For years there has been a lot of talk about supplementing ship propulsion systems with wind power. A lot of different solutions have been proposed, primarily along lines of adding masts and sails and some ships have actually been fitted out for experimental purposes. While undoubtedly a good idea in theory, these schemes make a splash in the press and then disappear.
Browsing around the web this morning I ran across this interesting concept. While it’s doubtful that it would be of any use to Panamax (the largest size capable of transiting the Panama Canal locks) and Post Panamax ships (ships too large for the Canal at present) it might be useful on smaller commercial craft and larger fishing trawlers.
This is probably the last you’ll ever see of this idea.
From time to time I check out the online edition of the Cape Cod Times, the old hometown newspaper. I used to trudge around half of the Town of Orleans delivering it when I was in high school and then worked as a general assignment reporter in 1964. It was called the Cape Cod Standard-Times back then.
I happened to look at it Wednesday and there was this video of Leo Cummings, one of my favorite people from the old days. Leo owned the Sunoco gas station in town and also drove the school bus we all used to ride to school on. He’s looking pretty good for 90.
In the City of Dania (recently officially changed to Dania Beach), south of Fort Lauderdale, there is a boat yard tucked away off of the Dania Cutoff Canal. For years the yard was a haven for dozens of abandoned, or nearly abandoned, boats. A couple of months ago I decided to take a trip to the yard to see if there were any bargains I could snap up and was surprised that new management had taken over and all the old trash had been swept away.
While primarily filled with floating Clorox bottles one jewel stands out and would be noticed in any marina or boatyard here in the States.
Named Neeltje, the boat was built in Holland in 1901! According to the yard manager the boat was originally built to haul manure but converted to yacht condition with the addition of the trunk cabin in the 1950s.The manager said that the boat had once been owned by Dan Rowan where he kept it on the Seine, in Paris for 20 years and was his hideaway when Rowan visited France. The boat came to the US in the 80s. The current owners have done a major refit of the boat and it will soon be moved to Key West where it will be offered as a Bed & Breakfast lodging.
Below decks there is a nice galley, a large saloon and two staterooms. Though I was allowed to go below it was all fairly ordinary and I didn’t take any pictures. But it’s the topsides where this boat really shines.
The Massive Rudder
The Tiller Was Truncated When Wheel Steering Was Added
Cabin Companionway
Twin Sheave Block
The Leeboards Are Huge
Varnished Mast
Mast Tabernacle
Pin Rail
Original Hand-Powered Winch
Of course the dinghy for such a fine boat has to follow suit:
It’s hard to believe that any sanctioned group of sailors have more fun with their boats than a bunch of Puddleduck Racers.
The Puddleduckracer 2009 World Championships were held recently in Altoona, Georgia, with participants from 11 states and one foreign country entered.
One of the great parts of the fun is that everyone entered must bring a homemade trophy if they are going to participate. This is the championship trophy:
David (Shorty) Rouse, the creater of the class captured 5th place and copped this trophy:
Read a complete account of the Championships here:
When you spend quite a bit of your time alone a person has to do something to pass the time. I don’t know how others spend their alone time but me, I think about strange things, most of which never make it past my cranial cavity.
One thing I’ve wondered about for years is who in hell figured out coffee? Coffee isn’t simple. In their basics certain things are simple and it’s fairly easy to figure out how they came to be. Tea is simple. Take some leaves from a plant, put them in some hot water and voilá, a tasty beverage. Wine? Somebody was really thirsty and didn’t care that the grape juice had bubbles all over the surface. They gulped it down and WHOA! Altered state of consciousness. Even the beginnings of cheese is fairly simple in its origins. Some hungry camel herder carrying milk in saddlebags made from animal skins, and possibly made from the stomach, which contains the coagulating enzyme known as rennin. Or, fermentation of the milk sugars would cause the milk to curdle. The galloping motion of the horse or camel, acting as churning, would effectively separate the milk into curds. The result, curds and whey, provided a refreshing whey drink as well as curds, which would be drained through perforated earthenware bowls or woven reed baskets, and lightly salted to provide a tasty and nourishing meal. All accidental discoveries that were later expanded on.
But coffee isn’t simple. It’s complicated if you think about it a bit. I don’t buy that story of some Ethiopian herder saw his goats getting frisky after eating the fruits off some bushes and suddenly we had coffee. It’s a multi-step process. First you have to pick the fruit, known as “cherries.” Then the pulp has to be removed and the bean inside has to be left out in the sun to dry. After that the husks of the beans have to be removed. Then the beans must be cooked (roasted), ground up and infused with boiling water. That’s a bunch of work. Who in hell figured that all out, anyway?
To John’s amazement, old Butch had his bell in his beak, so it couldn’t ring.
He’d sneak up on a pullet, do his job and walk on to the next one. John was so proud of old Butch, he entered him in the Renfrew County Fair and he became an overnight sensation among the judges.
The result was the judges not only awarded old Butch the No Bell Piece Prize but they also awarded him the Pulletsurprise as well. Clearly old Butch was a politician in the making. Who else but a politician could figure out how to win two of the most highly coveted awards on our planet by being the best at sneaking up on the populace and screwing them when they weren’t paying attention.
As I’ve mentioned previously, my favorite radio station, Radio Baie des Anges in Nice, France, played music without telling the listeners who the artists were. One song that grabbed me was “Don’t Cry for Louie.” Loved the lyrics and the whole bluesie harmonic playing. Months after grabbing the song off the air and onto a cassette I was at a party and was instantly attracted to a little redhead in a corner listening to a CD on a Walkman. Having had two carrot top girlfriends in the past I overcame my natural reticense and approached her to find out what she was listening to. Solange, le canard rouge (the red duck) as she called herself, was from French-speaking part of Switzerland. She said she was listening to a group from Belgium (a French-speaking country) called Vaya Con Dios and she passed me the headphones. I couldn’t believe I was listening to one of my favorite songs and had now discovered who sang it.
I couldn’t believe they were from Belgium. They sound so much like an American group.
Contrary to popular opinion, electric motors do NOT run on electricity, they run on smoke that is stored inside the motor. If the smoke escapes the motor will no longer work.
