Book Review: Into the Raging Sea, Thirty Three Mariners, One Megastorm, And The Sinking of the El Faro

Posted on January 21, 2019 by

Into the Raging Sea
Thirty Three Mariners, One Megastorm, And The Sinking of El Faro

Into the Raging Sea

Thirty Three Mariners, One Megastorm, And The Sinking of El Faro

By Rachel Slade

The loss of the 790 ft U.S. Flagged container ship in Hurricane Joaquin three years ago on October 1, 2015 with 33 souls on board sent shock-waves through the marine industry.

How everyone wondered in today’s world with weather satellite’s and super computers helping with the weather forecasts why a modern ship would sail into the eye of a hurricane. The captain and TOTE Shipping had a good reputation according to the news reports.

Rachel Slade does a great job covering the events leading up to the loss, she goes back and fills in the background giving us a sense of the personality of many of the players involved including those that conducted the investigation.

I highly recommend the book to any mariner even if they are a recreational boater as there are many lessons to be learned for everyone that has eve been on the water and answered some questions I still had after reading the 288 page NTSB report on the loss of the El Faro.

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“YOU MIGHT BE A COASTIE, IF…”

Posted on October 27, 2018 by

Funny even if you have never been in the Coast Guard

Chuck Hill's CG Blog

Misappropriated this from Fred’s Place Tribute Group on Facebook.Feel free to add more in the comments. 

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1. You know instantly that “work smarter, not harder” means billet cuts.
2. People ask you what you’re doing beyond the three mile limit.
3. You get married to move out of the barracks.
4. You precede every public speech with, “I was going to tell a sea story, but seeing the lack of Cutterman’s pins out there, you all just wouldn’t understand.”
5. An Alaskan cruise is not an option for your honeymoon.
6. You are still trying to figure out what TQM was all about.
7. You’ve ever laughed when watching the CG commercial at 0300 and wondered why all they show is helo’s and small boats.
8. You’ve successfully avoided at least one inspection, Change of Command, or urinalysis.
9. After boot camp, you’ve never fired a rifle.
10. You…

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NOAA charts new hazards and helps ports recover following Hurricane Florence

Posted on September 19, 2018 by

I like NOAA and know several current and retired NOAA people and I find the speed of response to be incredible

“Since these dangers to navigation will remain in place while the port reopens, NOAA updated its charts with the new hazards and distributed them to the port, Coast Guard, and key stakeholders. The time from the survey to the publication of the chart was less than 24 hours, an unprecedented accomplishment for Coast Survey.”

While conducting hydrographic surveys at the request of the U.S. Coast Guard following Hurricane Florence, NOAA’s Office of Coast Surveynavigation response teams (NRT) identified hazardous obstructions in the Cape Fear River channel. Since these dangers to navigation will remain in place while the port reopens, NOAA updated its charts with the new hazards and distributed them to the port, Coast Guard, and key stakeholders. The time from the survey to the publication of the chart was less than 24 hours, an unprecedented accomplishment for Coast Survey.

“NOAA has streamlined all phases of our ping-to-chart process over the past 10 years,” remarked Rear Admiral Shepard Smith, the director of NOAA’s Office of Coast Survey, “this milestone results from dozens of technology, workflow, and distribution changes that have dramatically improved the level of service to the American public. We would not even have imagined doing this in the paper chart era…

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Hoax calls affect us all – A Bit of History

Posted on July 10, 2018 by

Coast Guard RBM going quickly, photo courtesy USCG

A rather sobering bit of information from the U.S. Coast Guard 5th District Mid-Atlantic on the impact of false MAYDAY calls.

This is the fishing vessel SOL E MAR. This is a MAYDAY, were sinking, we need help now! were the some of the last words of 19-year-old Billy Hokanson, as the fishing boat that he and his father, William was on sank to the bottom of the ocean on March 25, 1990.

Coast Guard Stations Menemsha and Brad Point, both off the coast of Cape Cod, Massachusetts, received the distress call on marine radio channel 16 distorted by heavy amounts of static. Both stations attempted to call the boat back, but did not get an answer. About a minute after Hakansons transmission, a separate call came through channel 16.

SOS, I’m sinking, the caller said in playful tone with laughter.

Both distress calls were presumed to be related and deemed as hoaxes.

The bodies of the Hoakansons never found.

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Coast Guard locates vessel with 49 people after passenger calls 911 reporting operator lost in heavy fog off Navy Pier.

Posted on June 12, 2018 by

Photo by Petty Officer 2nd Class LaNola Stone
U.S. Coast Guard Headquarters

What was anyone not thinking?  In fog with no navigation system or marine radio.

CHICAGO  —  The Coast Guard located a motor vessel with 49 people aboard after one of the passengers called 911 stating she was concerned that the operator had become disoriented in heavy fog off of Navy Pier near the Chicago Harbor breakwall, Saturday.

Shortly before 11 p.m., a watchstander in the Coast Guard Sector Lake Michigan command center received a call from Chicago 911 that a concerned passenger aboard the vessel, Serenity, a 56-foot yacht, reported the vessel had become disoriented in heavy fog with visibility less than one-quarter of a mile.

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Contest – Depose the Bowline – My Entry Was The Winner!!

Posted on June 5, 2018 by
Towboat Hitch / Capstan Hitch

Towboat Hitch / Capstan Hitch

Recently Brion Toss a well respected Pacific Northwest Yacht Rigger and author of several books on yacht rigging had a contest to find a knot that might not be as well known as the Bowline but worthy of more people being aware of it.

I entered the contest and won, please see below for Brion’s original question and my winning answer.

This week’s Puzzle will be a little different: instead of asking you some tricky rigging question, I want you to convince me that you have the best answer to the following:

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NOAA announces launch of crowdsourced bathymetry database

Posted on May 31, 2018 by

Great way for NOAA to extend it’s reach and detect when an area needs to be resurveyed. Also for boaters to get the benefit of “local knowledge” about changes to the sea floor before you run aground on a new shallow area.

By, Lt. Cmdr. Adam Reed, Integrated Oceans and Coastal Mapping (IOCM) Assistant Coordinator

Today NOAA announces the end of a testing phase in the development of a new crowdsourced bathymetry database. Bathymetric observations and measurements from participants in citizen science and crowdsourced programs are now archived and made available to the public through the International Hydrographic Organization (IHO) Data Centre for Digital Bathymetry (DCDB) Data Viewer. The operationalized database allows free access to millions of ocean depth data points, and serves as a powerful source of information to improve navigational products.

The crowdsourced bathymetry database, displayed in the IHO Data Centre for Digital Bathymetry Data Viewer, has an updated user interface. The crowdsourced bathymetry database, displayed in the IHO Data Centre for Digital Bathymetry Data Viewer, has an updated user interface.

NOAA began database development in 2014 with the IHO Crowdsourced Bathymetry Working Group. The database is part of the IHO DCDB and is hosted at NOAA’s National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI), which offers access to archives…

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NOAA releases documentary on women’s service in the NOAA Corps

Posted on March 31, 2018 by

Rear Adm. Harley Nygren (NOAA ret.) and Cmdr. Pam Chelgren-Koterba (NOAA ret.). Nygren was the first director of the NOAA Corps and penned entry for women to serve. Chelgren was the first woman to join the NOAA Corps in 1972, under Nygren’s leadership. (NOAA Image)

An interesting video by the NOAA Corps on the integrating of women onboard ships and airplanes starting in 1972 as told by many of the women that were there.

NOAA has it’s roots from 1807 when Thomas Jefferson called for The Survey of the Coast, NOAA has been proudly serving the country ever since.

As Women’s History Month draws to a close, NOAA announces the release of Women of the NOAA Corps: Reflections from Sea and Sky, a documentary that highlights the important role women play in the NOAA Commissioned Officer Corps.

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