Posted to Maritime Musings
(by
Dennis Bryant)
on
August 5, 2014
The magnetic poles are the two points on the surface of the Earth at which the magnetic field points vertically down or up (in the northern and southern hemispheres respectively). These points are located near, but not at the northern and southern geographic poles.
Posted to Maritime Musings
(by
Dennis Bryant)
on
May 10, 2013
In a move reminiscent of the Athos Canal, built 483-480 BC at the direction of the Persian Emperor Xerxes, or the Corinth Canal, built in the 1890’s by the Greek Government, Norway has tentatively approved construction of a tunnel through the…
Posted to Maritime Musings
(by
Dennis Bryant)
on
August 14, 2012
The albatross is the largest of all birds in terms of wingspan (up to 12 feet). It can be found soaring above all ocean waters of the Southern Hemisphere and above the North Pacific. It is largely absent from the North Atlantic, probably due to loss of habitat.
Posted to Maritime Musings
(by
Dennis Bryant)
on
May 25, 2012
The Xue Long (Snow Dragon) is the premier polar vessel of the People’s Republic of China. It was built in the Ukraine in 1993 and modified upon its acquisition by China in 1994. Its major function is to serve as a resupply vessel and scientific research platform in the Antarctic and the Arctic.
Posted to Maritime Musings
(by
Dennis Bryant)
on
March 23, 2012
When the Union Navy learned that the Confederate Navy was building an iron-clad warship to threaten the wooden-hulled blockade fleet, it launched a crash project to build its own iron-clad warships. Of the 17 proposals submitted, the Union Navy selected three for construction.
Posted to Maritime Musings
(by
Dennis Bryant)
on
March 16, 2012
Joshua James (1826-1902) served as a lifesaver for 60 of his 75 years. Born in Hull, Massachusetts, he joined the Massachusetts Humane Society (an organization modeled on the Royal National Lifeboat Institution – RNLI) at age 15 after his mother and one of his sisters died in a ship wreck.
Posted to Maritime Musings
(by
Dennis Bryant)
on
June 10, 2011
The United States Revenue Cutter (USRC) Thomas Corwin was built in Portland, Oregon in 1876, becoming the first federal government vessel built in the state. She was finished and commissioned in San Francisco in 1877. San Francisco remained her homeport for her entire period of government service.
Posted to Maritime Musings
(by
Dennis Bryant)
on
April 15, 2011
The Macondo oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico (following the April 20, 2010 explosion and fire on the MODU Deepwater Horizon) and the reactor failures at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant in northern Japan (subsequent to the March 11,…
Posted to Maritime Musings
(by
Dennis Bryant)
on
January 4, 2011
The whoosh you experienced at about 1900 UTC on Monday, January 3, 2011 was the sun passing by on its closest approach to the Earth – a mere 91,402,505 miles away. This recurs every year, often at night when it can’t be observed. The date and…