From Gibraltar Chronicle: Odyssey seeks to rebuild relationship with Spain
The US company that recovered the world’s most valuable and controversial underwater treasure said yesterday that it would seek to rebuild its relationship with the Spanish government.
Odyssey Marine Exploration believes that an ongoing project in partnership with Britain to excavate the wreck of HMS Victory could provide the template for future work with other countries, including Spain.
The development came as two Spanish military planes prepared to fly 17 tonnes of silver coins from the US to Spain this weekend, bringing to a close a convoluted saga over the so-called Black Swan treasure.
Odyssey recovered the coins in 2007 in international waters off Portugal and flew them to its Florida base from Gibraltar, sparking a bitter legal row with Spain in the process.
Odyssey lost at every stage in the US courts and this month, after five years of courtroom wrangling, a US judge ordered the company to hand over the $500m haul to Spain.
On Friday, two Spanish air force Hercules transport planes were expected to fly from Florida under high security carrying the coins to Spain.
LOOKING AHEAD
A decade ago the company enjoyed a good relationship with the Spanish government and even carried Spanish navy observers on board its flagship vessel, Odyssey Explorer, while it conducted underwater surveys off the Spanish coast.
But that relationship soured when the Junta de Andalucia took umbrage at the company’s activities, and worsened progressively after the PSOE won the general election in 2004 and the Junta’s heritage chief, Carmen Calvo, became culture minister in Madrid.
Critics of Odyssey argue that the company puts profit above archaeology and heritage protection.
In the Mercedes case, Spain accused the company of plundering a national heritage site and dubbed Odyssey modern-day pirates.
But the company countered that its work adhered to strict archaeological protocols and standards.
It said business and archaeology could coexist and be mutually beneficial, arguing that without the efforts of companies like Odyssey, deep sea underwater heritage would never be recovered and might otherwise be lost.
VICTORY
The project to excavate HMS Victory could provide the model for future cooperation with governments.
It also underscores the risks of not acting to recover underwater heritage which might otherwise deteriorate and, ultimately, be lost.
Odyssey has entered an agreement with the Maritime Heritage Foundation for the financing, archaeological survey and excavation, conservation and exhibit of HMS Victory (1744) and artefacts from the shipwreck site.
HMS Victory was a British First Rate Warship that sank during a storm in 1744 while under the command of Admiral Sir John Balchin
In 2008, Odyssey discovered HMS Victory and is salvor-in-possession of the wreck.
Tuesday, February 28, 2012
Monday, February 27, 2012
Divers banned from major underwater attraction
From Cyprus Mail: Divers banned from major underwater attraction
ONE OF the world’s top ten wreck dives, the Zenobia, which lies just off the Larnaca coast, is now off limits after a controversial decision by the port authorities which has enraged divers.
“It’s going to cripple every single dive school. The Zenobia is the one place that pulls divers in,” said Alex Dimitriou who is just about to set up a diving school in Cyprus.
The Zenobia sits at a depth of 42 metres on the seabed with the top lying at 15 metres making it accessible to novices yet still challenging to advanced divers.
The 12,000 tonne 178-metre long ferry sank in 1980, taking with it some 1,000 lorries, industrial machinery and other cargo.
Divers can see vending machines, sinks and even unbroken eggs, all well preserved because conditions allow for a slow corrosion.
“It’s like no other wreck,” Dimitriou said.
But port authorities decided to ban diving in port waters for “legal reasons”, port authorities’ general director Yiannakis Kokkinos said.
Kokkinos said that the family of a woman who died while diving in 2010 were “considering legal action against port authorities because they consider us responsible for her death”.
Catherine Vicar, 33, was found unconscious in the engine room of the Zenobia shipwreck in October 2010.
She had separated from her group and ran out of oxygen while underwater.
“Look, diving can be dangerous if people do not follow safety precautions and that accident was very unfortunate. But in my years of diving in Zenobia, there were four deaths that I know of even though thousands dive each year. Compare that to some 15 who have died off Cape Greco,” a diving instructor told the Sunday Mail on condition of anonymity.
The instructor said that there were a number of safety precautions in place including extra air tanks six metres down and rails to hold on during decompression stops.
But the instructor thought banning diving outright was “extremely arbitrary”.
“You know that bull that killed that worker the other day? Are we going to ban bulls now?” he said referring to an accident earlier this week when a bull attacked and killed a farm worker.
The head of the Cyprus Dive Centre Association, Andy Varoshiotis, agreed.
“If there is an accident on the highway, are you going to ban driving?”
Larnaca mayor, Andreas Louroudjiadis said the port authorities’ decision was “rushed (and arbitrary) and I am being careful in using these words with this specific meaning”.
“It reminds me of this thing we say that when we can’t regulate something, we simply ban it,” Louroudjiadis said.
Head of the Cyprus Tourism Organisation Alecos Orountiotis said that port authorities had not actually consulted them and that he had been “informed by the press”.
The CTO had also paid around €50,000 to pay four ships to be sunk in other spots, including Paphos, Paralimni and Limassol in order to promote marine tourism such as diving, Orountiotis said.
He said that he did not know what would happen to those plans now.
“Sea sports bring in some €150 million in tourist revenue each year: it’s a huge product,” Varoshiotis said.
But the head of port authorities, Chryssis Prentzas said they had no choice but to ban diving in port waters.
“Until those interested get the necessary licences, port authorities will not allow diving,” Prentzas said.
“It’s the Cyprus Port Authorities’ (CPA) social obligation to ensure all members of the public who do this will do so within the context of health and safety,” Prentzas said.
CPA have evoked legislation dating back to 1973 and says that anyone swimming or diving anywhere that falls within its jurisdiction (three nautical miles) needs a licence, Varoshiotis said.
“Are swimmers bathing in the beaches going to apply for a licence too?” Varoshiotis said.
He said Prentzas promised that he would come back to them on Tuesday with more information on what the licence will involve and whether the ban will remain or not.
And while the dive centre association got a letter from the CPA informing them of the ban only on February 20, one specific diving school got a letter almost six months ago in September. They said they had sent five letters asking how they could get a licence and were “ignored”.
CPA’s Kokkinos said that the creation of a legal framework to regulate was lacking and the ban was an interim compromise.
In the meantime, it is not clear how licences will be issued.
“I really hope I get to do the dive,” said 30-year old recreational diver Ken Nicolson. “I recently roped my girlfriend into doing a diving course just so we could do the Zenobia together. It’s pretty much the only decent dive in Cyprus,” he said.
News of the ban is already being discussed online in diving forums.
“That’s Cyprus off the list until they sort the mess out!” one British diver said online.
ONE OF the world’s top ten wreck dives, the Zenobia, which lies just off the Larnaca coast, is now off limits after a controversial decision by the port authorities which has enraged divers.
“It’s going to cripple every single dive school. The Zenobia is the one place that pulls divers in,” said Alex Dimitriou who is just about to set up a diving school in Cyprus.
The Zenobia sits at a depth of 42 metres on the seabed with the top lying at 15 metres making it accessible to novices yet still challenging to advanced divers.
The 12,000 tonne 178-metre long ferry sank in 1980, taking with it some 1,000 lorries, industrial machinery and other cargo.
Divers can see vending machines, sinks and even unbroken eggs, all well preserved because conditions allow for a slow corrosion.
“It’s like no other wreck,” Dimitriou said.
But port authorities decided to ban diving in port waters for “legal reasons”, port authorities’ general director Yiannakis Kokkinos said.
Kokkinos said that the family of a woman who died while diving in 2010 were “considering legal action against port authorities because they consider us responsible for her death”.
Catherine Vicar, 33, was found unconscious in the engine room of the Zenobia shipwreck in October 2010.
She had separated from her group and ran out of oxygen while underwater.
“Look, diving can be dangerous if people do not follow safety precautions and that accident was very unfortunate. But in my years of diving in Zenobia, there were four deaths that I know of even though thousands dive each year. Compare that to some 15 who have died off Cape Greco,” a diving instructor told the Sunday Mail on condition of anonymity.
The instructor said that there were a number of safety precautions in place including extra air tanks six metres down and rails to hold on during decompression stops.
But the instructor thought banning diving outright was “extremely arbitrary”.
“You know that bull that killed that worker the other day? Are we going to ban bulls now?” he said referring to an accident earlier this week when a bull attacked and killed a farm worker.
The head of the Cyprus Dive Centre Association, Andy Varoshiotis, agreed.
“If there is an accident on the highway, are you going to ban driving?”
Larnaca mayor, Andreas Louroudjiadis said the port authorities’ decision was “rushed (and arbitrary) and I am being careful in using these words with this specific meaning”.
“It reminds me of this thing we say that when we can’t regulate something, we simply ban it,” Louroudjiadis said.
Head of the Cyprus Tourism Organisation Alecos Orountiotis said that port authorities had not actually consulted them and that he had been “informed by the press”.
The CTO had also paid around €50,000 to pay four ships to be sunk in other spots, including Paphos, Paralimni and Limassol in order to promote marine tourism such as diving, Orountiotis said.
He said that he did not know what would happen to those plans now.
“Sea sports bring in some €150 million in tourist revenue each year: it’s a huge product,” Varoshiotis said.
But the head of port authorities, Chryssis Prentzas said they had no choice but to ban diving in port waters.
“Until those interested get the necessary licences, port authorities will not allow diving,” Prentzas said.
“It’s the Cyprus Port Authorities’ (CPA) social obligation to ensure all members of the public who do this will do so within the context of health and safety,” Prentzas said.
CPA have evoked legislation dating back to 1973 and says that anyone swimming or diving anywhere that falls within its jurisdiction (three nautical miles) needs a licence, Varoshiotis said.
“Are swimmers bathing in the beaches going to apply for a licence too?” Varoshiotis said.
He said Prentzas promised that he would come back to them on Tuesday with more information on what the licence will involve and whether the ban will remain or not.
And while the dive centre association got a letter from the CPA informing them of the ban only on February 20, one specific diving school got a letter almost six months ago in September. They said they had sent five letters asking how they could get a licence and were “ignored”.
CPA’s Kokkinos said that the creation of a legal framework to regulate was lacking and the ban was an interim compromise.
In the meantime, it is not clear how licences will be issued.
“I really hope I get to do the dive,” said 30-year old recreational diver Ken Nicolson. “I recently roped my girlfriend into doing a diving course just so we could do the Zenobia together. It’s pretty much the only decent dive in Cyprus,” he said.
News of the ban is already being discussed online in diving forums.
“That’s Cyprus off the list until they sort the mess out!” one British diver said online.
Thursday, February 23, 2012
Underwater Subs Make Rare Public Appearance
From KITV (Honolulu): Underwater Subs Make Rare Public Appearance
HONOLULU -- Twin brothers, Aaron and Ben Hilo-Nguyen, stood wide-eyed at the sight of sister subs, Pisces 4 and Pisces 5.
"I like underwater sea stuff, especially ships, and also salvaging ship wrecks," Ben Hilo-Nguyen said.
"There are treasures and hidden secrets about ships," Aaron Hilo-Nguyen said.
Pisces crew member Terry Kerby explained the sub's deep-dive history which dates back over 30 years. The most famous underwater discovery came in 2002: an 80-foot-long Japanese midget submarine.
"This is the first casualty of the Pacific War. It was sunk, an hour and 15 minutes before the air attacks on Pearl Harbor, by the U.S.S. Ward," Kerby said.
Each Pisces undersea research sub weighs 14 tons and can accommodate a three-person crew, diving as far down as 6,500 feet. Researchers said there is no limit to what the Pisces may find.
"A lot of observations these days are with remote-controlled vehicles; robots that are tethered down. There's a lot of scientists that feel it's important to be there, and this is the way to get here," Kerby said.
Twin brothers Aaron and Ben Hilo-Nguyen said they dream of a future career diving the deep, watery depths.
"Yeah when I turn 18 years or older," Aaron Hilo-Nguyen said.
HONOLULU -- Twin brothers, Aaron and Ben Hilo-Nguyen, stood wide-eyed at the sight of sister subs, Pisces 4 and Pisces 5.
"I like underwater sea stuff, especially ships, and also salvaging ship wrecks," Ben Hilo-Nguyen said.
"There are treasures and hidden secrets about ships," Aaron Hilo-Nguyen said.
Pisces crew member Terry Kerby explained the sub's deep-dive history which dates back over 30 years. The most famous underwater discovery came in 2002: an 80-foot-long Japanese midget submarine.
"This is the first casualty of the Pacific War. It was sunk, an hour and 15 minutes before the air attacks on Pearl Harbor, by the U.S.S. Ward," Kerby said.
Each Pisces undersea research sub weighs 14 tons and can accommodate a three-person crew, diving as far down as 6,500 feet. Researchers said there is no limit to what the Pisces may find.
"A lot of observations these days are with remote-controlled vehicles; robots that are tethered down. There's a lot of scientists that feel it's important to be there, and this is the way to get here," Kerby said.
Twin brothers Aaron and Ben Hilo-Nguyen said they dream of a future career diving the deep, watery depths.
"Yeah when I turn 18 years or older," Aaron Hilo-Nguyen said.
Dolphins should be considered non-human humans
Not so much underwater discovery, but a plot opportunity
From TNT magazine: Dolphins should be considered non-human humans
Dolphins and whales are so intelligent they must be recognised as “non-human persons” with their own bill of rights, say researchers.
The animals have different cultures, societies and personalities that are so complex that they should be seen as the same as people, said the experts.
They added that isolating dolphins and orcas in amusement parks is wrong because the animals are even more socially driven than humans and that killing them amounts to murder.
The international team of scientists, philosophers and animal rights groups addressed the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) in Vancouver to discuss the “declaration of rights” for cetaceans.
Dr Thomas White, ethics expert at Loyola Marymount University in California, said: “The similarities between cetaceans and humans are such that they, as we, have an individual sense of self.
“Dolphins are non human persons. A person needs to be an individual. If individuals count, then the deliberate killing of individuals of this sort is ethically the equivalent of deliberately killing a human being.
"The science has shown that individuality, consciousness, self awareness is no longer a unique human property. That poses all kinds of challenges.”
Recognising cetaceans in law is crucial, he said, because it would make commercial whaling and certain fishing methods that kill hundreds of dolphins and whales a year.
Whale watching trips would be regulated to respect the creatures’ privacy and developers and oil companies would have to consider the effect their projects would have on animals’ life and culture.
Recent studies on dolphins’ brains show that they are more intelligent than chimpanzees and the way they communicate with each other is similar to that of humans.
They can also recognise themselves in mirrors, teach each other new types of behaviour and can think about the future.
Psychologist Dr Lori Marino, from Emory University in Atlanta, said scientific advances had changed how the cetacean brain is understood.
She said: "We went from seeing the dolphin/whale brain as being a giant amorphous blob that doesn't carry a lot of intelligence and complexity to not only being an enormous brain but an enormous brain with an enormous amount of complexity, and a complexity that rivals our own.
“Its different in the way it's put together but in terms of the level of complexity its very similar to the human brain."
From TNT magazine: Dolphins should be considered non-human humans
Dolphins and whales are so intelligent they must be recognised as “non-human persons” with their own bill of rights, say researchers.
The animals have different cultures, societies and personalities that are so complex that they should be seen as the same as people, said the experts.
They added that isolating dolphins and orcas in amusement parks is wrong because the animals are even more socially driven than humans and that killing them amounts to murder.
The international team of scientists, philosophers and animal rights groups addressed the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) in Vancouver to discuss the “declaration of rights” for cetaceans.
Dr Thomas White, ethics expert at Loyola Marymount University in California, said: “The similarities between cetaceans and humans are such that they, as we, have an individual sense of self.
“Dolphins are non human persons. A person needs to be an individual. If individuals count, then the deliberate killing of individuals of this sort is ethically the equivalent of deliberately killing a human being.
"The science has shown that individuality, consciousness, self awareness is no longer a unique human property. That poses all kinds of challenges.”
Recognising cetaceans in law is crucial, he said, because it would make commercial whaling and certain fishing methods that kill hundreds of dolphins and whales a year.
Whale watching trips would be regulated to respect the creatures’ privacy and developers and oil companies would have to consider the effect their projects would have on animals’ life and culture.
Recent studies on dolphins’ brains show that they are more intelligent than chimpanzees and the way they communicate with each other is similar to that of humans.
They can also recognise themselves in mirrors, teach each other new types of behaviour and can think about the future.
Psychologist Dr Lori Marino, from Emory University in Atlanta, said scientific advances had changed how the cetacean brain is understood.
She said: "We went from seeing the dolphin/whale brain as being a giant amorphous blob that doesn't carry a lot of intelligence and complexity to not only being an enormous brain but an enormous brain with an enormous amount of complexity, and a complexity that rivals our own.
“Its different in the way it's put together but in terms of the level of complexity its very similar to the human brain."
Tuesday, February 21, 2012
Terror from the deep: Russian zap cannons go for bigger fish
From RT.com: Terror from the deep: Russian zap cannons go for bigger fish
Hijackers and suicide bombers can be stopped with checkpoints and metal detectors. But how do you fend off underwater terrorists? Russian security services have found the answer: hi-tech electric stun cannons.
The Russian Interior Ministry has posted a tender for two underwater cannons, at a cost of 400 thousand dollars each, which are expected to be used for large-scale events such as the Sochi Olympics.
“The current state of security at our ports and dams leaves a lot to be desired, so the new systems will provide a layer of defense,” a security insider told Izvestia.
The expected winners of the tender are Electric Rays – a home-grown product developed at a secret Russian military institute. Like their namesakes, these cannons use a powerful electric charge to create an underwater explosion that can stun intruders at a range of about 100 meters.
“This is a more humane method of fighting terrorism,” says security expert Aleksandr Romanov “Before, they just used to carpet bomb a certain area with depth charges, which killed, while this weapon will only stun.”
But ecologists are worried – there is little possibility of channelling the blast in a specific direction, and many sea creatures are bound to feel its impact.
The President of the environmental protection charity Ecodefense Vladimir Slivyak is critical. “I think our special services have plenty of resources, and should be doing their job in a less ham-fisted manner. I think these purchases show that they are concentrating on conflict, when they should be focusing on prevention.” he told RT.
Environmentalist Konstantin Sobinin is also worried about the sensitivity of the cannon’s detection system. “The sensors on these devices usually cannot detect whether an object within its range is a terrorist or a dolphin or a seal.”
But Valery Braslavets, a former military diver turned environmental scientist, dismisses these concerns. “The charge is most likely to affect the eardrums of humans to stun them, but animals operate at different frequencies.” He also points out that police units tend to fire weaker warning shots to clear the area of fish and innocent divers, before unleashing a full explosion.
Another security expert, Iosif Linder, gives the system his seal of approval. “Similar technologies have been used abroad, and they have proven themselves very effective.”
Futuristic underwater cannons may sound like an unusual means of fighting terror, but they are hardly the most exotic.
Both the Russian and US navies use specially-trained sea lions.
Using their superior underwater sense, the creatures find an enemy diver, and either hook him with a special device so that he can be reeled in like a fish, or more simply, deliver a deadly charge to the enemy. No need for new-fangled technology there.
Hijackers and suicide bombers can be stopped with checkpoints and metal detectors. But how do you fend off underwater terrorists? Russian security services have found the answer: hi-tech electric stun cannons.
The Russian Interior Ministry has posted a tender for two underwater cannons, at a cost of 400 thousand dollars each, which are expected to be used for large-scale events such as the Sochi Olympics.
“The current state of security at our ports and dams leaves a lot to be desired, so the new systems will provide a layer of defense,” a security insider told Izvestia.
The expected winners of the tender are Electric Rays – a home-grown product developed at a secret Russian military institute. Like their namesakes, these cannons use a powerful electric charge to create an underwater explosion that can stun intruders at a range of about 100 meters.
“This is a more humane method of fighting terrorism,” says security expert Aleksandr Romanov “Before, they just used to carpet bomb a certain area with depth charges, which killed, while this weapon will only stun.”
But ecologists are worried – there is little possibility of channelling the blast in a specific direction, and many sea creatures are bound to feel its impact.
The President of the environmental protection charity Ecodefense Vladimir Slivyak is critical. “I think our special services have plenty of resources, and should be doing their job in a less ham-fisted manner. I think these purchases show that they are concentrating on conflict, when they should be focusing on prevention.” he told RT.
Environmentalist Konstantin Sobinin is also worried about the sensitivity of the cannon’s detection system. “The sensors on these devices usually cannot detect whether an object within its range is a terrorist or a dolphin or a seal.”
But Valery Braslavets, a former military diver turned environmental scientist, dismisses these concerns. “The charge is most likely to affect the eardrums of humans to stun them, but animals operate at different frequencies.” He also points out that police units tend to fire weaker warning shots to clear the area of fish and innocent divers, before unleashing a full explosion.
Another security expert, Iosif Linder, gives the system his seal of approval. “Similar technologies have been used abroad, and they have proven themselves very effective.”
Futuristic underwater cannons may sound like an unusual means of fighting terror, but they are hardly the most exotic.
Both the Russian and US navies use specially-trained sea lions.
Using their superior underwater sense, the creatures find an enemy diver, and either hook him with a special device so that he can be reeled in like a fish, or more simply, deliver a deadly charge to the enemy. No need for new-fangled technology there.
Tuesday, February 14, 2012
'Bubble curtains' could save marine life from deadly man-made underwater sounds
Okay, this isn't really an underwater treasure discovery story, but there's been a dearth of those lately so I thought I'd share this.
From Daily Mail Online: 'Bubble curtains' could save marine life from deadly man-made underwater sounds
Underwater noises from off-shore exploration and construction are capable of confusing and even killing marine life – but now scientists believe bubbles could save the day for denizens of the deep sea.
Researchers are developing ‘bubble curtains’, which spit millions of bubbles through the water and dampen damaging sound waves.
Development of this technology was spurred on by the deaths of dozens of fish that occurred during the retrofit of the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge.
National Geographic reported that after 300-foot pilings were driven into the ocean dead fish appeared on the surface nearby, with tests afterwards showing that huge pressure waves from the drilling had compressed the air in the swim bladder, which then rapidly expanded, bursting the bladder and causing fatal kidney damage.
To lessen the impact of its activities, the firm behind the project, Caltrans, decided to deploy bubble curtains, which greatly lessened fish fatalities.
Californian marine biologist Bud Abbott, a consultant on the project, told National Geographic how the devices weaken sound waves.
He said: ‘When a pressure wave hits an air bubble, it will compress the bubble, then it will expand again, so energy is lost.
‘Sound travels faster through water than air. It slows down as it hits the air bubble.’
The devices won’t just save the lives of marine animals, but also make life for them much less confusing and stressful.
Many marine mammals find food and mates using sound pulses, which undersea noises interfere with.
While researchers from the New England Aquarium in Boston have shown that noises from ships' propellers actually increase stress-hormone levels in whales.
One company under scrutiny over its noisy underwater activities is Shell, with the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) revealing that one of its proposed Arctic seismic surveys would bring sounds of over 160 decibels to a 74-square-mile area.
This is a level researchers believe could dramatically affect marine life. By comparison, sounds of 130 decibels would be painful to humans.
However, Shell says that it is taking this issue seriously and is developing its own bubble curtain devices.
Mitch Winkler, manager of the Arctic Technology Program at Shell International Exploration and Production, told National Geographic that ‘marine sound is important’.
He added: ‘We are focusing on the use of air bubbles and their impact on sound waves as a means of reducing the sound transmitted from stationary sources.’
From Daily Mail Online: 'Bubble curtains' could save marine life from deadly man-made underwater sounds
Underwater noises from off-shore exploration and construction are capable of confusing and even killing marine life – but now scientists believe bubbles could save the day for denizens of the deep sea.
Researchers are developing ‘bubble curtains’, which spit millions of bubbles through the water and dampen damaging sound waves.
Development of this technology was spurred on by the deaths of dozens of fish that occurred during the retrofit of the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge.
National Geographic reported that after 300-foot pilings were driven into the ocean dead fish appeared on the surface nearby, with tests afterwards showing that huge pressure waves from the drilling had compressed the air in the swim bladder, which then rapidly expanded, bursting the bladder and causing fatal kidney damage.
To lessen the impact of its activities, the firm behind the project, Caltrans, decided to deploy bubble curtains, which greatly lessened fish fatalities.
Californian marine biologist Bud Abbott, a consultant on the project, told National Geographic how the devices weaken sound waves.
He said: ‘When a pressure wave hits an air bubble, it will compress the bubble, then it will expand again, so energy is lost.
‘Sound travels faster through water than air. It slows down as it hits the air bubble.’
The devices won’t just save the lives of marine animals, but also make life for them much less confusing and stressful.
Many marine mammals find food and mates using sound pulses, which undersea noises interfere with.
While researchers from the New England Aquarium in Boston have shown that noises from ships' propellers actually increase stress-hormone levels in whales.
One company under scrutiny over its noisy underwater activities is Shell, with the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) revealing that one of its proposed Arctic seismic surveys would bring sounds of over 160 decibels to a 74-square-mile area.
This is a level researchers believe could dramatically affect marine life. By comparison, sounds of 130 decibels would be painful to humans.
However, Shell says that it is taking this issue seriously and is developing its own bubble curtain devices.
Mitch Winkler, manager of the Arctic Technology Program at Shell International Exploration and Production, told National Geographic that ‘marine sound is important’.
He added: ‘We are focusing on the use of air bubbles and their impact on sound waves as a means of reducing the sound transmitted from stationary sources.’
Friday, February 10, 2012
Concordia Not the First Sunk by Treacherous Reef
From Discovery News: Concordia Not the First Sunk by Treacherous Reef
Costa Concordia captain Francesco Schettino wasn't the only seaman who drove his ship into the rocks off the Tuscan island of Giglio, ripping a huge gash in the hull that sent the 114,500-ton vessel tumbling onto its side.
Before him, other ship commanders had a close encounter with the cursed reefs that jut out off the island's coast.
In fact, more than a dozen ancient ships rest in Giglio's treacherous waters.
One of them, a third-century Roman cargo vessel, lies about 1,000 feet south of the Concordia's bow at a depth of 130 feet.
Loaded with fish sauce-filled jars, the late Roman imperial ship was on the same route followed by Schettino on Jan. 13, when it struck the infamous stretch of rock known as Le Scole.
The ship had probably left the northern African coast some 1,700 years ago and was headed north when the collision occurred.
"It was the same dynamics seen in the Concordia's accident. We do not know why the ancient ship sailed so close to the island. Possibly it was caught by a storm. I doubt the Romans were performing any near shore 'salute' maneuver," underwater archaeologist Enrico Ciabatti told Discovery News.
With the hull dramatically lacerated, the Roman vessel briefly continued to sail and was then pulled to its resting place by the current, just in front of Giglio Porto's red lighthouse. As it sank, the ship broke in two.
"Considering that the Concordia is nearly 1,000 feet long, she could have easily ended right on top of the Roman vessel in the very unfortunate case of a sinking," Ciabatti said.
Luckly enough for the more than 4,200 people aboard, the Concordia moved some 1,000 feet south and finally settled between the rocks of Punta del Lazzaretto and Punta Gabbianara.
According to Ciabatti, it's possible that most of the sailors from the Roman ship managed to survive the sinking, just like the majority of the Concordia's passengers and crew.
"The harbor, which already existed at those times, was easily reachable. The wreck lies just 160 feet offshore Giglio Porto," Ciabatti said.
With his colleague Paola Rendini, Ciabatti excavated part of the ship in the late 1980s, establishing that the vessel was 49 feet long and 16 feet wide.
"It wasn't a huge ship, but it was not easy to maneuver either, especially during a storm," Ciabatti said.
The jars, dishes and other items recovered from the ship are now on display at the permanent exhibition "Submerged Memories" at the Spanish Fortress museum in Porto Santo Stefano, near Grosseto.
The show reveals that many other wrecks lie off the Tuscan island. Indeed, heavy ship traffic passed through the 8-mile channel separating the Giglio island from the Argentario peninsula.
One ancient vessel, known as "Le Scole wreck" lies at a depth of 160 feet, not far from the vicious piece of rock now embedded in the Concordia's hull.
Two other Roman wrecks rest near Punta del Lazzaretto, not too far from the Concordia's stern. Other ancient wrecks lie at the northern end of the island, near Punta del Fenaio, Punta del Morto, Cala Calbugina and Secca della Croce, where sharp reefs line the shore.
While the remains of a so-called "galleon" lie at a depth of 98 feet at Punta Capel Rosso, the southern tip of the island, the oldest deep-water wreck in history can be found in the waters of the Campese Bay, on the northwest side of the island.
Found in 1961 at a depth of 180 feet near a reef, the vessel, possibly of Greek origins, was excavated in the late 1980s. Its mixed cargo consisted of jars of East Greek, Phoenician and Etruscan goods, pottery, weights, lamps and arrowheads that dated the wreck to about 600 B.C.
After a long voyage from the Eastern Mediterranean 2,600 years ago, the ship ran into an off-shore reef known as Secca i Pignocchi.
"Rocks are like wreck magnets and ships run aground today in pretty much the same locations and for the same reasons they did thousands of years ago," underwater archaeology pioneer Edward Lee Spence told Discovery News.
According to Spence, who discovered the Civil War submarine H.L. Hunley, the SS Georgiana and many other historically significant shipwrecks, there have been over three million shipwrecks in the Mediterranean over the past 4,000 years.
"The most common cause of those wrecks has been running aground on reefs, rocks, shoals and even other wrecks. Indeed, it is not at all unusual to find wrecks on top of each other," Spence said.
Costa Concordia captain Francesco Schettino wasn't the only seaman who drove his ship into the rocks off the Tuscan island of Giglio, ripping a huge gash in the hull that sent the 114,500-ton vessel tumbling onto its side.
Before him, other ship commanders had a close encounter with the cursed reefs that jut out off the island's coast.
In fact, more than a dozen ancient ships rest in Giglio's treacherous waters.
One of them, a third-century Roman cargo vessel, lies about 1,000 feet south of the Concordia's bow at a depth of 130 feet.
Loaded with fish sauce-filled jars, the late Roman imperial ship was on the same route followed by Schettino on Jan. 13, when it struck the infamous stretch of rock known as Le Scole.
The ship had probably left the northern African coast some 1,700 years ago and was headed north when the collision occurred.
"It was the same dynamics seen in the Concordia's accident. We do not know why the ancient ship sailed so close to the island. Possibly it was caught by a storm. I doubt the Romans were performing any near shore 'salute' maneuver," underwater archaeologist Enrico Ciabatti told Discovery News.
With the hull dramatically lacerated, the Roman vessel briefly continued to sail and was then pulled to its resting place by the current, just in front of Giglio Porto's red lighthouse. As it sank, the ship broke in two.
"Considering that the Concordia is nearly 1,000 feet long, she could have easily ended right on top of the Roman vessel in the very unfortunate case of a sinking," Ciabatti said.
Luckly enough for the more than 4,200 people aboard, the Concordia moved some 1,000 feet south and finally settled between the rocks of Punta del Lazzaretto and Punta Gabbianara.
According to Ciabatti, it's possible that most of the sailors from the Roman ship managed to survive the sinking, just like the majority of the Concordia's passengers and crew.
"The harbor, which already existed at those times, was easily reachable. The wreck lies just 160 feet offshore Giglio Porto," Ciabatti said.
With his colleague Paola Rendini, Ciabatti excavated part of the ship in the late 1980s, establishing that the vessel was 49 feet long and 16 feet wide.
"It wasn't a huge ship, but it was not easy to maneuver either, especially during a storm," Ciabatti said.
The jars, dishes and other items recovered from the ship are now on display at the permanent exhibition "Submerged Memories" at the Spanish Fortress museum in Porto Santo Stefano, near Grosseto.
The show reveals that many other wrecks lie off the Tuscan island. Indeed, heavy ship traffic passed through the 8-mile channel separating the Giglio island from the Argentario peninsula.
One ancient vessel, known as "Le Scole wreck" lies at a depth of 160 feet, not far from the vicious piece of rock now embedded in the Concordia's hull.
Two other Roman wrecks rest near Punta del Lazzaretto, not too far from the Concordia's stern. Other ancient wrecks lie at the northern end of the island, near Punta del Fenaio, Punta del Morto, Cala Calbugina and Secca della Croce, where sharp reefs line the shore.
While the remains of a so-called "galleon" lie at a depth of 98 feet at Punta Capel Rosso, the southern tip of the island, the oldest deep-water wreck in history can be found in the waters of the Campese Bay, on the northwest side of the island.
Found in 1961 at a depth of 180 feet near a reef, the vessel, possibly of Greek origins, was excavated in the late 1980s. Its mixed cargo consisted of jars of East Greek, Phoenician and Etruscan goods, pottery, weights, lamps and arrowheads that dated the wreck to about 600 B.C.
After a long voyage from the Eastern Mediterranean 2,600 years ago, the ship ran into an off-shore reef known as Secca i Pignocchi.
"Rocks are like wreck magnets and ships run aground today in pretty much the same locations and for the same reasons they did thousands of years ago," underwater archaeology pioneer Edward Lee Spence told Discovery News.
According to Spence, who discovered the Civil War submarine H.L. Hunley, the SS Georgiana and many other historically significant shipwrecks, there have been over three million shipwrecks in the Mediterranean over the past 4,000 years.
"The most common cause of those wrecks has been running aground on reefs, rocks, shoals and even other wrecks. Indeed, it is not at all unusual to find wrecks on top of each other," Spence said.
Wednesday, February 8, 2012
UK: Military drone trawled up by fishing boat
A possible plot for a story... what if the drone was some super secret thing that the Navy didnt want anyone finding...
From Midweek Herald: Military drone trawled up by fishing boat
A fishing trawler caught more than fish when it trawled up a military target drone with unfired pyrotechnics still attached near Lyme Regis.
Lyme Regis Coastguard Rescue officers were deployed yesterday (Monday), at 3.07pm, to investigate reports and a Royal Navy emergency ordnance disposal team from Plymouth attended Lyme Harbour to make the drone safe.
From Midweek Herald: Military drone trawled up by fishing boat
A fishing trawler caught more than fish when it trawled up a military target drone with unfired pyrotechnics still attached near Lyme Regis.
Lyme Regis Coastguard Rescue officers were deployed yesterday (Monday), at 3.07pm, to investigate reports and a Royal Navy emergency ordnance disposal team from Plymouth attended Lyme Harbour to make the drone safe.
Monday, February 6, 2012
Archaeologists Go Deep to Uncover History
From MarineLink: Archaeologists Go Deep to Uncover History
Many universities are adding or expanding their underwater archaeology programs in an effort to give students a broader educational experience and a better understanding of our maritime history.
The field of underwater archaeology is expanding rapidly as the equipment required for marine exploration becomes more affordable, and more scientists and researchers learn to scuba dive. Indiana University (IU) Bloomington has one of the oldest academic diving programs in the country. Professor Charles Beeker is the director of the school’s Office of Underwater Science and Educational Resources (USER) and also a member of the Marine Protected Areas Federal Advisory Committee, part of NOAA. He has directed numerous shipwreck projects in the US and Caribbean and is a pioneer in preserving wreck sites as underwater museums. In addition to his extensive knowledge and experience in the history behind these submerged time capsules, he is also an accomplished diver.
The current focus of Indiana’s archaeology program is the wreck of the Quedagh Merchant. The ship was reportedly captained by the pirate William Kidd as he raced to New York in ill-fated attempt to clear his name. The ship went down in 1669 off the coast of the Dominican Republic and the wreckage now lies in 10 feet of warm, clear Caribbean water, with cannons and anchors scattered about in plain view. According to Beeker it is a unique example of 17th century ship construction. The location makes it ideal for in-depth archaeological study and the perfect place for students to put into practice the methods and techniques learned in the classroom. “How you put a name on a shipwreck is through scientific research, analysis of wood samples, determining composition of the ballast stones and the type of ship construction.” says the professor.
USER follows a multidisciplinary approach to underwater research drawing in students from six university departments. Their facility has a 1,000 square foot lab with numerous water-filled tubs holding recovered artifacts, including 19th century china that was on its way to the California gold rush from Hong Kong, and hand-blown ale bottles from Germany. Two key pieces of equipment the group relies on to assist in locating artifacts are JW Fishers Pulse 8X hand-held underwater metal detector and the PT-1 pinpointing magnetometer.
Another institution actively involved in marine archaeology is the University of Rhode Island (URI). The university has an on-line Museum of Underwater Archaeology with information about shipwreck projects the school is involved with around the world. URI’s Dr. Bridget Buxton, an associate professor in the history department, specializes in ancient history and Mediterranean underwater archaeology. Buxton, an accomplished scuba diver, is working with Jacob Sharvit of the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) to investigate the area’s known shipwrecks, and to locate undiscovered sites. One wreck recently uncovered appears to be the remains of a famous lost warship from the Napoleonic siege of Acre in 1799, a wreck that historians have been trying to find for the last 50 years. Using their Pulse 8X metal detector the team located large copper nails, cannon balls, grapples, 18th century muskets, and other concretions. Future projects include searching for an ancient Greek multi-deck warship and trying to locate the lost Ptolemaic fleet from the Syrian Wars of C. 200- 150 BC. The lost fleet is thought to be in an area where the IAA has already recovered over 4000 silver tetradrachmas (ancient coins).
At Texas A&M University (TAMU) is the Nautical Archaeology Program, a degree-granting graduate curriculum, and the Center for Maritime Archaeology and Conservation with its eight laboratories. TAMU is also affiliated with the Institute of Nautical Archaeology (INA), a nonprofit private research institute, which works with the graduate program to give students field experience. INA has been involved in a number of high profile projects such as surveying the remains of Alaska’s abandoned Gold-rush era steamboats and mapping the wreck site of the 28 gun British frigate HMS Solebay sunk in 1782 near the Caribbean island of Nevis. To assist in the discovery of artifacts on these sites INA is using a Pulse 8X detector.
In describing how his passion was ignited for this exciting and expanding field one student said, “Over the course of my undergraduate studies I became increasingly interested in history and archaeology. Then one of my professors discussed the merits of underwater archaeology, and the whole notion of conducting archaeology underwater hit me like a freighter. Shipwrecks are commonplace throughout the world and I’m taking for granted the rich maritime heritage that surrounds me.” As IU’s Professor Beeker so apply put it, “The students are our future. I want to know in 20 years from now, 50 years, 100 years, we still have these underwater sites. They have not been salvaged, but are living underwater museums protected for future generations. The passion and dedication of our students will help to ensure these sites are preserved.”
For more information on these universities and their archaeology programs go to: http://newsinfo.iu.edu/news/page/normal/6997.html, http://www.uri.edu/archaeology, http://nautarch.tamu.edu/academic/. For more information on JW Fishers complete line of underwater search equipment go to www.jwfishers.com.
Many universities are adding or expanding their underwater archaeology programs in an effort to give students a broader educational experience and a better understanding of our maritime history.
The field of underwater archaeology is expanding rapidly as the equipment required for marine exploration becomes more affordable, and more scientists and researchers learn to scuba dive. Indiana University (IU) Bloomington has one of the oldest academic diving programs in the country. Professor Charles Beeker is the director of the school’s Office of Underwater Science and Educational Resources (USER) and also a member of the Marine Protected Areas Federal Advisory Committee, part of NOAA. He has directed numerous shipwreck projects in the US and Caribbean and is a pioneer in preserving wreck sites as underwater museums. In addition to his extensive knowledge and experience in the history behind these submerged time capsules, he is also an accomplished diver.
The current focus of Indiana’s archaeology program is the wreck of the Quedagh Merchant. The ship was reportedly captained by the pirate William Kidd as he raced to New York in ill-fated attempt to clear his name. The ship went down in 1669 off the coast of the Dominican Republic and the wreckage now lies in 10 feet of warm, clear Caribbean water, with cannons and anchors scattered about in plain view. According to Beeker it is a unique example of 17th century ship construction. The location makes it ideal for in-depth archaeological study and the perfect place for students to put into practice the methods and techniques learned in the classroom. “How you put a name on a shipwreck is through scientific research, analysis of wood samples, determining composition of the ballast stones and the type of ship construction.” says the professor.
USER follows a multidisciplinary approach to underwater research drawing in students from six university departments. Their facility has a 1,000 square foot lab with numerous water-filled tubs holding recovered artifacts, including 19th century china that was on its way to the California gold rush from Hong Kong, and hand-blown ale bottles from Germany. Two key pieces of equipment the group relies on to assist in locating artifacts are JW Fishers Pulse 8X hand-held underwater metal detector and the PT-1 pinpointing magnetometer.
Another institution actively involved in marine archaeology is the University of Rhode Island (URI). The university has an on-line Museum of Underwater Archaeology with information about shipwreck projects the school is involved with around the world. URI’s Dr. Bridget Buxton, an associate professor in the history department, specializes in ancient history and Mediterranean underwater archaeology. Buxton, an accomplished scuba diver, is working with Jacob Sharvit of the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) to investigate the area’s known shipwrecks, and to locate undiscovered sites. One wreck recently uncovered appears to be the remains of a famous lost warship from the Napoleonic siege of Acre in 1799, a wreck that historians have been trying to find for the last 50 years. Using their Pulse 8X metal detector the team located large copper nails, cannon balls, grapples, 18th century muskets, and other concretions. Future projects include searching for an ancient Greek multi-deck warship and trying to locate the lost Ptolemaic fleet from the Syrian Wars of C. 200- 150 BC. The lost fleet is thought to be in an area where the IAA has already recovered over 4000 silver tetradrachmas (ancient coins).
At Texas A&M University (TAMU) is the Nautical Archaeology Program, a degree-granting graduate curriculum, and the Center for Maritime Archaeology and Conservation with its eight laboratories. TAMU is also affiliated with the Institute of Nautical Archaeology (INA), a nonprofit private research institute, which works with the graduate program to give students field experience. INA has been involved in a number of high profile projects such as surveying the remains of Alaska’s abandoned Gold-rush era steamboats and mapping the wreck site of the 28 gun British frigate HMS Solebay sunk in 1782 near the Caribbean island of Nevis. To assist in the discovery of artifacts on these sites INA is using a Pulse 8X detector.
In describing how his passion was ignited for this exciting and expanding field one student said, “Over the course of my undergraduate studies I became increasingly interested in history and archaeology. Then one of my professors discussed the merits of underwater archaeology, and the whole notion of conducting archaeology underwater hit me like a freighter. Shipwrecks are commonplace throughout the world and I’m taking for granted the rich maritime heritage that surrounds me.” As IU’s Professor Beeker so apply put it, “The students are our future. I want to know in 20 years from now, 50 years, 100 years, we still have these underwater sites. They have not been salvaged, but are living underwater museums protected for future generations. The passion and dedication of our students will help to ensure these sites are preserved.”
For more information on these universities and their archaeology programs go to: http://newsinfo.iu.edu/news/page/normal/6997.html, http://www.uri.edu/archaeology, http://nautarch.tamu.edu/academic/. For more information on JW Fishers complete line of underwater search equipment go to www.jwfishers.com.
Wednesday, February 1, 2012
A Real-Life Treasure Hunt: Local Divers to Recover $3 Billion From Sunken World War II Ship off the Cape
From BostInno: A Real-Life Treasure Hunt: Local Divers to Recover $3 Billion From Sunken World War II Ship off the Cape
In 1942, a British ship called the Port Nicholson, was traveling across the Atlantic from the Soviet Union to the United States. During its journey, the Port Nicholson sank at an unknown location after it was torpedoed by a German U-Boat.
The clincher? The Port Nicholson was carrying $53 million in platinum when it sank.
Today, that platinum is worth an estimated $3 billion, and a Boston-based crew plans on recovering the lost treasure, reports CBS Boston. The treasure-hunting crew of the Sea Hunter has spent the past three years locating the ship and planning the dive. The Port Nicholson lies about 50 miles off the coast of Provincetown, MA, 700 feet below sea level. The waters where the ship lies are incredibly choppy, so the dive will have to be strategically planned around weather conditions.
The Sea Hunter crew, led by Captain Gary Esper, hunts treasure professionally, most recently traveling to Haiti to mine shipwrecks down there without much fruit to show for their labor.
According to CBS Boston, “this could be the richest shipwreck in history.” Once the platinum is brought to the surface, a judge makes the final decision on how the treasure is divvied up.
I can think of three billion ways I would spend $3 billion. Aside from paying off my loans, I’d buy a brand-new wardrobe, a mansion on Comm. Ave., season tickets to every Boston sports team and an entire private Boloco store that only serves burritos to me and my friends.
Apparently, other shipwrecks exist closer to home in the Boston Harbor, but as far as we know, they sunk in the 1990s and have no treasure to offer besides some cool images on Google Maps.
What would you buy with a $3 billion treasure?
In 1942, a British ship called the Port Nicholson, was traveling across the Atlantic from the Soviet Union to the United States. During its journey, the Port Nicholson sank at an unknown location after it was torpedoed by a German U-Boat.
The clincher? The Port Nicholson was carrying $53 million in platinum when it sank.
Today, that platinum is worth an estimated $3 billion, and a Boston-based crew plans on recovering the lost treasure, reports CBS Boston. The treasure-hunting crew of the Sea Hunter has spent the past three years locating the ship and planning the dive. The Port Nicholson lies about 50 miles off the coast of Provincetown, MA, 700 feet below sea level. The waters where the ship lies are incredibly choppy, so the dive will have to be strategically planned around weather conditions.
The Sea Hunter crew, led by Captain Gary Esper, hunts treasure professionally, most recently traveling to Haiti to mine shipwrecks down there without much fruit to show for their labor.
According to CBS Boston, “this could be the richest shipwreck in history.” Once the platinum is brought to the surface, a judge makes the final decision on how the treasure is divvied up.
I can think of three billion ways I would spend $3 billion. Aside from paying off my loans, I’d buy a brand-new wardrobe, a mansion on Comm. Ave., season tickets to every Boston sports team and an entire private Boloco store that only serves burritos to me and my friends.
Apparently, other shipwrecks exist closer to home in the Boston Harbor, but as far as we know, they sunk in the 1990s and have no treasure to offer besides some cool images on Google Maps.
What would you buy with a $3 billion treasure?
HP's Book of Pirates: Part 1 BUCCANEERS AND MAROONERS OF THE SPANISH MAIN
Part 1: BUCCANEERS AND MAROONERS OF THE SPANISH MAIN
Just above the northwestern shore of the old island of Hispaniola—the Santo Domingo of our day—and separated from it only by a narrow channel of some five or six miles in width, lies a queer little hunch of an island, known, because of a distant resemblance to that animal, as the Tortuga de Mar, or sea turtle. It is not more than twenty miles in length by perhaps seven or eight in breadth; it is only a little spot of land, and as you look at it upon the map a pin's head would almost cover it; yet from that spot, as from a center of inflammation, a burning fire of human wickedness and ruthlessness and lust overran the world, and spread terror and death throughout the Spanish West Indies, from St. Augustine to the island of Trinidad, and from Panama to the coasts of Peru.
About the middle of the seventeenth century certain French adventurers set out from the fortified island of St. Christopher in longboats and hoys, directing their course to the westward, there to discover new islands. Sighting Hispaniola "with abundance of joy," they landed, and went into the country, where they found great quantities of wild cattle, horses, and swine.
Now vessels on the return voyage to Europe from the West Indies needed revictualing, and food, especially flesh, was at a premium in the islands of the Spanish Main; wherefore a great profit was to be turned in preserving beef and pork, and selling the flesh to homeward-bound vessels.
The northwestern shore of Hispaniola, lying as it does at the eastern outlet of the old Bahama Channel, running between the island of Cuba and the great Bahama Banks, lay almost in the very main stream of travel. The pioneer Frenchmen were not slow to discover the double advantage to be reaped from the wild cattle that cost them nothing to procure, and a market for the flesh ready found for them. So down upon Hispaniola they came by boatloads and shiploads, gathering like a swarm of mosquitoes, and overrunning the whole western end of the island. There they established themselves, spending the time alternately in hunting the wild cattle and buccanning the meat, and squandering their hardly earned gains in wild debauchery, the opportunities for which were never lacking in the Spanish West Indies.
Buccanning, by which the "buccaneers" gained their name, was a process of curing thin strips of meat by salting, smoking, and drying in the sun.
At first the Spaniards thought nothing of the few travel-worn Frenchmen who dragged their longboats and hoys up on the beach, and shot a wild bullock or two to keep body and soul together; but when the few grew to dozens, and the dozens to scores, and the scores to hundreds, it was a very different matter, and wrathful grumblings and mutterings began to be heard among the original settlers.
But of this the careless buccaneers thought never a whit, the only thing that troubled them being the lack of a more convenient shipping point than the main island afforded them.
This lack was at last filled by a party of hunters who ventured across the narrow channel that separated the main island from Tortuga. Here they found exactly what they needed—a good harbor, just at the junction of the Windward Channel with the old Bahama Channel—a spot where four-fifths of the Spanish-Indian trade would pass by their very wharves.
There were a few Spaniards upon the island, but they were a quiet folk, and well disposed to make friends with the strangers; but when more Frenchmen and still more Frenchmen crossed the narrow channel, until they overran the Tortuga and turned it into one great curing house for the beef which they shot upon the neighboring island, the Spaniards grew restive over the matter, just as they had done upon the larger island.
Accordingly, one fine day there came half a dozen great boatloads of armed Spaniards, who landed upon the Turtle's Back and sent the Frenchmen flying to the woods and fastnesses of rocks as the chaff flies before the thunder gust. That night the Spaniards drank themselves mad and shouted themselves hoarse over their victory, while the beaten Frenchmen sullenly paddled their canoes back to the main island again, and the Sea Turtle was Spanish once more.
But the Spaniards were not contented with such a petty triumph as that of sweeping the island of Tortuga free from the obnoxious strangers; down upon Hispaniola they came, flushed with their easy victory, and determined to root out every Frenchman, until not one single buccaneer remained. For a time they had an easy thing of it, for each French hunter roamed the woods by himself, with no better company than his half-wild dogs, so that when two or three Spaniards would meet such a one, he seldom if ever came out of the woods again, for even his resting place was lost.
On the Tortugas
Just above the northwestern shore of the old island of Hispaniola—the Santo Domingo of our day—and separated from it only by a narrow channel of some five or six miles in width, lies a queer little hunch of an island, known, because of a distant resemblance to that animal, as the Tortuga de Mar, or sea turtle. It is not more than twenty miles in length by perhaps seven or eight in breadth; it is only a little spot of land, and as you look at it upon the map a pin's head would almost cover it; yet from that spot, as from a center of inflammation, a burning fire of human wickedness and ruthlessness and lust overran the world, and spread terror and death throughout the Spanish West Indies, from St. Augustine to the island of Trinidad, and from Panama to the coasts of Peru.
About the middle of the seventeenth century certain French adventurers set out from the fortified island of St. Christopher in longboats and hoys, directing their course to the westward, there to discover new islands. Sighting Hispaniola "with abundance of joy," they landed, and went into the country, where they found great quantities of wild cattle, horses, and swine.
Now vessels on the return voyage to Europe from the West Indies needed revictualing, and food, especially flesh, was at a premium in the islands of the Spanish Main; wherefore a great profit was to be turned in preserving beef and pork, and selling the flesh to homeward-bound vessels.
The northwestern shore of Hispaniola, lying as it does at the eastern outlet of the old Bahama Channel, running between the island of Cuba and the great Bahama Banks, lay almost in the very main stream of travel. The pioneer Frenchmen were not slow to discover the double advantage to be reaped from the wild cattle that cost them nothing to procure, and a market for the flesh ready found for them. So down upon Hispaniola they came by boatloads and shiploads, gathering like a swarm of mosquitoes, and overrunning the whole western end of the island. There they established themselves, spending the time alternately in hunting the wild cattle and buccanning the meat, and squandering their hardly earned gains in wild debauchery, the opportunities for which were never lacking in the Spanish West Indies.
Buccanning, by which the "buccaneers" gained their name, was a process of curing thin strips of meat by salting, smoking, and drying in the sun.
At first the Spaniards thought nothing of the few travel-worn Frenchmen who dragged their longboats and hoys up on the beach, and shot a wild bullock or two to keep body and soul together; but when the few grew to dozens, and the dozens to scores, and the scores to hundreds, it was a very different matter, and wrathful grumblings and mutterings began to be heard among the original settlers.
But of this the careless buccaneers thought never a whit, the only thing that troubled them being the lack of a more convenient shipping point than the main island afforded them.
This lack was at last filled by a party of hunters who ventured across the narrow channel that separated the main island from Tortuga. Here they found exactly what they needed—a good harbor, just at the junction of the Windward Channel with the old Bahama Channel—a spot where four-fifths of the Spanish-Indian trade would pass by their very wharves.
There were a few Spaniards upon the island, but they were a quiet folk, and well disposed to make friends with the strangers; but when more Frenchmen and still more Frenchmen crossed the narrow channel, until they overran the Tortuga and turned it into one great curing house for the beef which they shot upon the neighboring island, the Spaniards grew restive over the matter, just as they had done upon the larger island.
Accordingly, one fine day there came half a dozen great boatloads of armed Spaniards, who landed upon the Turtle's Back and sent the Frenchmen flying to the woods and fastnesses of rocks as the chaff flies before the thunder gust. That night the Spaniards drank themselves mad and shouted themselves hoarse over their victory, while the beaten Frenchmen sullenly paddled their canoes back to the main island again, and the Sea Turtle was Spanish once more.
But the Spaniards were not contented with such a petty triumph as that of sweeping the island of Tortuga free from the obnoxious strangers; down upon Hispaniola they came, flushed with their easy victory, and determined to root out every Frenchman, until not one single buccaneer remained. For a time they had an easy thing of it, for each French hunter roamed the woods by himself, with no better company than his half-wild dogs, so that when two or three Spaniards would meet such a one, he seldom if ever came out of the woods again, for even his resting place was lost.
On the Tortugas
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