Tuesday, April 21, 2009

Pirates Aren't New

I received in my email box a new chapter in Buddy and Melissa's sailing adventures aboard the '38 foot Lagoon catamaran Indigo Moon with the details of an savage attack on another boat in Guatemala. All of the previous entries in the log were always good reading and sometimes amusing as he shared the trials and tribulations of sailing. Hundreds of beautiful photographs were splashed about in the text, making it very interesting. Sadly, Guatemala - Part One - Crime and Cruising 2008, viewed from the Rio Dulce, is an abrupt change and came as a shock. With all the news lately about modern day pirates, I thought I'd share this to show that pirates aren't new.
Click on the hyper link above or copy and paste this in your browser > http://www.indigomoon.us

Friday, April 17, 2009

Barquentine 'Peacemaker' Visits Norfolk


Breaking News

The Flagship of the Twelve Tribes is in Norfolk this week and open for free tours. If you are anywhere in the area, you must take time to check out this beautiful vessel. More photos in my Flickr Photostream.
Visit their website to get more information on this unique ship and her mission.

Eight page PDF with pictures Specifications and Mission

http://peacemakermarine.com/
www.twelvetribes.org

Itinerary:

Depart Wilmington NC April 13 or 14
Norfolk VA April 16 - April 26
Cambridge MD April 29 - May 5
Alexandria VA May 8 - May 18
Long Island NY May 25 - June 7
Cape Cod MA June 11 - June 25
Plymouth / Boston MA July + August
.

Tuesday, April 14, 2009

Somali Pirates Attack Another US Ship

By VOA News 15 April 2009
Somali pirates have attacked another U.S. ship off the coast of Africa, but they were not successful in taking the vessel.
The ship, called Liberty Sun, is now under military escort following the attempted hijacking. It is reported on its way to Mombasa, Kenya.
This latest attack comes just three days after the dramatic rescue of an American cargo ship captain held captive by Somali pirates. Three of his captors were killed in that rescue operation, while a fourth was captured.
Some pirates have vowed to retaliate.
VOA News - Somali Pirates Attack Another US Ship

http://www.libertymar.com/ships/specs/sunp.html

http://www.voanews.com/english/2009-04-15-voa1.cfm

http://news.aol.com/article/us-cargo-ship-evades-somali-pirate/426236?flv=1

http://www.eaglespeak.us/

http://www.sailwx.info/shiptrack/shipposition.phtml?call=WCOB

http://gcaptain.com/maritime/blog/

Somali Pirates Hijack 4 More Ships

http://news.aol.com/article/somali-pirates-hijack-4-more-ships/422848?flv=1

MOMBASA, Kenya (April 14) - Undeterred by U.S. and French hostage rescues that killed five bandits, Somali pirates brazenly hijacked four more ships in the Gulf of Aden, the waterway at the center of the world's fight against piracy.
Pirates have vowed to retaliate for deaths of their colleagues— and the top U.S. military officer said Tuesday he takes those comments seriously. But Adm. Michael Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told ABC's "Good Morning America" that "we're very well prepared to deal with anything like that."

* These events are getting so frequent and out of hand that I can't keep up. Please use the links from previous posts to get the latest news.
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Vandenburg Departs Norfolk



April 13, 2009
Position Report 1800 EDT - LAT: 34 º 45” 0 N - LONG: 075º 33”8 W
COURSE: 226 T off Oracoke Inlet- SPEED: 6.1 kts- SEAS: 3-4 ft with swells 5 ft- WINDS: S 15kts - VIS: Clear - MTG: 778 nm
Capt Billy Notes: Tug and tow riding just fine. Fishing lines out, but no fish. Some weather ahead and may slow speed of voyage


On April 12 at 12:15 Vandenberg departed Norfolk, Virginia for the long tow to her new home in Key West Florida. More than a decade of work by a dedicated core of volunteers will finally come to fruition. After leaving the shipyard dock, Vandenberg will pass under the Elizabeth River bridge and pass the Hampton Roads bridge-tunnel, the Chesapeake Bay bridge-tunnel, come around the point at the Cape Henry lighthouse and head south. Smith Maritime, of Green Cove Springs, Florida is undertaking the tow with the deep sea tug, Elsbeth III. [follow the links to learn more about the tug]

Follow this link to see the video provided by National Weather Service, Key West showing daily updates on position and weather conditions.












Project to sink Vandenberg off Key West begins
By Fla-Keys.com
Thu, Apr 05, 2007
After 10 years of fundraising and permitting, a project has begun to sink a retired military ship off Key West, Fla., to serve as an artificial reef.
Last Friday, the decommissioned U.S. Air Force missile-tracking ship Gen. Hoyt S. Vandenberg, a 523-foot ship that also monitored NASA space launches from 1963 to 1983, was towed from the James River Naval Reserve Fleet in Fort Eustis, Va., to Colonna's Shipyard in Norfolk, Va.
The ship also saw "action" as a film set in the 1999 movie "Virus," starring Jamie Lee Curtis and William Baldwin.
The ship is to become the second-largest vessel ever intentionally sunk to become an artificial reef, according to maritime and recreational diving experts. Currently, the largest ship ever scuttled for an artificial marine habitat is the USS Oriskany, an 888-foot Navy aircraft carrier sunk in May 2006 21 miles southeast of Pensacola, Fla. To date, the second-largest vessel, the 510-foot landing ship dock Spiegel Grove, was scuttled in May 2002 about six miles off Key Largo.
Artificial Reefs of the Keys has $3 million in commitments from two Monroe County government entities, a $1.3 million pledge from the City of Key West and other funding resources to help defray the estimated $5.7 million price tag to properly sink the ship, according to Joe Weatherby, the project's coordinator and founder of ARK.
Make-ready and cleansing is being coordinated by ReefMakers, and is expected to take about a year. The ship is slated for scuttling about six miles off Key West in spring 2008.
The proposed artificial reef is expected to attract marine life, provide ongoing positive impact to the tourism-based economy and benefit the underwater environment by taking recreational diving pressure off natural coral reefs. It will also serve as a sportfishing venue for anglers.
"She's an eye-popper and doesn't look like anything else out there," Weatherby said, noting the large electronic tracking dishes that are to be removed and then reinstalled on the ship before sinking. "Portions (of the ship) will come up to within 40 feet from the surface, making it a world-class dive."
For more information on the Vandenberg, dive into http://www.bigshipwrecks.com/. More travel details on the Keys are available at http://www.fla-keys.com/.

Sunday, April 12, 2009

Navy Rescues Captain, 3 Pirates Killed


Navy Rescues Captain, 3 Pirates Killed
By ELIZABETH A. KENNEDY, APMOMBASA, Kenya (April 12)

- An American ship captain was freed unharmed Sunday in a U.S. Navy operation that killed three of the four Somali pirates who had been holding him for days in a lifeboat off the coast of Africa, a senior U.S. intelligence official said.One of the pirates was wounded and in custody after a swift firefight, the official said.
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In a firefight at sea, the U.S. Navy rescues an American cargo ship captain who had been held captive by pirates off the coast of Somalia. A senior U.S. intelligence official says that three of the four pirates who had been holding Capt. Richard Phillips, above, have been killed. The fourth was wounded and is in U.S. custody.
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More info here > http://news.aol.com/world/pirates as it happens.
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Maritime Global Net - http://www.mgn.com/
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Shiptalk, News, Marine, Maritime, Shipping, Shipping Industry, Courses, Conference
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http://www.fairplay.co.uk/ - Phillips free, three pirates dead
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Maersk Line, Limited: Home Page - http://www.maersklinelimited.com/
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Thursday, April 9, 2009

Maersk Alabama




Pirates recapture US hostage after escape attempt. See link below

http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/systems/ship/maersk-a.htm

http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/para/pirates.htm

http://gcaptain.com/maritime/blog/maersk-alabama-live-blogging/

http://www.geocities.com/cdelegas/PIRACYWEBSITE_legal.html

Somali pirates take two container ships off the east coast of Somalia

ICS International Chamber of Shipping and ISF International Shipping Federation

Pirates / MarineBuzz.com

Piracy Guidance and Reports

Live Piracy Report

I think I should start a Pirate Ship business

Lifeboat FAQs

Pirates recapture US hostage after escape attempt
.

Sunday, April 5, 2009

Spirit of Independence - Maiden Charter Cruise



For the rest of the photos, Copy & paste in browser > http://www.flickr.com/photos/oldetownephotos/sets/72157616502018722/

If you don't want a free Flickr account ( needed for access to album ) email me and I will send you a free pass.

* Originally posted at my Olde Towne Photos Blog. Click here for more info .