Old Weather Forum

Randi wrote: ↑Thu Sep 24, 2020 1:03 am Beaked Whale Shatters Record With 3 Hour 42 Minute Dive

That is absolutely mind boggling. Whales are such amazing creatures. Love them

Randi wrote: ↑Wed Oct 07, 2020 3:25 am Before migrating, some blue whales switch up the timing of their songs

Well - singing at night or during the day - the whales are impressive song-smiths.

Given that the human brain is so good at absorbing language in youth perhaps these scientists could enlist some local school children to help out.

Arctic review – stark eco warnings from the ice-braving hunters who battled whales
A short article in the Guardian newspaper about this fascinating exhibition in London.

British Museum, London
From sleds made of bones to supernatural sealskin hunting suits, this stirring show celebrates the heroism and ingenuity of humans who survive in balance with nature.
This show is in the end a rebuke to the fashionable view that Homo sapiens is a monster who began by wiping out mammoths and Neanderthals and has gone on from there. It reveals a more human view of humanity. We’re not the devil. People have lived alongside and, yes, killed the animals of the Arctic, but without destroying their world. It’s a rare exhibition these days that makes us see the heroism of being human. But that sealskin suit is an astounding monument to the crazy, clever species who would jump on a whale’s back in one of the coldest places on Earth.

Just ran across these two:
Hudson River Whaling Ships
Frigate Hens - Those Brave Whaling Captain's Wives

... it was not uncommon for the her to bake cookies, donuts and other sweets for the crew.

Thanks Randi!

Two very interesting article. We don't work on those Hudson Bay ships at all. I'm sorry for them that they also have their goodly number of mutinies.

Our best OWW Frigate Hen is, of course, young Adeline Heppingstone who wrote the Fleetwing log. There are probably more reports about embroidery and cushion making than latitude and longitude, but it makes a refreshing change to the usual
Fleetwing's log runs from 14th April 1882 to 5th November 1882

The article does mention washing. I'm glad to have picked this image up from Kevin and have been meaning to show it here for a week or so. It looks like there was inspiration for cleanliness on both the Newport and Fearless (both appear in log book entries by some of our whalers):


and a 'close up'....

Whale Sculpture Stops Train From Plunge in the Netherlands
The driver was the only person on the city train and was unharmed in the accident early Monday morning, a local safety spokesman said.

https://nyti.ms/3mQtL5n wrote:A train that went careening over the end of elevated tracks in the Netherlands on Monday was left teetering about 30 feet above the ground. But no one was injured or killed in the accident — thanks to a sculpture of a whale’s tail that stopped the train from plunging.

“It’s like the scene of a Hollywood movie,” said Ruud Natrop, a spokesman for safety in the Rotterdam-Rijnmond area, where the accident occurred. “Thank God the tail was there.”

The derailment, in the city of Spijkenisse, happened around 12:30 a.m. on Monday, according to local news outlets. The driver was the only person on the city train and was unharmed, Mr. Natrop said, and was taken to the hospital for an evaluation and then to the police station for questioning.

Mr. Natrop said there was no indication that the driver had done anything wrong, and train officials are investigating how safety systems designed to stop the train failed.

Locals couldn’t resist coming out to see the strange sight of a train car dangling over the platform edge atop the sea creature’s 32-foot tail. In the background of news footage that captured the initial aftermath, laughter could be heard. But officials cautioned that onlookers should abide by coronavirus measures and keep their distance.

Discussions have begun on how to remove the train, a process that will require heavy equipment such as cranes anchored into the ground.

Randi wrote: ↑Tue Nov 03, 2020 6:11 pm Whale Sculpture Stops Train From Plunge in the Netherlands
The driver was the only person on the city train and was unharmed in the accident early Monday morning, a local safety spokesman said.

Well that's a new take on the Nantucket Sleigh Ride

Randi wrote: ↑Tue Nov 03, 2020 6:11 pm Whale Sculpture Stops Train From Plunge in the Netherlands
The driver was the only person on the city train and was unharmed in the accident early Monday morning, a local safety spokesman said.

Don't you think the driver had a whale of a time?

I've just read Randi's post in Zooniverse News: viewtopic.php?p=5635#p5635
'Into the Zooniverse - Volume II'

I confess to not getting to check out Volume 1, so off I went to investigate and discovered that Old Weather was featured:


The logbook shown is from the Mary and Helen (I must be an addict to know the writing and the whale stamps that well ) getting stuck in ice near Cape Lisburne in July 1880. It feels a tad cheeky getting the image 'limelight' given that the text is about The Bear near Wrangell Island in 1914. But I'm not complaining Just don't tell them over at OW Arctic
Here's a link to the page image: https://archive.org/details/maryhelenst ... 4/mode/2up

Randi wrote: ↑Tue Dec 01, 2020 3:17 pm First Direct Evidence of Killer Whale Predation on Bowhead Whales in the U.S. Pacific Arctic Documented by Scientists

And I am sure that other food stocks for the killer whales are falling which will push them further into attacking the bowheads. For smaller and still struggling stocks of bowheads, as in the Okhotsk Sea, that could be their end.

Randi wrote: ↑Wed Dec 02, 2020 4:52 pm Of Whales, Colonists and Native Americans

That's a fascinating article covering a lot of whaling activity from the native days onwards. I've got to say that digging out a dug out canoe with burning hot stones sounds like a long job. To any OldWhalers - this is certainly worth a read.

Male fin whales surprise scientists by swapping songs https://phys.org/news/2020-10-male-fin- ... pping.html

(I'm trying not to picture a Barber Shop convention for Fin Whales )

I don't know if your Dora is this one, but you might find this interesting

THE HISTORY OF THE SS DORA

Fascinating story!!! Well worth a read!

My goodness - The SS Dora is an amazing story! What a history, what dramas. She survived so much and rescued so many. And such a small ship.

She does mention one of our ships - the Narwhal - in 1890. We cover Narwhal in 1892 and 1894

Thanks to Randi for finding this lovely nugget about the Mary D Hume which is mentioned so often in the other ships' logs that we are covering:

Mary D. Hume: a Tug for the Long Haul (https://issuu.com/seahistory/docs/sh_02 ... 9/58689029 page 23)


My eye was caught by this nightmare event in her journeys:


We did do some work on her during Phase 1 of OWW. I took a look back and discovered the following including yet another nightmare loss-of-rigging event.

We recorded her voyage from 19 Apr. 1890 to 30 Sept. 1892. She is indeed recorded as a Steam brigantine, of San Francisco, Calif., mastered by James A. Tilton, kept by Hartson H. Bodfish. (Mr Tilton and Capt Bodfish pop up so often!). Here's the start of that journey: https://archive.org/details/logbookofmarydhu00unse .

There's a charming note at the beginning of the log about her highly unusual hours of the day:
"Days in this book run from midnight 6 P.M. to 6 P.M. The log was written every night after supper."


Another rough sea with heavy winds that ripped her up...Saturday April 26th 1890 She's just a few days out at Latitude 40.25N and Longitude (from the 25th) 139.37W.

Saturday April 26th
Lat 40.25 N.
No observations for Longitude.
Calms and light airs from the S.S.W. till 5 a.m. then increased to a moderate breeze accompanied by a heavy swell.
Latter part a strong breeze which hauled to the N.W. with rain.
At 1 P.M. furled the top gallant sail. At 1.50 P.M. made a heavy dive and carried away the fore topmast at the sheare hole letting gallant mast and yard down by the run, and breaking the topsail yard at the jaws. While clearing the wreckage made another dive and broke maintopmast about 10 feet above the eyes of the lower rigging. Was carrying the foretopsail, three jibs, fore and aft foresail and reefed mainsail. Commenced steaming at 2.20 P.M. Carrying foresail reefed mainsail and fore staysail. Everything cleared away at 4.20 P.M.



I'm not surprised that they had to commence steaming - there was so little sail left! I sometimes wonder what great tales these little ships could tell if only they could speak to us.