NAUTICAL LOG

  Amazing, awesome - chose an adjective the America Cup is retained by the USA.  In an extraordinary comeback the final race was won by Oracle Team USA in San Francisco, CA today.  After falling behind 8 races to 1 the USA won 11 races to win the Cup 9 to 8 due to their 2 race penalty deduction.    All one can really say is " Well done USA " NAUTICAL LOG is a believer in this maritime high technology. Good Watch

AN EDITORIAL So it starts the Path of Jesus of Nazareth or the Path of Francis 1 of Buenos Aires either way this is the beginning of the end and the end of the beginning.  The Roman Catholic Christian Church is now ruled by the Society of Jesus who at long last finally have their Jesuit Pope.  In addition let us not forget Benedict  XVI, the Pope who Resigned but never Abdicated, who remains in residence in the Vatican. Changes have been made in the Vatican Ruling Body with a new Secretary of State, controversial speeches and interviews given during the recent hysterical visit to Brazil.  In typical Jesuit fashion the stage was set for the real moves in a long dreamed of direction since the foundation of the Society of Jesus in 1540. In his interview with the Jesuit writers Francis 1 stated that too often the Roman Catholic Church " locked itself up in small-minded rules " which it most certainly did.  When those Rules were not obeyed by the ordinary...

LÉ Emer P21 Talk about value for money, today the LÉ Emer the oldest ship in the Irish Naval Service was decommissioned.  NAUTICAL LOG has decided to reprint the report from this morning's Irish Times as follows: "Irish Naval Service vessel the LÉ Emer is being decommissioned from the Service today after almost 36 years in use.  The oldest ship in the service, LÉ Emer was built in Verolme Cork Shipyard and was commissioned on January 16th. 1978.  The vessel has had 23 Captains and the Service estimated it has sailed 518,000 nautical miles during its service.  The final serving captain is Lt. Cmdr. Alan O'Reagan a Cork native.   Deriving its name from Celtic mythology in reference to the wife of Cúchulainn, the ship's crest features flames representing the virtues of womanhood.  LÉ Emer's roles encompassed maritime defence and security, ocean governance, safety and surveillance, port security, fishery protection, drug interdiction...

The following M - Notices are now available at www.dft.gov.uk/mca if you have problems call 023 8032 9391. MSN 1851 (M) The Larger Commercial Yacht Code (LY3). MGN 471 (M) Maritime Labour Convention 2006: UK Definitions. MGN 486 (M) Maritime Labour Convention 2006, Access to Shore based welfare facilities. MIN 468 (M) Experienced Seafarer to Engineer Officer of the Watch (EOOW). Good Watch.

Not that NAUTICAL LOG makes any particular effort these days to follow either Greenpeace  or Sea Shepherds - we do not hear anything of Sea Shepherds are they still around - however Greenpeace did get themselves in the news or at least in the gCaptain blog. It seems that some of them attacked an oil rig in the Russian Arctic and found themselves restrained by the Russian Coastguard.  Quite vigorously restrained actually with shots fired or so it is reported.  Of course they really only have themselves to blame as they invaded a Sovereign Nation and its national equipment.  To attack anything Russian is going to bring down some very heavy reaction as they enforce Russian Law on persons interfering with their national operations.  Whether other international groups such as Greenpeace do not agree with oil drilling operations in the Russian Arctic does not give them any right whatsoever to attack an oil rig in Russian sovereign territory.  These actio...

NAUTICAL LOG does not understand why anyone would write a comment and not sign it knowing it will not be published.  At the top of the Blog there is a clear statement on how and what we publish that includes not publishing ANONYMOUS comments, yet we receive them regularly.  For the information of those who write ANONYMOUS comments they never even arrive at the Blog, instead they go automatically to an e-mail deposit for moderation. Good Watch.

  Just maybe having watched the sailing races in San Francisco Bay this weekend.  NAUTICAL LOG understands these speed machines are the AC72 Class.  It was extremely exciting and a display, though specialized, of superb seamanship in sailing. Having been critical in the past and while NAUTICAL LOG is not entirely convinced that these are the yachts that should be racing for a trophy as traditional as the America Cup.    Perhaps more properly they deserve a unique trophy of their own.  Still at the time of the original series those yachts were the epitome of the latest design and technology of the 19th. Century.  The AC72 is the epitome of the 21st. Century design and technology.  So perhaps after all the America Cup is the correct award for the series. We shall be watching the continuation of the series from San Francisco Bay with great interest. Good Watch.

Lt. Kerry USN at Vietnam War Congressional Hearings Secretary of State Kerry at Syrian Strike Congressional Hearings   Once again we are hearing testimony at Congressional Hearings on both the Senate side and the House side.  Surprise, surprise the same person is involved after 42 years - but what a different viewpoint.  At that time Kerry asked "How do we ask a man to be the last to die for a mistake?".   Perhaps Mr. Secretary of State by not repeating them - sadly we continue to do so. For once it would be nice if when persons became Politicians they maintained there original viewpoints and when the occasion arose in their time stuck with their original beliefs and Declared Peace not continue to blow the World to pieces by Acts of War. They would do well to remember a story told in the Middle East about a scorpion who wished to cross the Nile River.  He spotted a frog and asked him to take him across on his back.  T...

    Each Labour Day in New York Harbour there is a gathering of tugs with various competitive events taking place.  It is of course a great day out on the water and the tugs have guests on board.  NAUTICAL LOG is a bit puzzled how that can happen but it appears the United States Coast Guard (USCG) has some unknown regulation which covers that or just turns "Nelson's Eye" for this event. Along with turning a blind eye to crowded tugboats it seems that lifejackets are also not required and once again NAUTICAL LOG is concerned about that.  Also it appears from my mail that one is not alone with this concern as the remark "don't they have to wear lifejackets?" was a theme in e-mails.  One particularly noted the young boy on the second deck and a young girl on the maindeck of the Catherine C. Miller   ( see photo above from tugster: a waterblog also see that Blog for other photos ) whose families would perhaps have been wiser to have ...