Chuck Wawa - Puget Sound Maritime News & Opinion 5/27/2001
fo...@eskimo.com
5/27/2001
===========================================================
____ _ _ __ __
/ ___| |__ _ _ ___| | __ \ \ / /_ ___ ____ _
| | | '_ \| | | |/ __| |/ / \ \ /\ / / _` \ \ /\ / / _` |
| |___| | | | |_| | (__| < \ V V / (_| |\ V V / (_| |
\____|_| |_|\__,_|\___|_|\_\ \_/\_/ \__,_| \_/\_/ \__,_|
(Chinook: Water Talk)
============================================================
Maritime news and opinion from around Puget Sound
============================================================
BACK IN BATTERY: Originally an artillery term for a gun which
has completed its recoil/post-firing cycle and is ready to
fire again. Common useage now is 'ready to go' or recovered.
Also seen as 'Back to Battery'. "I set my hair on fire last
night, but five hours rack time and I'm back in battery."
We sail the ocean blue,
And our saucy ship's a beauty,
We're sober men, and true,
And attentive to our duty.
When the balls whistle free
o'er the bright blue sea,
We stand to our guns all day;
When at anchor we ride the Portsmouth tide,
We have plenty of time to play.
Hail, men-o'-wars' men - safeguards of your nation"
H.M.S. PINAFORE
(Gilbert and Sullivan)
-->> CALENDAR <<--
5/13 Ground Zero - Mother's Day Non-Violent Action - Bangor
Astoria/Victoria International Yacht Race
5/15 Chinook Pass Reopens - Summer has arrived
5/16 USCGC ADELIE departs Lockport, LA for Port Angeles, WA
5/19 3rd Annual Return of the Orcas Festival (Roche Harbor, WA)
5/19-20 Department of Defence Air Show - Andrews AFB, Maryland
5/20 International Dive-In Day
5/21-25 NOAA Divemaster Training
5/22 National Maritime Day - Washington, DC
5/23 148th Anniversary of the Town of Seattle's formation
5/24 HMCS ORIOLE - 80th Birthday Party - Esquimalt
5/25 Naval Academy Class of 2001 graduates
--------
5/28 MEMORIAL DAY
5/29 EXERCISE TANDEM THRUST 01 ends - Australia
6/1 "Rock At the Dock" - WSF 50th Anniv. Party - Colman Dock
Seattle's Gasworks Park reopens
Geoducks - Between Sisters/Shine/Hood Head E
M-F 8:30am-4:30pm ends 8/31/01
--------
6/5 R/V THOMAS THOMPSON returns to U Dub dock
6/9 USCGC ACTIVE returns to Port Angeles - 2pm
6/13 Jennifer Lopez in "Enough" begins shooting in Port Angeles
6/13-14 Annual Symposium of the Naval Submarine League (NSL) - WashDC
6/15 USCGC HEALY departs for E.Arctic + Norway (6 months)
6/22 Canadian ROPOS Deep-Sub: assisting NOAA fish assessment begins
7/7 Jetty Island Ferry Service opens - Snohomish River - free
7/8 USCGC ADELIE arrives in Port Angeles
7/20 USCGC HEALY begins 1st Science Mission (Norway)
8/1 USS CARL VINSON + USS SACRAMENTO deploy to the
Arabian Gulf
8/9 Ground Zero - Nagasaki Day - Bangor
9/5 90th Anniversary of the Port of Seattle
Jetty Island Ferry Service ends - Snohomish River
9/6 Tall Ships Symposium - Point Hudson
9/7-9 Wooden Boat Festival - Point Hudson
10/20 HMCS CAPE BRETON - to be sunk off Nanaimo, BC
11/12 21st Anniversary of the legendary Florence, Oregon
exploding whale
.........................................................................
MILITARY:
=========
* NAVSTA BREMERTON - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
USS Carl Vinson BREMERTON - 1/30 to 3/21 in California
(next deployment 8/2001 Arabian Gulf)
USS RONALD REAGAN arrives 8/2004
USS Bridge BREMERTON (recently in drydock)
USS Camden BREMERTON - Drydock 4/4 to 6/27
[2000 Battle "E", Command/Control Award,
Engineering Award + Logistics Manag. Award]
(2000-2001 Abe Lincoln Battlegroup)
USS Mt. Hood BREMERTON
USS Rainier AT SEA - deployed in the Arabian Gulf
4/6 - 4/11 Melbourne, Australia
3/21 dep Bremerton
USS Sacramento BREMERTON - Pier 4 - Upkeep/Mntce/Training
1/26-2/13 San Diego + Vinson Battlegroup
(summer 2001 Vinson Battlegroup Deployment)
[1999 Battle "E" + Best Of Class]
* NAVSTA EVERETT - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
USS Abe Lincoln BREMERTON (PSNS): 4/12 - 10/12 for PIA
4/11 crossed Puget Sound to PSNS
3/23-3/25 visited Victoria, BC
arr 2/12/2001 from Arabian Gulf deployment
(next deployment: summer 2002)
USS Chandler EVERETT (likely to be sold to Taiwan soon)
USS David Ray AT SEA: final deployment - Cent./So. Amer.
USS Shoup MISSISSIPPI: under construction
(replacement for David Ray)
USS Fife BREMERTON (PSNS): 1/31 to 4/4 Drydock
ret 9/29/2000 Arabian Gulf Interdiction Patrol
[flying Navy Secretary's flag]
USS Ford EVERETT: [2000 Battle "E"]
USS Ingraham EVERETT: final prep for deployment
USS Foster AT SEA - dep for Arabian Gulf 1/1/2001
1/15 Pearl Harbor, Hawaii
1/31 Arpa Harbor, Guam
2/25 Phuket, Thailand
[Destroyer Squadron 9 Self-Sufficent SoY 2001]
USS Rodney Davis AT SEA: dep Central/South America 2/27
(Arabian Gulf deployment in 2003)
USNS Shasta EVERETT: recently transferred the USS VINSON's
Mission Load
USCG Mariposa EVERETT - moved from Pier 36
USCG Henry Blake EVERETT - ATON ops in Puget Sound
* SUB-BASE BANGOR - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
USS Alabama arr 2/8 from Patrol - Blue
["Bottom Gun 2000" - Blue Team]
(star of the movie "Red Tide")
USS Alaska BREMERTON (PSNS): conversion until 11/20001
USS Florida arr 1/25/2001 55th Patrol - Blue Team
[2001 Omaha Trophy - best U.S. Navy sub crew]
USS Georgia [Nav "N", Tac "T" + Strat "S" - Gold Team]
USS Henry Jackson AT SEA? - Gold
[Tac "T" - Blue Team]
USS Michigan arr 5/7/2001 Patrol - Gold Team
[2000 Battle "E" - Gold
CINPACFLT Golden Anchor 2000]
USS Nevada [Squad 17 Damage Control Award 1999]
USS Ohio
USS Parche shhhh...it's a secret
USS James Carter on its way here
YRBM 20 Vietnam-era "Delta Hilton" - Delta South Pier
* US COAST GUARD SEATTLE (DIST. 13 HQ) - - - - - - - - - - - - -
USCG Mellon PIER 36: arrived 3/8
(last patrol: 1/4/01 to 3/8/01)
USCG Midgett AT SEA: departed 3/15
(last patrol: 11/28/00 to 1/5/01)
(1999 USS Constellation Battlegroup)
USCG Bayberry PIER 36/Ship Canal/Lake Washington
* US COAST GUARD PORT ANGELES - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
USCG Cuttyhunk
USCG Point Doran decomissioned on 3/2/2001 @ Pier 36
sold to the Philipines
USCG Active AT SEA - South America - arr 6/9
USCG Adelie 7/8 arrives in Port Angeles
5/16 departed Louisianna for Pt. Angeles
USS Chief Minesweeper - Liberty Call
USS Scout " " " "
* US COAST GUARD PORT TOWNSEND - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
USCG Osprey returned 9/29/2000
USCG Cowslip 3/1/01 Gunnery Exercises - Str. of Georgia
* CANADIAN FORCES BASE ESQUIMALT - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
HMCS Protecteur ESQUIMALT - One Year Maintenance Period
HMCS Vancouver AT SEA - Australia (Tandem Thrust 01)
4/1-4/7 NavSta Pearl Harbor
3/26 dep Esquimalt for Asia
HMCS Regina AT SEA - Australia (Tandem Thrust)
4/1-4/18 repairs Pearl Harbor
3/26 dep for Esquimalt for Asia
HMCS Calgary ESQUIMALT - 4/3 Gunnery Exercises
arr 11/30/2000 from Arabian Gulf
(2000 Arabian Gulf 0)
HMCS Winnipeg AT SEA - 4/15 Adelaide, Australia
4/8 Sydney, Australia
3/15 departed for Arabian Gulf
HMCS Ottawa ESQUIMALT 2/27 Anti-Aircraft Exercises
HMCS Huron ESQUIMALT - PARKED (Insufficent Crew/Funds)
HMCS Algonquin AT SEA - Australia (Tandem Thrust 01)
4/15 Japan (Think Canada 2001)
4/1-4/7 NavSta Pearl Harbor
3/26 dep Esquimalt for Asia
HMCS Edmonton ESQUIMALT - 2/21 Surface Firing Exercises
HMCS Nanaimo NANAIMO - joint mine counter-measures exercise
HMCS Whitehorse NANAIMO - " " " " "
HMCS Yellowknife ESQUIMALT - 5/15 Pyrotechnic Demos
HMCS Saskatoon ESQUIMALT - 4/5 Gunnery Exercises
HMCS Brandon ESQUIMALT - 5/15 Pyrotechnic Demos
HMCS Moresby ESQUIMALT
HMCS Malahat ESQUIMALT - 1/13 Pyrotechnic Demos
HMCS Victoria (sub) HALIFAX, Nova Scotia (2002 delivery Esquimalt)
HMCS Oriole ESQUIMALT - Seattle early Feb
(winner 2000 Victoria-Maui Race)
HMCS Goldcrest ???? - 4/9 Smoke Demo
USS Avenger Minesweeper - Joint Exercises
USS Devastator " " - " "
* CANADIAN COAST GUARD VICTORIA - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
CCGS Laurier lighthouses + ATON (3/26 repairs completed)
CCGS Narwhal sold -> Florida (now M/V Bart Roberts -
at Ogden Pt. for tending-equip removal)
CCGS Jacobson sold -> departing for Rimouski College (Quebec)
CCGS Bartlett lighthouses + ATON
(Self Refit completed - back in service)
CCGS Gordon Reid fisheries + SAR Zone #2 (primary SAR)
CCGS Tsekoa II ATON + SAR (cycles "White" w/ RB Young)
(5/2001 Out of Service - 1 month)
CCGS Simon Fraser Dartmouth, Nova Scotia - fate undecided
(tended RCMP Nadon during N.A. Circumnav)
CCGS Tanu fisheries patrol + SAR Zone 1
(5/2001 Out of Service @ IOS - 1 month)
CCGS Sooke Post fisheries patrol (Cent.Coast + N.E. Vanc.Isl)
(5/2001 Out of Service - 1 month)
CCGS Kittimat II fisheries patrol (North Coast)
CCGS Atlin Post in refit
CCGS Arrow Post fisheries patrol (+ SAR Zone #3 - Q.Char.Isls)
M/V Pacific Star survey vessel
M/V Discovery Bay 11/17 - underwater recovery ops 49.19N/123.59W
* ROYAL CANADIAN MOUNTED POLICE - Division E - - - - - - - - - - - -
RCMP Nadon Nanaimo, BC dock
(Recent NA Circumnavigation)
.....................................................................
NAV-STA BREMERTON:
=================
http://www.naswi.navy.mil/navstabrem/default.htm
- USS CARL VINSON:
The results of the Federal Communications Commission probe of the
recent mysterious outages of keyless-remote-entry devices on cars
that affected about a 50-square-mile area around Bremerton and Port
Orchard back in late March, should be coming out next week. Led by
local journalists who wouldn't know a Colpitts oscillator from a
flat tire, everybody was pointing their finger at the then recently
returned Vinnie. The Federal Frequecy-Sleuths are being pretty tight
lipped about the whole thing. Apparently the old 'Loose Lips' Policy
from WW-II days is still on their books - they ain't talking. The Navy
still says its a Bum Rap and claim the FCC told them as much themselves.
The affected car-lock devices operate on 315 MHz, which is within the
225-328.6 MHz shared band used by the military and others. Devices that
operate on other frequencies were apparently unaffected. Non-military
Doppler radar and resource-scanning equipment also operate within the
affected band of frequencies. When all else fails, there is always the
possibility of harmonics. But oddly, nobody mentioned anything about
UFOs. We got tons of those pesky rascals zip'n around here and no end
of Space Cadets to go with them. It's hard to get to sleep most nights
for all the buzzing and glowing. Say...you don't think this is another
one of those Area 51 deals do you? No wonder the FCC ain't saying
anything!
(Ref: Bremerton Sun, 5/13/2001)
http://www.cvn70.navy.mil/ [The Vinnie's Homepage]
SUB-BASE BANGOR:
===============
http://www.bangor.navy.mil
- Ernesto Cimmino remains in the Navy Brig at SubBase Bangor as the
Navy tries to figure out how to proceed against him. The criminal
charges involving sabotage and other offenses, were dismissed due
to faulty proceedures last week. No one seems to know for sure if
some of those same charges will be refiled or if they're going to
file new ones. As long as they proceed with 'due diligence', they
can keep him in the Brig. But, if it drags on for too long, he's
outta there. In a civilian court, he would have been long gone by
now. The charges are serious, the damage was real enough (many cut
wires), whether or not Ernesto's responsible for any of it is a
matter for the General Court Martial to determine. Certainly they
can't just walk away from it. They HAVE to do something. They
certainly screwed this pooch in grand style.
(Ref: Bremerton Sun, 5/24/2001)
US NAVY - PUGET SOUND
=====================
http://www.cnbs.navy.mil
- The U.S. Navy continues to bolster its presence in the Puget Sound
region. With a payroll whose dimensions match those of Microsoft,
you just had to know the Bean-Counters couldn't be too far behind.
Over the next few months, the Navy will be closing down its
Washington-DC Human Resources Center and moving it en-masse to
Silverdale, Washington. They do all the civilian hiring for Naval
commands and handle stuff like labor relations, scheduling and
retirement counseling. Since they do virtually all their work via
the Internet, there's no need for them to be permanently anchored
in DC. Add in the horrendous staff turn-over problems they had back
there, and trading Foggy Bottom for Puget Sound started to look like
a pretty darn good idea. While continuing to serve about 18,000
civilian personel back in DC/Maryland, their new Silverdale center
will also pick up our region's civilian Navy people. They'll be hiring
about 100 locals in a variety of positions to help take up the slack.
(Ref: Bremerton Sun, 5/8/2001)
http://www.donhr.navy.mil/ [Dept.of Navy - Civilian Human Resources]
* Two of those four Texas mine counter-measures ships that were recently
playing with the Canadian Navy in Georgia Strait, dropped in at Port
Angeles for a visit this week. The USS SCOUT and USS CHIEF, from
Ingleside, Texas hit the pier on Thursday afternoon and will be
hanging around for the weekend before going back to work on Monday.
At least one of the two was likely be open for public inspection on
Saturday from 10am to 1pm. Since they aren't really big ships, it was
strictly on a first-come-first-serve basis.
(Ref: Peninsula Daily News, 5/24/2001)
http://mitglied.tripod.de/usnavy/ships/mcm.htm
[US Navy Minesweepers]
US NAVY:
=======
- Memorial Day is one of those funny holidays in America - sometimes it
gets celebrated, sometimes not. Up until just a couple years ago it
had all the significance of National Hiccup Day - no day off work,
few parades, minimal observance. Aside from our naturally ambiguous
feelings about our military, it also cut into corporate money-making
ambitions. But with the Good Times of recent years, companies are
grabbing any excuse available to cut out of work, so Memorial Day has
once again become a Big Deal. With NavSta Bremerton, venerable old
Puget Sound Naval Shipyard, NavSta Everett, SubBase Bangor, NavAir
Whidbey Island, Coast Guard District 13 and McCord Air Force Base in
our neighborhood, there will be plenty of events to mark the occasion
this year. Seattle,the only city in America to stick its nose in the
air when offerred a Navy base because it felt sailors didn't really
fit into its cultural melieu, usually does little to mark the occasion.
But up in Everett and over on Kitsap Peninsula they'll be making up
for it, and then some. But then, they always have.
Living in this little DisneyWorld fantasy called America its so easy
to forget that none of it would be possible if it weren't for our
sailors, soldiers, pilots and marines clearing out this relatively
peaceful island of frivility in the midst of our violently nasty
world. Allowing us to play out our crazy dream of Liberty, Freedom
and Equality. To make our screw ups, try out our schemes, learn our
lessons and inch ever closer to making it all come true. It simply
couldn't and wouldn't happen without them. Remember not only those
who gave the ultimate selfless gift of their own lives. Remember also
those who, right now, are quietly, invisibly, obscurely patrolling
the perimeters far from their families, friends and loved ones, far
from the parades and concerts, far from the smell of hot-dogs on the
fire and sounds of bats hitting balls. They'll be maintaining their
ever vigilant watch on Memorial Day. They want you to have a good
time. That's why they're there.
- In Los Angeles, fully one-third of their homeless are veterans -
30,000 of them. They get no flags or ceremonies. They don't register
on any of the usual scales of human significance. Nobody even notices
them. Two hundred veterans who used to be homeless and have now
re-found their lives thanks to the VA, will be picnicing on the lawn
of the hospital with their families on Memorial Day, remembering old
comrades and celebrating their recovery. It ain't much but its better
than nothing. Someday we'll bring everybody home.
- The Good Old Boys in the Pentagon, fresh off their USS GREENEVILLE
triumph, once again volunteered our Bluejackets and the taxpayers
money to help out their rich pals with another meaningless mission.
The beneficiary this time was the Disney Corporation. The nuclear
powered aircraft carrier USS JOHN STENNIS and her crew of 3,000 or
so steamed from San Diego to Pearl Harbor for the sole purpose of
helping Disney spice up the premiere of their latest flick -
"Pearl Harbor". We got forward-deployed ships forced to cut-short
and curtail missions for lack of budget money; we got the entire
Coast Guard fleet cutting every corner they can find to put ships
out on patrol; we got Navy people feeding their families on food
stamps. But Congress and SecDef Rumsfeld found a way to reach way
down deep and help out a corporate 'pal' who could likely afford
to buy our whole goddam Navy. What kind of drugs are those people
on back there?
http://congress.org [Write to Congress]
- The venerable old WW-II era battleship USS MISSOURI, known to her
friends as Mighty Mo, abducted from Puget Sound Naval Shipyard and
taken to Pearl Harbor Hawaii, is in for a very ambitious major
technological upgrade. Avaya, Inc. is providing over 180,000-feet
(nearly 35 miles) of high-speed LAN (local area net) cable in the
old girl. Now they'll be able to run Internet-based distance learning
classes, virtual video tours and digital information kiosks to any
place in the world. The private, non-profit USS Missouri Memorial
Association will begin installation immediately after the Memorial
Day festivities and will link up nearly 200 video cameras at 30
information kiosks on the ship with the Visitors Center. With
over 400,000 visitors every year, she's the most popular battleship
attraction in the world.
http://www.ussmissouri.com [USS Missouri Memorial]
US COAST GUARD - DISTRICT 13: (Washington-Oregon-Montana-Idaho)
===============
http://www.uscg.mil/d13
Stats to 5/15/2001:
Lives saved 32
SAR missions conducted 628
Oil spills responded to 228
Foreign vessels boarded 310
Safety boardings 598
(Source: US Coast Guard District 13 Webpage)
- USCGC ACTIVE:
It was a little touch-and-go there for a while, but the people up
in Port Angeles got lucky and convinced the Coasties to bring the
ACTIVE back on Saturday June 9th instead of the 10th as she steams
back from South American waters. This way they can give their
undivided attention to providing her and her crew with a big
"Welcome Home!" party. They got another party planned for something
else on the 10th and would have had to split their affections. That's
turning into a real Party Town up there. And unlike Seattle, theirs
don't have body-counts and riots tagged onto them. They're kind of
old-fashioned that way.
http://www.jgcoastie.net/active.html [USCGC Active]
- The Coast Guard is keeping a special eye out for ships from
Evergreen Shipping. Many people are beginning to suspect this
Taiwan-based shipping company has been diddling with their
oily-water seperators and discharging oily bilge directly into the
water in violation of pollution laws. The company's Chairman, Owen
Wu, flatly denies it. He didn't mention anything about the 'mystery
pipe' on the EVER GROUP that appears to bypass the seperators. The
Columbian newspaper obtained a copy of a Coast Guard Investigative
Service report that came to the conclusion that an Evergreen ship
caused a mysterious oil leak on the Columbia River back in early
March. An area tug crew, a fishing vessel's crew and the Coasties
own chopper team all spotted a long slick in the River back then.
The I.S. compared oil samples taken from the river with oil samples
they took from the fuel oil service tank of the EVER GROUP. They
matched. Evergreen started whistling a different tune after learning
of the Coasties report. Meanwhile, everybody is keeping an eye on
their ships with the 'mystery pipes'.
(Ref: The Columbian, 5/24/2001)
http://www.evergreen.com.tw/ [Evergreen Shipping Group]
- The U.S. House of Representative Transportation Committee, which is
responsible for our Coasties budget and chaired by Don Young (R-
Alaska), voted to give the Coasties a big increase that should ease
some of their present patrol difficulties. They are largely limited
to Search & Rescue work now. It's the first increase after a couple
years of cuts. This increase should also cover the pay increases
Congress gave the other services but somehow forgot to give the Coast
Guard. Getting out of the committee is just an early step. There are
many backs to be scratched, palms to be greased, egos to be massaged
before this thing becomes law. Wouldn't hurt to put in a good word
for our Coasties eh.
(Ref: Anchorage Daily News, 5/21/2001)
http://congress.org [Write to Congress]
- Ham radio operators and shortwave listeners may be interested in
the Coast Guard Saturday Net at 1600 UTC on 14.300 MHz (20-meter
band). They QSY to 14.327 MHz after an hour. A CW Net is held
simultaneously at 14.052 MHZ. There's always lots of maritime
mobile traffic on 14.300 MHz throughout the day, every day.
HER MAJESTY'S CANADIAN NAVY - ESQUIMALT
===========================
http://www.dnd.ca/navy/marcom/cdnnavy.html
- If you happen to run across a 9-foot long brown and black torpedo
with alternating red and silver fluorescent stripes at one end,
don't worry - it's not explosive. But Her Majesty would like it
back. It was one of her favorite bathtub toys. She lost it at
around 49-18.4N/123-55.4W on May 15th. Call 1-800-YUR-QUEEN. She'll
send Phil or Chuck around to pick it up.
- Last Thursday they held an elegant birthday party to honor an
gracious lady - HMCS ORIOLE. She turned 80-years old. She's the only
commissioned yacht in Her Majesty's Canadian Navy and their oldest
commissioned ship. The Naden Band Dixie Group provided the music as
invited on-board guests enjoyed cocktails and hors d'oeuvres. They
parked her right downtown in front of the old Empress Hotel so
everybody could at least get a close-up look at her. Far from Over-
The-Hill, she and her crew of Academy Cadets were the winners of last
year's Victoria-Maui Race. Showed those Yuppies what a Bluejacket
looks like from the back.
(Ref: Lookout - CFB Esquimalt)
http://www.vicsurf.com/hmcsoriole/ [HMCS Oriole Homepage]
- HMCS WINNIPEG:
In the Arabian Gulf as part of the USS CONSTELLATION Battlegroup,
they flew in a couple divers from Fleet Diving Unit (Pacific) in
Victoria to help out the crew's 12 divers in repairs to her dented
sonar dome. There are still lots of undetected minefields in the
area's waters and sonar is a crucial piece of equipment for finding
and/or avoiding those mines. Between the Bahrain port's heavily
polluted waters and the jellyfish, it wasn't an easy repair to pull
off but they got the job done.
(Ref: Lookout - CFB Esquimalt)
http://www.hmcswinnipeg.com/Default2.htm [HMCS Winnipeg Homepage]
HER MAJESTY'S ROYAL NAVY
========================
Tom & Dom, the two British Royal Marine chappies rowing their way
across the Pacific are - Good News Indeed! - still alive. They seem to
have developed sort of a love/hate relationship with the Kuroshiro
Current they're riding to North America. Sometimes it helps them,
sometimes not. Overall, it has set back their timetable a bit. They
sent some live video to 7E Communications in the UK on the night of
the 22nd. They had to wait for the sea to calm down a bit so they
could aim that bloody little sat dish at the satellite. Their spirits
seem to be in fine shape and the stout lads of the Royal Marines who
had the good fortune to avoid this venture, have been loyally feeding
their buddies no end of morale e-mail. Pinkies Out chaps! You're
doing a splendid job! The Queen Mum has her good ear glued to the
wireless every evening loyally following your adventures.
http://www.pacific-odyssey.co.uk [British Marines]
http://www.7e.com/ [7e Communications]
THE KURSK:
=========
The Dutch firms of Mammoet and Smit Internationale were the 'un-named
third party' that got the Russian nod last week to bring up the KURSK.
The companies say they hope to have her up by the end of September for
the sad anniversary, and at the dock by October. A joint Norweigan-Dutch
consortium led by Halliburton backed out when Moscow refused to put any
money up-front for the operation and wouldn't cover the insurance. Not
a real good sign. There was no mention of money at this week's press
conference either. With two nuclear reactors plus a belly-full of cruise
missles and torpedos, things could get a little dicey out there. But the
Rooskies assured everyone they will be scrupulously careful and assume
complete responsibility. Yeah sure. Somebody want to get a damage deposit
off these screwballs? How about land-title to Siberia?
http://www.museum.navy.ru/kursk-e.htm [Russian Navy Museum - Kursk]
RESEARCH:
========
USCG Polar Star PIER 36: 3/01 - 4/16 Bering Sea (SLIPP 01)
(ArcticWest2000 7/28 to 9/23/2000)
USCG Polar Sea PIER 36: 4/30 arrived
4/17 Honolulu, Hawaii
4/1 American Samoan Islands
3/4 Adelaide, Australia
1/5 McMurdo Station - Antarctica
USCG Healy Pier 36: recent California Shakedown Cruise
(depart mid-June for Arctic + Europe)
NOAA Ron Brown AT SEA: 5/25 - 6/8 FOCI - Leg 2
5/23 - 5/25 Kodiak, AK
NOAA John Cobb AT SEA: 5/25 - 5/30 Juneau, AK
5/19 - 5/25 Rope Trawling
NOAA Cromwell AT SEA: 5/25 - 5/31 Honolulu, HI
5/10 - 5/25 PSI CAMPS
NOAA Fairweather ??? retired
NOAA M.Freeman AT SEA: 5/24 - 6/2 FOCI SE Bering Sea Moorings
5/22 - 5/24 Dutch Harbor, AK
NOAA Jordan AT SEA: 6/11 - 6/17 Pearl Harbor, HI transit
5/9 - 6/11 Juvenille Rockfish
5/3 - 5/9 San Diego, CA
NOAA Ka'imimoana AT SEA: 5/20 - 5/29 Pearl Harbor, HI
5/10 - 5/20 transit from San Diego
NOAA MacArthur AT SEA: 5/24 - 5/27 Puerto Morelos, Mexico
5/14 - 5/24 Sustainable Seas Exped.
NOAA Rainier AT SEA: 5/25 - 5/29 Kodiak, AK
5/16 - 5/25 S.Shelikof Strait
NOAA YTT 12 SEATTLE PMC: ex-Navy Torpedo Test Vessel
NOAA YP 697 SEATTLE PMC: ex-Navy Training Patrol Craft
CCGS RB Young science + SAR (cyles 'Red' w/ Tsekoa II)
(5/2001 Out of Service - 1 month)
CCGS Tully science
CCGS W.E. Ricker science + fish (Canadian coastal blue-water)
CCGS Vector science (spends summers on the north BC coast)
R/V Davidson 3/1/01 survey ops E.Juan de Fuca, Haro Strait,
0 Pass and S. Georgia Strait and
Point Roberts
ROPOS (deep-sub) 4/30 California - underwater volcanic ridge
NRO Thompson (UofW Research) California w/ Scripps IO
NRO Clifford Barnes (UofW Research) 2/15 working Puget Sound
R/V Liberty (KingCo EnvirLab) Ship-Canal Pier
M/V Sirenian (Sea Shepherd Intl) Galapagos Islands
M/V Ocean Warrior (Sea Shepherd Intl) Fort Pierce, Florida
M/V Kalakala Lake Union - tours Sats 10am-5pm
* US COAST GUARD ICEBREAKERS:
==========================
While the Polar Sisters rest up and recouperate after their recent
deployments to the Antarctic and Bering Sea, the HEALY seems to be
still on target to depart in a couple weeks to transit through the
Arctic via the Northwest Passage to the Atlantic and Norway for her
first big science mission. The science geeks must be packing their
laptops, lava-lamps, MP3 players and teddy-bears even as I speak.
http://www.oz.net/~polarsea [Polar Sea Homepage]
http://www.polarstar.org/ [Polar Star Homepage]
http://tea.rice.edu/tea_stevensfrontpage.html [Teacher's Log SLIPP]
http://www.uscg.mil/pacarea/healy [Healy Homepage]
* NOAA: (National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration)
====
http://www.noaa.gov [NOAA homepage]
NOAA's National Dive Center is headquatered here in Seattle out
of their Western Regional Center at Sandpoint. With more than 300
active divers, they've got the largest group of divers of any
civilian Federal agency. Their people work all over the world,
from polluted/conjested urban harbors to pristine/remote polar
waters. They assist NOAA's fleet in deploying/maintaining/retrieving
moorings and other instrumentation plus help with the maintenance
and repair of that same fleet; they go eyeball-to-eyeball with
marine animals; and locate and chart stuff laying on the ocean
floor. They average about 9,000 dives per year and boast a 99.7%
safe-dive record. NOAA maintains and distributes their equipment
under a rigid program of quality control to ensure their divers
safety. The Sandpoint Center, aside from administrative offices,
also has its own hyperbaric chamber and classroom facilities with
modern A/V capabilities. They also maintain a little pier that
juts out into Lake Washington that they use for training and the
Coast Guard ATON vessels and US Geological Survey people often use
to tie up at when they're working in that neighborhood. If you
get out that way, don't forget to check out that neato singing
Wind Farm too.
http://www.ndc.noaa.gov/ [NOAA National Dive Center]
* UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON:
http://www.ocean.washington.edu [U Dub Oceanography]
- R/V TOMMY THOMPSON & COMPANY:
Little CLIFFORD BARNES is back at his familiar spot at the Portage
Bay dock while the TOMMY is still working off the Oregon/Washington
coast on that 21-day Science Mission for Oregon State University.
She'll be back at the Portage Bay dock a week from Tuesday. They
opened the gates on the big salmon pool for the babies to swim off
to their fate. A lot of them are hanging around, a bit reluctant to
'leave the nest' and venture into the big, scary world. With the net
up, the seagulls, ducks and ravens are leisurely snacking on the
slackers as the water level slowly drops. In a 3-5 years, after
wandering around the Pacific Ocean, the survivors will mysteriously
find their way back to this precise spot for that year's big Salmon
People's Potlatch and one final fling at life.
http://www.ocean.washington.edu/ships [U Dub Fleet]
* ORCAS:
Let me introduce the newest member of K-Pod: K-33. Born just recently,
it's still pretty tiny and it's white patches are going to stay orange
for a year or so. Mama is a 14-year old Orca lady named K-22 (aka
Sekiu).
With that good news came some bad news - K-16's (Opus) baby K-32 has
turned up missing and is thought likely to have died. Baby Orcas born
to first-time mothers only have a 50% chance of survival. Puget Sound
Orcas have an extraordinary amount of toxins in their blubber and the
fetus' of pregnant females act as 'toxin magnets' complicating matters
even further.
J-Pod, which hangs around Puget Sound through the winter, is still in
the neighborhood. K-Pod is hanging around the San-Juans/Gulf-Islands.
L-Pod was visiting with K-Pod but they've now headed out to sea. The
people trying to do a count didn't quite finish before the whales
left. This apparently high attrition rate of new-born Orcas has done
nothing to improve their declining numbers here. But it seems to
re-inforce the notion that its human factors like pollution that are
the primary cause of the decline. Now if only our National Marine
Fisheries Agency people get off their bureaucratic buns and do
something to protect them, our Orcas may have a chance.
(Ref: Bremerton Sun, 5/24/2001)
http://orcacam.com/ [Home of the live OrcaCam]
http://www.cascadiaresearch.org/ [Cascadia Research Collective]
http://www.whaleresearch.com [Center for Whale Research]
http://www.rockisland.com/~tokitae/ [Orca Conservancy]
* Where did the oceans come from? It's a simple, basic question. Look
at the other planets in our solar system and not a single, solitary
one of them has anything like an ocean. So where did we get all the
water? Some scientists think it came from comets. And that theory
got a bit of a boost this week when NASA released data on comet
C/1999 S4 (Linear) indicating that water in its spectrum had the
exact same isotopic composition as that of earth water. The first
time they've found a comet like that. "Now wait just a doggone second
there young feller", you say, "A comet's just a dinky little thing.
You can't get no ocean out one of them." One? No. Many? Apparently.
A seperate item in this week's AAAS journal "Science" estimated that
this same C/1994 S4 comet had about 3.6 MegaTons of water on board.
A spit in the ocean perhaps. But keep spit'n like that for a billion
or so years, and you got yourself a Pacific Ocean. Theoretically,
any ways. There are scientists who think this is rubbish but their
press releases never seem to travel very far so I have no idea what
the alternative theories are.
(Ref: NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, 5/21/2001)
(Ref: Science, 5/18/2001)
* Glowing Zebrafish made scientific headlines this week when a group
of biochemists at Jefferson Medical College (Pennsylvania) used them
to identify potential cholesterol-processing genes. They designed
special fat molecules that glow when they are cut by a particular
enzyme in intestines. Lit those Zebrafish up like neon signs. To
control cholesterol levels, you obviously got to first find the genes
involved in producing it. That's what these guys are doing. Zebrafish
have replaced lab rats and the such at many medical labs. They are
abundant, accessible, optically-clear and, like us, vertebrates.
Almost all human genes are found in Zebrafish, making them excellent
genetic modellers for us. A Nobel Prize and all you can eat. No wonder
people are lining up to get into Biochemistry and Cell Biology.
(Ref: Thomas Jefferson University Hospital, 5/21/2001)
http://www.jeffersonhospital.org/news/e3front.dll?durki=10720
DREAMERS, DOERS, DONERS:
=======================
* KALAKALA: (Seattle)
Tours are Saturdays 10am to 5pm for the unique art-deco design
Grand Old Lady of Puget Sound ferries. Got her tied up just west
of the Interstate bridge over the Ship Canal. Work/donations/etc
are optional but greatly appreciated.
http://www.kalakala.org [Kalakala Homepage]
* SEA SHEPHERD INTERNATIONAL: (Friday Harbor)
Since departing Seattle's Lake Union back around Christmas to help
monitor illegal fishing in the Galapagos Islands, SIRENIAN, with
skipper Paul Watson at the wheel, has really captured the hearts
and minds of Ecuadorians. Their Media has been providing regular
coverage of SSI's efforts and one of their leading journalists has
filmed a mini-documentary that focused on the capture and arrest
of four poachers. But most importantly of all, the Ecuadorean
government has stepped up to bat and strengthened its monitoring
efforts in the Islands. They haven't got a lot of money to throw
around and have to pick their priorities carefully. It helped a
lot when a poacher-friendly Environment Minister was forced to
take a hike.
Looks like the OCEAN WARRIOR, after wintering in Europe, is ready
for some action. SSI's looking for both skilled and non-skilled
volunteers to join her in Florida for some fun in the Caribbean
before proceeding to the Galapagos Islands to join the SIRENIAN.
A valid passport and a $1000 returnable deposit (to guarantee
repatriation, if necessary) is all it takes.
(Ref: Sea Shepherd International Webpage)
http://www.seashepherd.org [Sea Shepherd International]
* ARTIFICIAL REEF SOCIETY OF BC:
October 20th has been set as the date for dropping HMCS CAPE BRETON
into the waters off Nanaimo, BC as an artificial reef. It will be
located at Snake Island, about 3 km east of Departure Bay at a
depth of about 60-65 feet. The Tinson Point site off Gabriola Island
lost out this time. Born at Burrard Dry Dock in North Vancouver,
this 440-foot old WW-II Victory Ship, last of her line, will become
one of the world's largest artificial reefs. And it will make Nanaimo
(due west across Georgia Strait from Vancouver) one of the world's
premier wreck dive sites. The CAPE BRETON will join:
HMCS COLUMBIA (Campbell River),
HMCS MACKENZIE (Sidney),
G.B. CHURCH (Sidney),
HMCS SASKATCHEWAN (Nanaimo) and
HMCS CHAUDIERE (Sechelt)
on the bottom, as purpose-placed ARSBC projects.
(Ref: Artificial Reef Society of BC Webpage)
http://www.artificalreef.bc.ca [Artificial Reef Society - BC]
* On Sunday May 25, 1845 - Victoria Day - at the Hudson Bay Company's
Fort Vancouver on the Columbia River, the Limmies were whooping it
up with Loyal Toasts and Captain Thomas Baillie had the HMS MODESTE
anchored nearby. This was British territory back then and those
bloody Yanks grumbling and milling about outside the fort's gate
were only visitors. When Captain Baillie started bragging about how
they burnt Washington to the ground and maybe him and his Jolly Tars
from the MODESTE might wander out that way to lob a ball or two at
the White House, that kind of set things off. The Americans started
yelling "54-40 Or Fight!" to let him know they'd give him a run for
his money if he tried using those cannons in their neighborhood.
Within 16 years the border was redrawn to the specs of the American
settlers battle-cry and the Brits quietly left for Victoria. They
still celebrate Victoria Day every year at Fort Vancouver. Except
they yell "54 - 40 Or Fight!" instead of "Hail To The Queen!".
http://www.halcyon.com/rdpayne/fvnhs.html [Unofficial Webpage]
* To the little town of Seabeck, just across Hood Canal from Misery
Point, a marina is a big thing. It draws in the shrimpers and that
loose change they got jingling around in their pockets. It's been
a few years since the old lumberyard and shipyard went up in flames -
about 150 actually. The place was really booming back then. They called
it "The Livliest Town in Puget Sound". But after the fire, everybody
skeedaddled and things got pretty quiet. In recent years, the marina,
the last real attraction left, was allowed to quietly rot away through
sheer apathy. And then a young 40-year old whipper-snapper named Mark
Smith took over as Harbormaster and things began to change. Putting in
long hours, he whipped the place back into shape and changed the
atmosphere to something more accomodating to the family crowd. The
Richardsons, who own the Seabeck General Store, kind of caught the
fever and reopened the Seabeck Cafe for lunch and dinner. Now people
passing through are remarking about much better the old town looks.
The kind of place they'd like to return to occasionally. I'm sure when
they do return, Mark and the Richardsons will have a couple more
pleasant surprises for them.
(Ref: Bremerton Sun, 5/21/2001)
http://www.wunderground.com/US/WA/Seabeck.html [Seabeck Weather]
* While the Vancouver Acquarium sold their Orca whale BJOSSA into
slavery in California, the people taking care of "Free Willy" star,
KEIKO the Orca in Reykjavik, Iceland are setting theirs free. He's
been there for something like 20 years so it's not an overnight deal
getting him used to being a free Orca again. They're allowing him to
set his own pace by setting him free for as long as he likes but
taking him back in if he returns. He disappears for longer and longer
periods of time when they do. He almost hitched up with a pod last
year but, when they departed for their winter waters, he came back
to his old home. They're hoping he makes a go of it this year.
Keiko's big Sugar Daddy paying for his rehab is Seattle's Craig
McCaw of cellphone fame but Jacques Cousteau's son Jean-Michael
is helping to carry the $300 KiloBucks/mo tab too, along with other
private donors.
(Ref: Associated Press, 5/23/2001)
http://www.ijsland.com/nieuws/keiko.html [Orca Keiko]
FERRIES:
=======
* WASHINGTON STATE FERRIES: (America's Largest Public Fleet)
Finally! Something besides our moronic Governor and state legislators
to talk about. Junior Cadillac will be at WSF's Colman Dock in Seattle
to kick off their 50th Anniversary Party on Friday June 1st. Things
start off in the Bainbridge Island holding area at 11:15am when Big
Shots will announce the winners of the best passenger and employee
"Ferry Memories" contest. The winners and their memories will be
stuffed into a Time Capsule that will be stored in perpetuity at the
Museum of History & Industry. Wow! Free Rent in Seattle! All sorts of
politicians and other corporate mascots will be wandering around
glad-handing the unwary up until 1pm. Apparently Junior will be Kick'n
Out the Jams every half-hour while this goes on.
Then at 6:30pm when the M/V ISSAHQUAH departs for Bremerton she'll
have a floating film-festival on-board courtesy of the Seattle
International Film Festival. Hope they got some of those old "Tug Boat
Annie" flicks. Man, I used to love those things. They were made here,
you know. It's all covered by the regular price of a ferry ticket and
will run on the return trip to Seattle as well. They know better than
to invite me to one of these shindigs. I'd regale them with "Dex"
Armstrong Sea Stories that'd leave their eyebrows permanently curled.
http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/ferries/index.cfm [Wash.State Ferries]
* BC FERRIES CORPORATION:
Did you ever have one of those Mondays when you hop in your boat to
escape the craziness, fire up the Evinrude and tear on out of there
just to discover, a few seconds too late, that you forgot to untie
your little wet dream from the dock? Stuff happens eh. It also happens
to big ferry boat skippers too. Like the Old Man on BCF's QUEEN OF
CAPILANO when he pulled away from the Snug Cove dock on Bowen Island
for the 9:20am run to Horseshoe Bay last Monday. Oi! Ripped out one
entire wing-wall! One of the deckhands apparently left a line tied
up. Since the cable snapped and there was no damage to the ferry, the
Skip continued on to Horseshoe Bay where he grabbed a crane and
returned to Snug Cove to patch things up. Ended up with a two-sailing
wait. Maybe that deckhand can get a First Mate's job on the bridge of
one of those Alaska cruise ships. He's got the right kind of experience.
http://www.bcferries.bc.ca [BC Ferry Corp.]
* "It's like the USS Missouri leaving Bremerton to go to Hawaii", said
one Port Orchard resident. The 84-year old wooden-hulled foot-ferry
CARLISLE II that has shuttled PSNS shipyard workers, tourists and
other commuters across Sinclair Inlet between Bremerton and Port
Orchard for the past 65 years, is heading across the Sound to service
the Seattle Gringo tour trade. She one of the oldest continuously
licenced vessels in the United States. She departed Port Orchard for
the final time on Tuesday morning heading for her new home on Lake
Union. The owner of Horluck Transportation transferred her to his
Waterways Cruises, Inc. property. She'll be doing tours of the ship
canal, Lake Washington and Elliot Bay. Hell, she'll take you to Hong
Kong if you got the money to pay for it. You'll likely need an
advance reservation and hefty deposit before you try that one. Her
two sister ferries will continue to service the Bremerton-Port
Orchard route.
(Ref: Bremerton Sun, 5/23/2001)
* Back in the 1930's if you missed the ferry in Bremerton you could
always catch one of Gorst Air Transport's planes at the city dock
for a $1.50 to Seattle. Vern's operation got off to kind of a rocky
start when a crash killed two pilots shortly after the inaugaral
run. But people got short memories and Vern was an ambitious man.
He went on to become one of the founders of United Airlines.
(Ref: Bremerton Sun, 5/13/2001)
http://www.timetableimages.com/ttimages/pat.htm [Gorst Air Trans.]
MERCHANT MARINE:
===============
* The 12-deck, 853-foot Bahamian-registered cruise ship NORWEIGAN SKY
came steaming into the Straits of Juan de Fuca last Saturday bound
for Seattle when something rather exciting happened - it's autopilot
failed. What kind of a nautical genius would attempt to steam
through a narrow, restricted, high-volume waterway like the Strait
of Juan de Fuca on autopilot? Possibly the same sort of genius who
was stupid enough to get caught a couple weeks ago illegally dumping
his ship's sewage in Alaskan waters.
When one of the crew disengaged the autopilot, the rudder unexpectedly
went hard to port. I mean HARD to port. People went flying, windows
shattered, chairs flew around like crazy seagulls, dining room dishes
hit the deck and the gift shop got trashed. That's a helluva lot of
ship to be thrashing about. The passengers said she sort of righted
herself then took another deep dive to port. They thought for sure
she was going to keel right over. Apparently two pilots were on the
bridge at the time. The ship's skipper didn't bother reporting the
incident to the Canadian Coasties. They didn't find out about it
until it hit the Media as the ship pulled in for what was supposed
to be a short stop to pick up an extra crew-member. He don't seem
to like Coasties much any more. They had 78 people report injuries
and 16 had to be taken to the Royal Victoria Hospital, some with
broken bones. They had to spend the night there instead of moving
on to Seattle as originally planned. After the Coasties cleared them
with instructions not to use the frig'n autopilot any more, they left
the next day for Seattle. Two passengers were left behind at the RVH
under observation. The skipper quickly dumped his shook-up customers
and beat a quick retreat outta town with a new load of Gringos for
Alaska after only a few hours. Pretty slick operation eh.
(Ref: KING-5 TV News, 5/20/2001)
* Dick & Claire Lobel were taking a relaxing 2-month cruise around
South America recently aboard one of Rennaissance Cruises new luxury
liners when she pulled into the British Virgin Islands and they got
abruptly kicked off the ship. Rennaissance took advantage of a Brit
law, still on the books, allowing them to charge passengers with
"inciting a mutiny". No joke. In chatting with other passengers during
the voyage, the Lobels discovered just how badly they got screwed on
the fare. Dick's brother is the well-regarded Washington, D.C. lawyer
Martin Lobel. So Dick wrote up a letter to the other passengers who
also got screwed on their fare, inviting them to join him in a class
action lawsuit against Rennaissance to sort of 'level the paying
field', so to speak. When he took it to the ship's Business Center
to get it printed up, the attendent swiped a copy and passed it along
to the Skipper. The Skipper, get this, accused him of endangering the
ship by violating some obscure rule printed on the back of his ticket
that prohibits passengers from ever thinking ill thoughts about
Rennaissance Cruises. Dick thought he was joking. Then the beefy
security guards showed up at his door to escourt him and his wife
off the ship. He's suing them, of course. Real classy operation eh.
(Ref: Washington Post, 5/19/2001)
http://www.renaissancecruises.com/ [Be nice now!]
* I'll bet you're in the mood for a nice ocean cruise eh. Royal Caribbean
International is now taking reservations for the 2002 Alaska season.
From their dock in downtown Vancouver, BC they'll be running:
- RADIANCE OF THE SEAS: 7-night R/Ts (Juneau/Skagway/Hubbard Glacier/
Ketchikan) Saturdays 6/8 to 9/14
- VISION OF THE SEAS: 7-night R/Ts (Hubbard Glacier/Skagway/Juneau/
Ketchikan/Misty Fjords) Sundays 6/2 to 9/8
- LEGEND OF THE SEAS: 7-night R/Ts (similar to above)
every-other Thursday starting May 31st and
ending September 6th.
(Ref: Royal Caribbean International, 5/24/2001)
http://www.royalcaribbean.com [Royal Caribbean Intl.]
Actually, an old buddy from the FoMoCo assembly plant in River Rouge,
outside Detroit, does 3 of these trips every year. He loves them.
Vancouver, aside from being in a beautiful location, is a very Funky
city with its hash-parlours, enormous Asian population and all-the-
way Peelers. It offers full-spectrum entertainment from Euro-Ritzy to
USS-BLOGGINS-"Hey Sailor!". It makes Seattle look like some sort of
Prissyville for Retired Clergy. Come to think of it, maybe that's
why their teams always whoose-out.
* From about the turn of the last century to the 1960's, cruise ships
and ferries were a pretty common item on the Great Lakes. Then all
the cruise action shifted to the tropics and international waters
while the ferries went broke. About the only thing moving on the
Lakes in recent times have been the big ore-carriers. Ann Arbor
Michigan-based "Great Lakes Cruise Company" is out to bring the cruise
ships back. They're offering six luxury, high-class cruises between
Chicago and Toronto aboard the German cruise ship M/V COLUMBUS and
the French yacht LE LEVANT. Both are smaller sized and capable of
handling the canals and locks so common in Europe. The crews of both
ships are all European and will tastefully insult you in a variety
of foreign tongues. Ports of call will be Chicago (IL), Windsor (ONT),
Traverse City (MI) and Toronto (ONT) with stops at Mackinac Island
(MI), Niagra Falls (ONT/NY), Marquette (MI), Thunder Bay (ONT), Sault
Ste. Marie (ONT/MI) and Saugatuck (?). They didn't mention prices so
I guess it must be free. Check this URL just to be on the safe side:
http://www.greatlakescruising.com [Great Lakes Cruise Company]
FISH:
=====
* A report in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Science on
Tuesday made it official. Neanderthals may have been red-meat eaters,
but humans were fish eaters 20,000 years ago. Fish and seafood being
'brain food', it's thought their diet may have accelerated their
superior intelligence. Seriously! Fish have got higher levels of DHA,
a fatty-acid that's proven to enhance brain and eye development.
Researchers from Washington University (St.Louis) poked around in the
bones of old dead Czechs, Russians and Brits to arrive at this
conclusion. Analysis of the isotopes in those bones showed them that
people from 20-28,000 years ago got 10-50% of their diet from the sea.
Earlier people from 28-130,000 years ago were exclusively red-meat
eaters.
(Ref: Associated Press, 5/22/2001)
* Along the banks of North Carolina's Roanoke River near Scotland Neck,
is a rather unlikely looking contraption. It looks like a big wheel
mounted on a 38-foot platform. It has no motor, no electrical power.
River current turns the wheel, scooping up fish in a series of
10-foot-square nets. It's zoologist Joe Hightower's 'fishwheel'.
They used to be pretty common along East Coast rivers in the early
1800s. By the late-1800's the idea migrated west to Puget Sound country
and up to Alaska where they were so successful at catching fish that
they were banned. Scientists continue to use them for research. Which
is, of course, what this one on the Roanoke is for. Unlike gillnets
and trawls, they don't damage the fish, allowing the scientists to
release their catches unharmed. And while they may not have any
blinking lights or embedded microprocessors nor consume any power,
they do get the job done.
http://home.earthlink.net/~kmouloua/museum/fishwheel.html [Fishwheels]
* With a knick-name like "Jewfish", you just had to know the grouper
fish Epinephelus itajara was long overdue for a name-change. The
American Fisheries Society, whose Names-of-Fishes Committee is
officially responsible for such matters, has been getting a steady
trickle of letters for years from people who find the name offensive.
Rabbi Bruce Diamond of Temple Beth-El in Fort Myers Florida, who
kind of favors Gefilte Fish, says, "In the universe of things that
need to change, the name of a big grouper is low on the list."
None-the-less, it is now officially known as the "Goliath Grouper".
I guess they're starting from the bottom of that list with the easy
stuff first Rabbi. This humble creature seems to be heading for
extinction, so if you catch any, set them free. No need to part
the waters first and if any Egyptians show up, call the Coasties.
(Ref: Associated Press, 5/24/2001)
http://www.fisheries.org [American Fisheries Soc.]
http://www.fishbustercharters.com/jewfish.htm [Jewfish]
MISCELLANEOUS:
=============
* "Everybody outta the water! Now!" was the cry hear on Bremerton
beaches this week. A 6,000 gallon sewage spill on Tuesday has
closed down three Bremerton area beaches - Lion's Field, Lent
Landing and Evergreen Park - and drew a closure of shellfish
harvesting for a week. Orders of the Health District. Seems a
logic-control unit on the computer that runs the pump station
at Park Avenue, Bit the Biscuit, sending raw sewage spewing
into Port Washington Narrows. P-yew! They'll keep an eye on it
after the 7-day ban to make sure its dispersed.
(Ref: Bremerton Sun, 5/23/2001)
* A White Rock (BC) couple whose home overlooks Semiahmoo Bay saw
something rather peculiar this week - a driverless boat slowly
circling around the bay all by itself. Realizing that boats don't
just up and go for a ride whenever they take a mind to, the couple
called the police. A Coast Guard Auxiliary boat went out to see
what was going on. Barry Enge, a truck salesman from nearby New
Westminster (BC), who was clinging to a marker buoy in the bay at
the time, is glad they did. He'd been in the cold water for over
an hour but was wearing a neoprene suit and despite being a little
lonely, was comfortably warm. Seems he had one of those clip-on
seats in his boat and, after hitting a few heavy waves, he suddenly
found both him and the seat flying over the side when the clips
suddenly gave out. Unable to catch up with his boat and not wanting
to risk swimming to shore against the tide, he just let the current
take him to the buoy. He hoped the boat would catch somebody's
attention eventually. He was kind of woozy but very happy to see
his rescuers when they showed up.
(Ref: Vancouver Sun, 5/21/2001)
* Canadian-born Victor David, like many people in this area, had a
sailboat. He kept it anchored off-shore up in Everett. Both he and
his physically-disabled wife lived on board it. Victor allowed himself
the luxury of leaving to go ashore occasionally. He apparently didn't
allow his wife that luxury. He kept her cooped up below decks for
something like 24 years while they both lived off her monthly disability
check from the state and the $500/mo he got as her 'caregiver'. You
read it right - not days, weeks or months, but 24 Y-E-A-R-S he kept her
completely isolated from the outside world and utterly under his
control. As you might imagine, she wasn't in the greatest of mental
health after that much time in solitary confinment.
The State of Washington discovered this when one of their social
workers, who hadn't heard from Mrs. David in a few years, went looking
for her to let her know her benefits would expire if she didn't renew
them. Vic wasn't too thrilled about having the social worker pay her
an on-board visit and no wonder, the boat was a filthy, stinking mess.
He had his crippled wife stuffed down below with his dog. Pretty classy
guy eh. One thing led to another and next thing you know Mr. David was
appearing in court last October. The prosecutor wasn't too sure where
to begin with this guy, so he led off with assault charges. The jury
was unable to come to a decision. While a second trial was prepared,
Mrs. David sued the state for failing to protect her. Olympia settled
with her for $8.8 MegaBucks. She's now in a nursing home.
The jury in the second court case came down with their verdict this
week - guilty of second-degree assault. He'll probably get 6-months.
Sounds like the State screwed this pooch royally. Top to bottom.
(Ref: KING-5 TV News, 5/21/2001)
* Remember the Good Old Days when it was a Big Deal if somebody found
an old ship at the bottom of the sea? Nowadays they're finding whole
freak'n CITIES underwater. Aside from the ancient city off the Lebanese
coast, half of Alexandria Egypt and that funny thing off the Japanese
coast, somebodys now found a 4,000 year old city off the west coast of
India. They think it dates back to the Harappan civilization but it's
a little too early to know for sure. It's in the Arabian Sea's Gulf of
Cambay in one of the largest tidal areas in the world. The guy who
found it, S.R. Rao, is the same guy who found the first tidal dock in
the world dating back to 2300 B.C. in the port town of Lothal at the
head of the Gulf of Cambay. Scientists say Mr. Rao may be laying it
on a little thick and more detailed studies are needed to accurately
determine the city's age.
(Ref: BBC News, 5/22/2001)
http://www.sol.com.au/kor/16_01.htm [Historical Perspective]
* You may have noticed that Britain is in the midst of a General
Election. Once again, bearing the hopes and fears of an entire
nation upon their hunched backs, Screaming Lord Sutch and the
Monster Raving Looney Party have entered the fray. Their platform
this time includes amongst other things: formation of a cooperative
venture with Volkswagon to produce a vehicle capable of running on
farm effluent - to be known as the "Dung Beetle"; re-establish
the looney English units of weight and measurement (feet, gallons,
etc.); closure of the Channel Tunnel to keep the Euros out; provision
of a small mirror to each citizen of England so they may identify
themselves properly when asked to do so; reduction of school class
sizes by reducing the sizes of desks by one half and making the kids
stand closer together; free Viagra for anyone over the age of 69;
making it legal to 'silly string' anyone who uses a cellphone in
public; and, finally...
clean up the fishing industry.
It stinks.
http://freespace.virgin.net/raving.loony [The Official Loony Site]
- 73 -
=================================================================
CHUCK WAWA ARCHIVES: http://www.eskimo.com/~foggy/chuck-wawa.html
HOMEPORT PUGET SOUND: http://www.eskimo.com/~foggy/homeport.html
This is meant purely to satisfy my idle curiosity and provide
entertainment to whoever reads it. It doesn't pretend to be more
than vaguely accurate or reliable. Go somewhere else for that.
I do my best but, aside from personal limitations, I'm at the
mercy of my public sources. My summaries are purely my own
impressions/opinions and may not represent those of the original
writers/journals. I don't represent them in any way/shape/form.
Copyright(2001)
fo...@eskimo.com
==============================================================
Alec Powell
>You may have noticed that Britain is in the midst of a General
> Election. Once again, bearing the hopes and fears of an entire
> nation upon their hunched backs, Screaming Lord Sutch and the
> Monster Raving Looney Party have entered the fray.
Screaming Lord Sutch died a couple of years ago - unfortunately.
The party with the only politics worth following in this sad old country
of mine. IMO.
Read their manifesto if you want cheering up!
http://www.omrlp.com/
Defence policy:
All bombs & guns should be kept in the fridge to stop them going off.
Have fun,
ARP
--
Alec R.Powell Watlington Oxon. UK
http://web.ukonline.co.uk/alec.powell/
mailto:alec....@ukonline.co.uk