s favorite spot on Mana Island, taken a few days after his death. The birds pictured are concrete gannet decoys. (New Zealand Department of Conservation)
Another gannet spent some time on Mana last year. Unfortunately, it was a he, dubbed Norman.
Perhaps the saddest twist to this tale is that three other gannets settled on Mana last month, after conservation officials tweaked the sound system used to attract them, according to the New Zealand website Stuff. This raised the possibility of breeding. But Nigel paid them no attention.
“This just feels like the wrong ending to the story,” Bell told Stuff. “He died right at the beginning of something great.”
But Nigel — whose nickname was “no mates” — will forever be remembered as the pioneer of the colony and credited with signaling to the new trio that Mana was suitable habitat, Bell said. ~Karin Brulliard, Washington Post
A volunteer paints a gannet decoy on Mana , a small island off the southwest coast of New Zealand’s north island. (New Zealand Department of Conservation)
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The recent bizarre fiasco of a New Yorker attempting to board a trans-Continental flight with her "emotional support animal," a large male peacock named Dexter, brings up an interesting question. I have a friend who was a J-24 class champion, who raced with his well behaved German Shepherd as crew. David's sailing success led to the local class banning his dog as un-measured crew weight in a class that is strict about such things...
I've raced Pacific Cups where fellow double-handers aboard EL TIBURON sailed over and back, twice, with their beloved kitty, "Snowball." Snowball was quite at home, and lived comfortably in the sock drawer. The only problem, and it wasn't really a problem for Snowball, was the State of Hawaii is very strict about the importation of pets. They are not allowed ashore under any circumstances without first being quarantined for an inordinate length of time.
If you are thinking of sailing the SHTP with your emotional support rattlesnake, or your aquarium of tropical fish (this actually happened), best to first check with authorities. hihi
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Race2Alaska not your cup of tea?
Not too late to book a cabin on a new "mega"cruise ship to Alaska...You'll never be lonely, with 4,000 fellow passengers served by 2,100 crew, on board the recently launched NORWEGIAN BLISS. If the Alaskan landscape or marine life is too boring , you can order a drink from a robotic bartender, then go drive on the world's largest go-cart race track. Or take out a little anger shooting laser tag at other passengers or passing R2AK competitors.... http://www.bliss.ncl.com/the_Ship/race_track_and_laser_tag
Not too late to book a cabin on a new "mega"cruise ship to Alaska...You'll never be lonely, with 4,000 fellow passengers served by 2,100 crew, on board the recently launched NORWEGIAN BLISS. If the Alaskan landscape or marine life is too boring , you can order a drink from a robotic bartender, then go drive on the world's largest go-cart race track. Or take out a little anger shooting laser tag at other passengers or passing R2AK competitors.... http://www.bliss.ncl.com/the_Ship/race_track_and_laser_tag
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I needed a sense of humor at today's Drivers License renewal and testing. Even with an appointment, that didn't help the malfunctioning computer that wouldn't recognize my thumb print and sent me back into an interminable line to retrieve a substitute paper test.
There were 18 questions, and you could only miss 3 to pass. One question I hadn't encountered in the practice tests was whether it is legal to park in front of your own driveway... You'd think it is OK, but I guessed and answered "NO" and that was the right answer. Whew!
Finally I found the sense of humor to which H Spruit alludes: Check out question 17 below:
The primary traveling aids for a blind person include:
a. a red cane or a trained guide dog
b. a white cane or a wheelchair
c. a white cane or a trained guide cat
d. a white cane or a trained guide dog
How did they know for 7 years I walked my cat daily on her leash?
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MAGICdreamer
Member
Well, we are in good hands then with Chula...
From whence and when came the first fiberglass boat?
Though the origin is probably lost for all time, the term "fiberglas," with one "S," was patented in 1936. Before this, plastics of many compositions were being experimented with. Formica, Melamine, Micarta, Synthane, Aqualite, and Bakelite resins all were being developed by industry.
Plywood remained the material of choice, especially for boats and planes during WWII. But in 1942 a fiberglas Snipe, or similar day sailor, was built, reputedly using palm fronds with urea formaldehyde resin.
Here is a good look, perhaps around 1950. Imagine laying up fiberglas with bare hands, wearing a suit and tie? God love the Brits and Save the Queen.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dePu2ooBnSE&sns=em
Though the origin is probably lost for all time, the term "fiberglas," with one "S," was patented in 1936. Before this, plastics of many compositions were being experimented with. Formica, Melamine, Micarta, Synthane, Aqualite, and Bakelite resins all were being developed by industry.
Plywood remained the material of choice, especially for boats and planes during WWII. But in 1942 a fiberglas Snipe, or similar day sailor, was built, reputedly using palm fronds with urea formaldehyde resin.
Here is a good look, perhaps around 1950. Imagine laying up fiberglas with bare hands, wearing a suit and tie? God love the Brits and Save the Queen.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dePu2ooBnSE&sns=em
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Yesterday, Annie and family went for a discovery cruise in Milford Sound, at the south end of New Zealand's South Island. The ocean was calm and they went for a brief detour outside into the Tasman Sea.
The Tasman Sea, which lies between SE Australia and New Zealand, is not always so placid, as we discovered on IMPROBABLE in the 1974 Hobart (Tasmania) to Auckand Race, a six day, 1,100 mile, crossing.
The Tasman was first crossed, East to West, solo, by famed singlehander Francis Chichester on his Gypsy Moth bi-plane in 1931. Chichester was unable to carry enough fuel for the full crossing, and converted his Gypsy Moth into a sea plane with auxiliary tanks as floats. This enabled a landing at Lord Howe Island for refueling, where Chichester's plane was flipped by strong winds and had to be rebuilt before successfully continuing the audacious passage.
The Tasman has seen the loss of several notable yachts. In 1980 yacht designer Paul Whiting's 40 footer SMACKWATER JACK disappeared with all hands in the same Hobart to Auckland Race after reporting atrocious conditions in a tropical cyclone.
More recently, in 2016, the famed schooner NINA disappeared without a trace in the Tasman. Despite the largest maritime search in New Zealand history, nothing was ever found of NINA and her 7 crew.
The Tasman is about to get slammed again, this time with Cyclone Gita. Gita devasted American Samoa a few days ago. Then as a Category 4, Gita yesterday scored a direct hit on Tonga, the strongest on record. Even Tonga's Met Bureau lost its roof as the 930 mb. storm and its eyewall passed overhead.
I'm tracking Gita, as it is forecast to pass south of Fiji before recurving southeastward with the real possibility of impacting New Zealand.
The Tasman Sea, which lies between SE Australia and New Zealand, is not always so placid, as we discovered on IMPROBABLE in the 1974 Hobart (Tasmania) to Auckand Race, a six day, 1,100 mile, crossing.
The Tasman was first crossed, East to West, solo, by famed singlehander Francis Chichester on his Gypsy Moth bi-plane in 1931. Chichester was unable to carry enough fuel for the full crossing, and converted his Gypsy Moth into a sea plane with auxiliary tanks as floats. This enabled a landing at Lord Howe Island for refueling, where Chichester's plane was flipped by strong winds and had to be rebuilt before successfully continuing the audacious passage.
The Tasman has seen the loss of several notable yachts. In 1980 yacht designer Paul Whiting's 40 footer SMACKWATER JACK disappeared with all hands in the same Hobart to Auckland Race after reporting atrocious conditions in a tropical cyclone.
More recently, in 2016, the famed schooner NINA disappeared without a trace in the Tasman. Despite the largest maritime search in New Zealand history, nothing was ever found of NINA and her 7 crew.
The Tasman is about to get slammed again, this time with Cyclone Gita. Gita devasted American Samoa a few days ago. Then as a Category 4, Gita yesterday scored a direct hit on Tonga, the strongest on record. Even Tonga's Met Bureau lost its roof as the 930 mb. storm and its eyewall passed overhead.
I'm tracking Gita, as it is forecast to pass south of Fiji before recurving southeastward with the real possibility of impacting New Zealand.
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Being of curious mind, I've wondered who was the first woman to circumnavigate.
Naomi James completed a solo circumnavigation, east to west, via the 3 Great Capes in 272 days, finishing in 1978 in the 53 foot EXPRESS CRUSADER. James' passage was 201 days longer than it took Ellen MacArthur in 2005, sailing west to east in the large tri B&Q.
Naomi James' circumnavigation was particularly intrepid as she was sailing mostly upwind against the prevailing Westerlies, the "Roaring 40's" and the "Furious 50's." James had only 6 weeks prior ocean sailing experience, and was seasick much of the way....
An old sailor's expression: Below 40 degrees south there is no law, below 50 degrees south there is no God.”
The first woman to sail around the world was Jeanne Baret, a French woman who, disguised as a man, sailed on the ETOILE one of two naval ships on the French expedition led by Louis-Antoine de Bougainville in 1768. Bougainville was a contemporary of Capt. Cook, and the first French captain to circumnavigate.
Baret, a trained botanist, signed aboard as a valet at the last minute in order to keep her gender secret. On the circumnavigation, Baret greatly assisted in the identification of new species including discovering the now well known "Bougainvillea" climbing shrub in Brazil.
Bougainville's expedition left France in April 1768 and Baret was able to disguise her gender (women were not allowed as crew in the French Navy) until the ETOILE arrived in Tahiti. She continued aboard as far as Mauritius where she was put ashore by de Bougainville. 1n 1775 Baret married a French officer and returned to France, thereby completing the first circumnavigation by a woman.
But who was the first woman to race around the World? Her name was Nellie Bly, and she was competing against Jules Verne's "Around the World in 80 days", written in 1873. Did Nellie Bly break Phileas Fogg's 80 days in her attempt in 1889? Stand by.
Naomi James completed a solo circumnavigation, east to west, via the 3 Great Capes in 272 days, finishing in 1978 in the 53 foot EXPRESS CRUSADER. James' passage was 201 days longer than it took Ellen MacArthur in 2005, sailing west to east in the large tri B&Q.
Naomi James' circumnavigation was particularly intrepid as she was sailing mostly upwind against the prevailing Westerlies, the "Roaring 40's" and the "Furious 50's." James had only 6 weeks prior ocean sailing experience, and was seasick much of the way....
An old sailor's expression: Below 40 degrees south there is no law, below 50 degrees south there is no God.”
The first woman to sail around the world was Jeanne Baret, a French woman who, disguised as a man, sailed on the ETOILE one of two naval ships on the French expedition led by Louis-Antoine de Bougainville in 1768. Bougainville was a contemporary of Capt. Cook, and the first French captain to circumnavigate.
Baret, a trained botanist, signed aboard as a valet at the last minute in order to keep her gender secret. On the circumnavigation, Baret greatly assisted in the identification of new species including discovering the now well known "Bougainvillea" climbing shrub in Brazil.
Bougainville's expedition left France in April 1768 and Baret was able to disguise her gender (women were not allowed as crew in the French Navy) until the ETOILE arrived in Tahiti. She continued aboard as far as Mauritius where she was put ashore by de Bougainville. 1n 1775 Baret married a French officer and returned to France, thereby completing the first circumnavigation by a woman.
But who was the first woman to race around the World? Her name was Nellie Bly, and she was competing against Jules Verne's "Around the World in 80 days", written in 1873. Did Nellie Bly break Phileas Fogg's 80 days in her attempt in 1889? Stand by.
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Going back a bit, to boatbuilding...
I've enjoyed this video on hot molded boatbuilding several times. I think the SSS needs an autoclave.
https://www.britishpathe.com/video/firefly-racing-dinghy/query/dinghy+sailing
also here..
I've enjoyed this video on hot molded boatbuilding several times. I think the SSS needs an autoclave.
https://www.britishpathe.com/video/firefly-racing-dinghy/query/dinghy+sailing
also here..
I first saw the lovely black schooner sailing in Newport Bay in late '50's. She had an all family crew, our friends the Warmingtons, who had had the former cod fishing schooner trucked from Nova Scotia to S. Cal in 1956. The black schooner, about 38 feet on deck, had the saucy name of NELLY BLY and was built in 1934, ostensibly a smaller version of the famous Canadian schooner BLUENOSE.
The Warmington's NELLY BLY became a family cruising boat, and although later claims were made about her outstanding speed, NELLY BLY really only came alive on a breezy reach when she could use her sails and waterline to good effect. Upwind or down, she was just average, slower than a Lapworth 32, about the same speed as a Newporter ketch. Pretty though! I always wondered about NELLY BLY's name???
NELLY BLY the schooner was named after Stephen Foster's 1850 minstrel song and adopted by Elizabeth Cochran, born in 1864 in Pennsylvania, as her pen name "Nellie Bly." Cochran became an investigative journalist at a young age writing exposes of working women being ill-treated in factories for the Pittsburg Dispatch. Factory owners threatened the Pittsburg Dispatch and "Nellie Bly," age 21, was assigned a new job as foreign correspondent in Mexico.
The dictatorial Mexican government did not like Nellie's reporting either and threatened her with imprisonment for criticizing the internment of a local journalist. She fled back to the USA, left the Dispatch, and moved to New York. Penniless, Nellie Bly earned a job at Joseph Pulitzer's newspaper the New World Dispatch. During an early, undercover writing job for Pulitzer, Bly feigned insanity and was committed to the Women's Lunatic Asylum on Blackwell's Island. On Blackwell's Island, Bly experienced deplorable conditions firsthand. After ten days, the asylum released Bly at Pulitzer's behest. Her report, published in book form as Ten Days in a Mad-House, created a sensation, prompted asylums to implement reforms, and with her courageous and bold act, cemented Nellie Bly's legacy as one of the foremost investigative female journalists of her time.
Nellie Bly's next adventure of her increasingly successful career came after reading Jules Verne's popular book Around the World in 80 days. She decided to travel around the world reporting on her journey and turn Jules Verne's fiction into fact. In 1889, with two days notice from her editor at the New World Dispatch, Nellie Bly boarded a steamship in Hoboken, NJ, bound for Europe. She only took with her the dress she was wearing, an overcoat, and a small travel bag. She carried most of her money and some gold coin in a bag tied around her neck.
Unbeknownst to Nellie Bly, another New York newspaper, the Cosmopolitan, sponsored its own reporter, Elizabeth Bisland, to beat the both the time of Phileas Fogg and Bly. Bisland traveled the opposite direction around the world, east to west, starting the same day as Bly. To sustain interest in the story, the World organized a "Nellie Bly Guessing Match" in which readers were asked to estimate Bly's arrival time to the second, with the Grand Prize consisting at first of a free trip to Europe and, later on, spending money for the trip.
Bly's circumnavigation took her through England, France (where she met Jules Verne), the Suez Canal, Colombo (Ceylon), Singapore, Hong Kong, and Japan. The development of efficient submarine cable networks and the electric telegraph allowed Bly to send short progress reports, early "blogs" so to speak.
Bly travelled using ships and railroad which caused numerous delays, particularly on the Asian leg of her race. Then rough weather on her Pacific crossing caused her to arrive in San Francisco two days behind schedule and miss her transcontinental train. However, World owner Pulitzer chartered a private train to bring her home and she arrived back in New Jersey on January 25, 1890, 72 days after setting out and averaging 12.5 knots, as BobJ accurately points out.
Bisland was, at the time, still crossing the Atlantic, only to arrive in New York four and a half days later. She also had missed a connection and had to board a slow, old ship instead of a faster liner.
Nellie Bly was not only a journalist, but became an inventor, entrepreneur, and industrialist, receiving patents for both a novel milk can and stacking garbage cans. Ultimately she returned to her first love, reporting, and covered Eastern Europe's front during WWI as well as promoting women's right-to-vote.
Nellie Bly died in 1922, age 57, two years after women were given the right-to-vote. NELLY BLY, the schooner, has returned to the East Coast and met with hard times.
The Warmington's NELLY BLY became a family cruising boat, and although later claims were made about her outstanding speed, NELLY BLY really only came alive on a breezy reach when she could use her sails and waterline to good effect. Upwind or down, she was just average, slower than a Lapworth 32, about the same speed as a Newporter ketch. Pretty though! I always wondered about NELLY BLY's name???
NELLY BLY the schooner was named after Stephen Foster's 1850 minstrel song and adopted by Elizabeth Cochran, born in 1864 in Pennsylvania, as her pen name "Nellie Bly." Cochran became an investigative journalist at a young age writing exposes of working women being ill-treated in factories for the Pittsburg Dispatch. Factory owners threatened the Pittsburg Dispatch and "Nellie Bly," age 21, was assigned a new job as foreign correspondent in Mexico.
The dictatorial Mexican government did not like Nellie's reporting either and threatened her with imprisonment for criticizing the internment of a local journalist. She fled back to the USA, left the Dispatch, and moved to New York. Penniless, Nellie Bly earned a job at Joseph Pulitzer's newspaper the New World Dispatch. During an early, undercover writing job for Pulitzer, Bly feigned insanity and was committed to the Women's Lunatic Asylum on Blackwell's Island. On Blackwell's Island, Bly experienced deplorable conditions firsthand. After ten days, the asylum released Bly at Pulitzer's behest. Her report, published in book form as Ten Days in a Mad-House, created a sensation, prompted asylums to implement reforms, and with her courageous and bold act, cemented Nellie Bly's legacy as one of the foremost investigative female journalists of her time.
Nellie Bly's next adventure of her increasingly successful career came after reading Jules Verne's popular book Around the World in 80 days. She decided to travel around the world reporting on her journey and turn Jules Verne's fiction into fact. In 1889, with two days notice from her editor at the New World Dispatch, Nellie Bly boarded a steamship in Hoboken, NJ, bound for Europe. She only took with her the dress she was wearing, an overcoat, and a small travel bag. She carried most of her money and some gold coin in a bag tied around her neck.
Unbeknownst to Nellie Bly, another New York newspaper, the Cosmopolitan, sponsored its own reporter, Elizabeth Bisland, to beat the both the time of Phileas Fogg and Bly. Bisland traveled the opposite direction around the world, east to west, starting the same day as Bly. To sustain interest in the story, the World organized a "Nellie Bly Guessing Match" in which readers were asked to estimate Bly's arrival time to the second, with the Grand Prize consisting at first of a free trip to Europe and, later on, spending money for the trip.
Bly's circumnavigation took her through England, France (where she met Jules Verne), the Suez Canal, Colombo (Ceylon), Singapore, Hong Kong, and Japan. The development of efficient submarine cable networks and the electric telegraph allowed Bly to send short progress reports, early "blogs" so to speak.
Bly travelled using ships and railroad which caused numerous delays, particularly on the Asian leg of her race. Then rough weather on her Pacific crossing caused her to arrive in San Francisco two days behind schedule and miss her transcontinental train. However, World owner Pulitzer chartered a private train to bring her home and she arrived back in New Jersey on January 25, 1890, 72 days after setting out and averaging 12.5 knots, as BobJ accurately points out.
Bisland was, at the time, still crossing the Atlantic, only to arrive in New York four and a half days later. She also had missed a connection and had to board a slow, old ship instead of a faster liner.
Nellie Bly was not only a journalist, but became an inventor, entrepreneur, and industrialist, receiving patents for both a novel milk can and stacking garbage cans. Ultimately she returned to her first love, reporting, and covered Eastern Europe's front during WWI as well as promoting women's right-to-vote.
Nellie Bly died in 1922, age 57, two years after women were given the right-to-vote. NELLY BLY, the schooner, has returned to the East Coast and met with hard times.
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