Global Warming and Hurricanes . . . Are they connected or not?

Apparently not . . . according to one of the world's authorities on the subject, NOAA's Tom Knutson, a meteorologist who had previously been very vocal about the link between Global Warming and increases in both numbers and strengths of hurricanes.

Knutson, who has also in the past been very critical of the Bush Administration for its lack of action on the Greenhouse Gas front, is doing an about face on this one issue, and he has the support of other climate and weather specialists, mostly hurricane specialists, who believe the science backs this shift in thinking about Global Warming and hurricances. In fact, if anything, a warming trend should decrease the number of hurricanes making landfall, according to his computer model.

An abstract of his article, which appears in Nature Geoscience, can be found here.

-seabgb

Maine Sky Over Moonfish

Hartley Tug "Narragansett" in the Shipping Lane

Hartley Tug and Tow Outside of Shipping Lane

Sea Lion Deaths on Columbia River

When 4 California sea lions and 2 endangered stellar sea lions were found dead on the Columbia River National Marine Fisheries Service officials reported that the animals had been shot. However, it's clear now they died from heat exhaustion and panic after being trapped by a state fisheries program designed to protect the salmon. An autopsy concluded the animals had been in the cages for too long a time; a combination of the sixty-degree weather and their heightened agitation and stress due to the confined space and captivity caused their deaths.

National media attention focused on the initial report of a shooting with high hopes of finding the responsible party. It was assumed the perpetrator was an angry commercial fisherman and by all accounts authorities were anxious to make an example of him. The noose was tied; the rope strung over a limb. Turns out it wasn't an angry, vicious act at all. It was more a matter of passive conservation management; maybe it was even a negligence issue.

Meanwhile, a Southern California fisherman (not sure if he was commercial or recreational) was given 3 years probation and 200 hundred hours of community service following his trial for stabbing a sea lion through the heart. The animal had stolen his bait and his response was to jump it a stab it repeatedly with a large steak knife. People in the area witnessed the attack and called the police. He was facing a $20,000 fine and 1 year in jail. Lucky for him his sentencing came a day after the coroner's report in Oregon determined that state officials and not some mad fisherman with a rifle had inadvertently killed the 6 sea lions on the Columbia River.

-seabgb

Exceeding a Vessel's Capacity

A ferry like the one pictured above capsized and sank yesterday in the Ghorautra River in Bangladesh killing at least 41. I doubt seriously anyone wonders why something like this happens so often in Bangladesh. The question is, if you were visiting a country like Bangladesh and you had to get from Point A to Point B, would you get on a ferry like this one?

I once got on a ferry in Mexico to Isla Mujeres. It was a wood ferry that nobody had ever taken a paint scraper to. They obviously just kept applying new paint over the old paint. Maybe the thinking was the layers of paint would hold the boat together.

Underway, you could feel a very substantial vibration coming from under the stern, as if the propeller should have had another blade on it -- or maybe the ferry was towing a giant wood chipper behind it that was trying to choke down a rotten log.

I got on a less than seaworthy boat in Jamaica once, and there was this vessel in Egypt . . . both had their bilge pumps running continuously.

I've been on some less than airworthy aircraft, too. But that's another post for another blog.

I obviously survived my indiscretions but I'd like to think I now have more sense. It's not like we can carry our own life rafts aboard these things. And even if we could, we'd have to fight everyone else aboard for the right to use them.

Rotten life jackets, rusty fire extinguishers, outdated licenses and certificates, and overcrowding, are obvious giveaways the ferry you're boarding is not up to the job. Less obvious are the little things: Bad dents in the hull and rails, foul smelling or excessive smoke from the exhaust, rusting or rotten plating, inexperienced or drunken crew members. For the most part, you can tell which boat you want to get on by looking at it tied to the dock. Of course, that doesn't tell you much about the crew's capability.

Meanwhile, given the above, in some countries, if you absolutely must get from Point A to Point B, you don't have much choice but to step aboard a substandard vessel.

-seabgb

Pelican Dives on Woman's Face

Last Saturday it was reported that a woman in the water off Treasure Island, Florida got hit in the face with a pelican as it dove on some fish. The pelican died and the woman had to get 20 stitches. We tend to worry about what's under the water, sharks, rays, jellyfish, sea urchins, etc. Now we have to start thinking about what's over the water.

I don't know about you, but I've seen brown pelicans and gannets dive and I would not want to be hit in the face with one. Gannets, a related species to the pelican, have been known to reach speeds of 60 mph while diving. They have reinforced skulls to better survive the impacts. Pelicans are in the same order, and not all pelican species plunge dive. Still, they have even bigger bills than gannets and can attain larger sizes. Some pelicans, according to Wikipedia, can weigh as much as 33 lbs and have a wing span of over 11'.

I think the bird that hit the woman was probably a brown pelican (avg. size 6 lbs; wing span of 6') and not the pink-backed pictured above.

-seabgb

A Week of Easterlies

With a low tracking south and east of us and causing all sorts of havoc on the Delaware Coast (flooding, evacuations, etc.), Maine is set for a week or more of winds from the north and east, mostly from the east. This is a pattern many pre-season yachtsman tend to ignore. Everyone knows a week of wind can build a pretty destructive sea. But what a lot people don't know is that it doesn't have to be a lot of wind or a big sea to be destructive. Up here, in the mid-coast area, when we get a week or more of northeast wind, it sets up these perfectly spaced seas of equal height that have a harmonic quality to them. Harmonic, repetitive motion can do more damage than random motion. So keep an eye on moorings, docks, etc. this week. We might be in for a hell of a ride.

PS. After looking at an updated forecast, I have to add that the winds aren't looking as interesting as originally predicted, in strength and direction. It flunked-out today at about noon, which gave the sea a chance to calm down. Maybe this one isn't the northeast ride I was looking for.

-seabgb

Suicide Divers - It was Only a Matter of Time!

Sri Lankan Rebels (Tamil Tigers) have sunk a 213' ship using a suicide diver, according to this report from BBC News. The rebels claim it was a munitions ship. Sri Lankan authorities haven't said what the ship was carrying.

I can't recall any suicide dive attacks prior to this one but that doesn't mean there haven't been any or that people aren't looking for them.

The embedded video shows a Sri Lankan patrol boat machine gunning and blowing up what they say was a LTTE (Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam) terrorist gun ship delivering weapons and explosives.

The incident took place 185 nautical miles off 'Dondra Point'-Matara, on Feb. 28, 2007. The Navy fired warnings shots in the air to halt the terrorist gun ship and then fired for effect when the terrorosts retaliated by firing mortars at the patrol boat.

-seabgb

Right Whales, Fishermen, Ship Collisions. . .

Fishermen in Maine and elsewhere are under fire from environmental legislation aimed at protecting the endangered right whale. Biologists say ground lines connecting strings of lobster traps are responsible for fatal whale entanglements. Authorities have the power to institute changes to correct this situation and what they've come up with is a ban on float rope and floating gear (toggles) on ground lines. Instead, lobster fishermen are now required to use a special rope that sinks and is designed to fall apart or break if encountered by a whale.

As you can imagine, this is not a happy development for lobstermen, who have been struggling with lower prices for their catch amidst higher prices for bait, fuel, and supplies. The price of diesel fuel has more than doubled in less than a year. And now they're looking at spending thousands, if not tens of thousands, for the new rope, in which they have little faith; plus they have to temporarily suspend their source of revenue in order to re-rig everything.

While I applaud man's efforts to protect the earth and all its creatures, in this case, as it pertains to right whales, there's clearly a disproportionate level of responsibility and sacrifice being apportioned to lobstermen in Maine. Let me explain:

According to statistics, ship traffic accounts for the majority of deaths of right whales (32 that we know of since 1986), and yet the majority of merchantmen are being 'asked" to slow down in known right whale habitats. Only LNG carriers, as part of their federal license, are required by law to slow down to 10 knots in known right whale areas. Why is the brunt of the sacrifice being levied on the commercial fishing industry and in particular the lobster fishery?

[Note#: Even though entanglements haven't caused as many right whale mortalities, statistics between 1997 and 2003 indicate entanglements in lobster and other fish gear have caused 36 total whale deaths in Maine waters.]

To add insult to injury, the news today (AP Story here) reports an effort by marine biologists to help merchant shipping negotiate whale grounds in a faster, more cost-efficient manner. Instead of telling them to slow down all the time in areas suspected of hosting right whales, biologists will tell ships to slow down 'only' when right whale communications are heard in the area. How will they accomplish this? By using sophisticated, computer listening devices attached to buoys. The listening devices will be programmed to pick-up right whale communications.

One has to wonder why the biologists, environmentalists and legislators are willing to step outside of the box for the merchant fleet but not the commercial fishing industry. I think I have an answer.

1. When whale entanglement and whale protection became an issue a few years ago, Maine fishermen circled their wagons/boats and assumed a collective sumo stance. They were unwilling to talk of compromise. Now it's too late.

2. The perception is that merchant shipping benefits everyone while the lobster fishing industry benefits only people who can afford to eat lobster.

3. Shows like Deadliest Catch don't help matters by depicting not-so-fuzzy fishermen making huge amounts of money while throwing garbage, refuse and an old F-150 Pickup into the ocean.

4. Although I don't know for sure, I'm betting the merchant shipping industry spent a lot of money on research to reduce whale mortalities and improve methods of locating whales during breeding and feeding cycles. I'm also betting the fishing industry spent a total of 'zero' dollars on same.

-seabgb

PS. Check out Joe's Blog Freaks of the Lobster and Crab World, Life on the Gloucester, MA Docks.

Mona Lisa Stranded on Sandbar off Latvia Coast

May 5, '08 (morning):

Oops! The luxury cruise ship Mona Lisa, pictured above with her red stack colors, is presently stranded on a sand bar off the Latvian Coast. According to Coast Guard authorities some 984 passengers are being transferred to two navy ships [see update below]. No one is in danger and the ship has not been damaged, according to reports from the vessel's captain and crew. The passengers will be eventually shuttled to Riga. It's not clear if they will resume their vacation but there's no doubt the mistake will coast the cruise ship company and their insurance carrier plenty. I'm guessing the captain will probably lose his job, unless there was an unavoidable situation that led to the grounding, e.g. a mechanical failure, collision avoidance decision, etc.

May 5, '08 (afternoon): As of this afternoon, only 650 passengers, mostly elderly, and 11 crew members, have been evacuated from the ship. The captain has asked the remaining crew of 322 to stay behind.

If you're going to kiss the earth in a boat, it's best to do it on a sand bar. I've done it more than once in my little stink pot, never with passengers, and always for a reason, i.e. I was usually trying to sneak the boat over shoal water.

Mona Lisa, according to reports, was aground 4 years ago off the coast of Venice, Italy.

May 6, '08 (morning): Tugs failed to free the Mona Lisa. 650 Passengers on their way to their homes in Germany and elsewhere. Comments by some passengers indicate grounding was due to a decision made by captain to get the ship in closer to a light house so passengers could get a better view and photographs.

The video below, embedded from the WKRG News Website, shows the ship aground. You can see a few tugs, a RIB, and what looks like a Vosper-Thornycraft patrol boat. Some black smoke trails from the stack.

WKRG.com Video

May 7, '08 (final entry): Tugs from Sweden, the Netherlands, and Denmark free the Mona Lisa from the sand bar and tow it to deeper water. Minimal damage. Ship will sail under its own power to its home port. Officials claim grounding was caused by a crew navigational error.

-seabgb

PS. What a beautiful ship. The Scots built some of the sexiest ships afloat.

PPS. PSIX Vessel Info below:

Vessel Name: MONA LISA
VIN: 6512354
Hull Number: 728
Vessel Flag: BAHAMAS, THE
Vessel Call Sign: GBBA
Build Year: 1966 Service: Passenger (Inspected)
Length: 660.0 ft
Breadth: 87.0 ft
Depth: 50.6 ft
Alternate VINs:
IMO Number: 6512354
Service Information: Tonnage Information:

Service: In Service
Out Of Service Date: N/A
Last Removed from Service By: N/A Deadweight: 5572
Gross Tonnage (GRT): 28891
Net Tonnage (NRT): 11005
Gross Tonnage (GT ITC): 28891

Mud Sampling in Penobscot Bay

Rinsing the grab.


TG&B's Davit Attached to My Gin Pole.

John, Lenny and Mike at day's end.