Nautical Oddities

[GordMay]

A Sea with No Shore

There’s one body of water, on Earth, that doesn’t touch a single coastline.

The region, located in the North Atlantic Ocean, is called the Sargasso Sea, and it’s characterised by its unique boundaries.
Rather than land, it’s defined by ocean currents, so there’s no Sargasso beach.

The sea exists thanks to four currents: the North Atlantic Current, to the north; the Canary Current, to the east; the North Atlantic Equatorial Current, to the south; and the Antilles Current, to the west.

These circular currents, called ocean gyres, effectively trap the body of water within them, resulting in what Jules Verne described [in ‘Twenty Thousand Leagues under the Sea as “a perfect lake in the open Atlantic.”

A new study [1], published on 8 December, found that the sea is warmer, saltier, and more acidic, than it has ever been, since records began [in 1954], and that this could have a serious, and far-reaching impact, on other ocean systems.

“About the Sargasso Sea” ~ by the Sargasso Sea Commission
➥ About the Sargasso Sea - Sargasso Sea Commission

[1] “Forty years of ocean acidification observations (1983–2023) in the Sargasso Sea at the Bermuda Atlantic Time-series Study site” ~ by Nicholas R. Bates & Rodney J. Johnson
➥ https://www.frontiersin.org/articles...3.1289931/full

[GordMay]

World's largest iceberg now drifting in open water
The world’s largest iceberg, known as “A23a”, is drifting, in open water, after being stuck to a shoal, on the ocean floor, since the 1980s.
It is drifting off the coast of Antarctica, and may pose a risk to wildlife, if it collides with the unpopulated South Georgia Islands.
More about ➥ https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart...day-180983326/

Video (2:48) ➥ http://www.cbc.ca/player/play/2287977539762

[GordMay]

"EARTH 300"
A 980 foot long [200 ft high] nuclear-powered [Molten Salt reactor] superyacht, named “Earth 300", designed to unite science and luxury, is set to launch, as soon as 2025.

The Earth 300 can accommodate 160 scientists, 20 students, and 165 crew members, who will navigate the ship, and support research efforts.
Additionally, 40 VIP guests will be permitted on board, and housed in 20 luxury cabins.

The estimated construction cost, of the avant-garde vessel, is a staggering $633 million.

While the exact location, of its construction, is yet to be determined, it is likely to be built in, either, Europe or South Korea, and expected to be completed as early as 2025, in time for its first voyage.

About “Earth 300" ➥ https://earth300.com/

Video ➥ https://youtu.be/hR_EfughZFg

[CaptTom]

Oddity indeed!

Now, let's see. No builder yet. New reactor design. Scheduled to be underway in 2025.

Uh...right. I won't be investing.

[wyb2]

Right. I know next to nothing about large shipbuilding, but when I saw 2025 I was impressed that they had actually managed to get the thing built and were finishing up smaller systems and details.

They haven’t started yet? No clear blank check from Bezos, Musk, or some Saudi prince? Looks like it was designed by an architecture grad student? It’s a luxury…science yacht? Sounds like pretty classic vaporware.

[skipperpete]

Be careful about dismissing projects like this, 633 million is bugger all to some of the high net worth individuals..... and consider the possibility that they’re building and equipping a lifeboat that never needs a refuel ....or windpower like the Bezos extravagance.

[CaptTom]

Good point. It might make a good "bug out" boat for billionaires. But, if that were the case, they wouldn't be advertising it. It would all be very hush-hush. They wouldn't want an uprising of armed peasants showing up when things start going badly.

[Bowdrie]

Originally Posted by GordMay

A Sea with No Shore

Jeepers, sailors have learned to avoid that area like the plague.
It's well known that giant sea monsters live there.
Over time, many artists have depicted huge octopi that reach their tenacles right up to the deck of a ship and grab some poor unfortunate.
It's not a safe area to be in.
Sailing thru there is akin to sticking a marlinspike in the mast to bring the wind, you may just reap a whirlwind.

[JAFO]

Originally Posted by CaptTom

Good point. It might make a good "bug out" boat for billionaires. But, if that were the case, they wouldn't be advertising it. It would all be very hush-hush. They wouldn't want an uprising of armed peasants showing up when things start going badly.

1000ft long, 200ft high ships are kinda hard to hide. So a plausible cover story is essential. Do you remember Glomar Explorer, the supposed deep-sea drilling & exploration platform, whose secret real job was to recover the sunken Soviet submarine, K-129 for the CIA?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glomar_Explorer

[GordMay]

1,400-pound great white shark, named ‘Breton’, makes New Year's appearance off Florida - Makes self-portrait
Much more ➥ https://www.news-journalonline.com/s...r/72083609007/

”... Breton has been tracked by the research group OCEARCH since 2020, when a tag was attached to his dorsal fin in Nova Scotia. The tag transmits location information when Breton breaks the water's surface.

Breton has been hanging around Florida for a bit, pinging off Jacksonville on Dec. 21 and previously visited Florida's east coast in June and December of 2022.

Breton spent a little over two years making a "self-portrait."

His pings between September 2020 and January 2022 connect to show what appears to be the outline of a huge shark, with the tail in Nova Scotia, the body along the east coast and head pointed at Florida's east coast...

[senormechanico]

Saw this on Sailing Anarchy.


Fender placement is sometimes critical.

[SeanPatrick]

That reminds me of something I saw while walking through a shopping center one day ...



And just to keep it on topic, this was right across the street from ...

[GordMay]

Whale scientists capture the sights and sounds of a baby sperm whale birth for the first time
More about ➥ https://www.cbc.ca/radio/quirks/birt...seti-1.6967697

Videos showing baby sperm whale being born
➥ http://www.cbc.ca/player/play/2264113731582
➥ http://www.cbc.ca/player/play/2264112707749

[GordMay]

Sperm whales live in structured clans, similar to early humans, according to new research [1], by Hal Whitehead, who says: the clan systems are matrilineal, and average roughly 20,000 females per clan.
The clans are determined by vocalizations, called "codas", that involve distinct sequences of clicks, with each clan using a different dialect.
The whales only socialize with members of their own clan. In many respects, the closest parallel may be the ethno-linguistic groups of humans.

[1] “Sperm whale clans and human societies” ~ by Hal Whitehead
➥ https://royalsocietypublishing.org/d...98/rsos.231353

[GordMay]

A 100-year-old shark washed ashore, in Avannarliit, which lies in the capital city Nuuk, Greenland.
Experts estimate Greenland sharks can live between 250 to 500 years, which would make them the longest-lived vertebrates.
Danish ➥ https://natur.gl/uncategorized-da/en...d-avannarliit/

English ➥ https://www.miamiherald.com/news/nat...284592370.html