I don’t know fashion but I think using skittles might be a little bit safer, more delicious and not make the conservationists worry there will be a mad rush on reef to supply the world with accessories for the spring season. Strange! I bet that itches, too. via Alexis Rudd.

I personally prefer to wear dead rock hind grouper on expedition:

A seagull has a tentacle around its neck, which is holding its head below the surface. This encounter occurred at Ogden Point Breakwater in Victoria, BC, in plain sight of anyone passing by . Photo and observation by Ginger Morneau, story by Ann Nightingale at BirdFellow:

To commemorate witnessing and photographing this amazing event, Ginger, Ken and Lou went out for a calamari lunch.

]]> http://thescuttlefish.com/2012/05/octopus-eating-a-seagull/feed/ 0 http://thescuttlefish.com/2012/04/albert-falco-rest-in-peace/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=albert-falco-rest-in-peace http://thescuttlefish.com/2012/04/albert-falco-rest-in-peace/#comments Fri, 27 Apr 2012 00:36:11 +0000 brian lam http://thescuttlefish.com/?p=16448

From mission blue:

Falco first met Cousteau when he was 25 years old. He joined Cousteau and his team as a volunteer exploring a shipwreck off the coast of Marseille. He soon became chief diver of the team, and then captain of the R/V Calypso.

In 1959, he lived for 7 days at a depth of 10 meters in the first house under the sea in the Mediterranean, becoming one of the world’s first Oceanauts.

The movie which captured Falco’s time as an Oceanaut is World Without Sun.

*Kevin Roche via The Inertia*

From my pals at Liquid Robotics, who just set a world record for distance by an unmanned wave powered vessel:

if you’ve been reading along with this blog you’ll remember that a while ago we lost control of the waveglider named Piccard.  Telemetry and almost all systems were just fine.  We had lost control of the rudder, so Piccard was drifting.  We had all kinds of theories about what had happened.  Fortunately, this happened reasonably close to Hawaii, so we were able to go out and pick it up.  But once we did, the cause was amazing:  it had been seriously savaged by a major shark.  The body of the glider sustained no real damage.  Some wicked-looking scratches, but that’s all they were.  We found a fragment of a tooth lodged in a seam, still no real damage.  It took an impressive beating and nothing mechanical broke.  Even the rudder module was in fine shape and totally usable.  But the one exposed cable got a mighty chomp, and that’s all it took.  It’s the only real shark damage we’ve ever had, despite many years in Hawaiian waters.

This isn’t the first time a shark has checked out a Liquid Robotics glider, and according to shark researchers I’ve spoken with, sharks sometimes chomp on metal things in the water, like propellers, because the metals can give off magnetic signals that stimulate the shark’s Ampullae of Lorenzini. Liquid Robotic’s field team even found a tooth, which they are having analyzed to uncover what kind of shark it was.

Flickr via the Magic Bus

Click here to view the embedded video.

A 20 ft, 2,000 lb great white shark was found dead in the nets of two fisherman in the Sea of Cortez.

“We were amazed and immediately realized that we had a huge, dead, great white shark, and then we thought what are we going to do?”

I just plunked down for a Patagonia Guidewater Duffel, in Max size. It has separate zippers and compartments for dry and wet (with a breathable mesh side) gear, and has a holder for rods but I’m going to use it for spears. I could have gotten the smaller size, which doubles as a carry on. But I feel like the larger bag will come in handy when hauling a wetsuit and other free diving equipment this summer. The larger bag will also fit free diving fins better. What do you think? What other interesting bags are out there for people with salty gear?

P.S. Joe Brown likes this bag by Orvis, for $20. It doesn’t have a dry section, but it’s $20!

Low Speed Chase, washed up on the Farallon islands.

From the SF Gate:

“Rescuers have suspended the search for four sailors who were swept overboard when their 38-foot sailboat ran aground near the Farallon Islands, saying the “window of survivability” has closed…The four missing sailors were part of an eight-member crew whose boat, the Low Speed Chase, was pummeled by 12-foot waves during a race Saturday and forced onto rocks near the Farallon Islands, 27 miles west of the Golden Gate…The race around Farallones, an annual event since 1907, began at 9:30 a.m. Saturday at the St. Francis Yacht Club in San Francisco. Several other boats turned back in the face of 25-knot winds and waves as high as 15 feet, described as typical conditions for the area.

Alexis Busch, one of the missing crewmen.

]]> http://thescuttlefish.com/2012/04/low-speed-chase/feed/ 0 http://thescuttlefish.com/2012/04/el-salvador-samaritans/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=el-salvador-samaritans http://thescuttlefish.com/2012/04/el-salvador-samaritans/#comments Wed, 11 Apr 2012 00:56:05 +0000 Mark Lukach http://thescuttlefish.com/?p=16299

I am really proud to have worked on the story Salvador Samaritans for the amazing new magazine Western Civ. It’s a tribute to the friends I met while surfing and building a high school in El Salvador with Surf For Life. Most travel editors want you to stick to the facts, never mind the sentiment. Western Civ had the exact opposite focus, and wanted the story to be all about heart. So it is.

My good friend Brian Lam and I were on the same flight out of San Francisco together. He fell asleep on the plane, and when he woke up, the stewardess was asking me if I wanted pancakes. Brian groggily looked at me and asked, “How did I wake up in your dream?” That sentiment summed up the whole trip–everyone finding out about each other’s passions, personalities, and surfing styles, and reveling in our collective mishaps and talents.

The photographs are from the incredibly talented Erin Kunkel and Ward Robinson, who is one of the editors for the magazine.

Read the full story over at Western Civ Magazine.

Friends and family know me to be a somewhat sedentary person – I spend an inordinate amount of time at home, work a desk-based job and am probably the last they’d consider for outdoor exploits. That said, my sailing log book is on track to reach 5,000 nautical miles before the end of 2012, I’ve explored uninhabited islands, confronted a Force 9 gale and survived a shipwreck.

Going to sea is a popular life goal, it’s not uncommon to hear the words, “I’ve always wanted to sail,” yet it’s surprising how few people ever do.

The path to becoming a sailor is not one without barrier, but the largest must be the matter of how. This series hopes to demystify the process.

2008: My first solo sail on the San Francisco Bay in heavy conditions.

Part I: Training

Regardless of where you are there are likely reasonable options for getting the training required to competently crew a sailboat. If your local area isn’t conducive, look for a school that specializes in combining sail cruising vacations with formal training programs.

UNDERSTANDING THE OPTIONS

If you are serious about becoming a sailor and have the budget for training, there are three major schooling programs to consider; the American Sailing Association (ASA), the Royal Yachting Association (RYA) and US Sailing.

ASA

The American Sailing Association (ASA) is the most ubiquitous training program available to those based in the United States, though ASA schools can be found worldwide. ASA courses are generally designed to run over the course of a 5-day week or 2 consecutive weekends and generally cost between $500-$800 to reach basic certification.

The benefits of an ASA course are that they are easy to find, affordable and the certification they offer is generally recognized throughout the world. For a beginner sailor, ASA training offers the best program for reaching basic competence in a short amount of time. The ASA also certifies many specialty schools, providing courses led by women, or training geared towards youth, seniors or those with disabilities.

Aaron, our ASA instructor and my husband Ciaran are studying for ASA103 while anchored off the uninhabited island of Baliceaux in the Grenadines.

The ASA attempts to certify their instructors and schools according to a common standard, but in practice the offerings of each school vary widely based on the person leading your course and the quality of boats in the school’s fleet. This is to say that your mileage may vary. When evaluating an ASA school, research online reviews and ask important questions such as a) What make, model, size and year of boat will be used for my course? And b) What level of ASA certification does my instructor possess?

RYA

The Royal Yachting Association is the national body for all forms of boat training in the United Kingdom, though RYA schools can also be found in the US and around the world. The RYA is often considered the gold standard of training and garners more respect with bareboat charter bases when renting large yachts.

50' Beneteau charter off of Fajardo, Puerto Rico. Having credible certifications is key for chartering large boats abroad.

RYA training does not come without its own challenges – the courses are much more involved and difficult to pass. While ASA does a marvelous job of exposing students to concepts and offering hands-on experience, RYA’s primary goal is mastery. RYA is one of the best options for those who would like to pursue sailing as a profession or via their RYA Yachtmaster certification. Many schools offer training courses of 30+ days, offshore experiences and specialty short courses that cover the technical aspects of boat management. Standard training for a beginner attempting to reach basic competence range from $1500-$2500.

US SAILING

US Sailing schools are harder to find, but are the best approach for those interested in small boat handling, windsurfing, dinghy racing or regattas. US Sailing is the outfit of choice if you have a desire to compete or are interested in the thrills that a small boat can provide, such as hiking out or managing a daggerboard.

Typical US Sailing courses are structured over single weekends, with a greater degree of affordability ranging from $150-$300 for a session.

OTHER OPTIONS

Depending on your locale, an affordable way to begin sailing is to volunteer as a chaperone with the US Sea Scouts. By volunteering your time as a mentor with their youth programs, you will often have access to weekend sailing trips and can participate in the instruction provided by the scout masters. This route may require that you pass a formal background check and will often demand some measure of labor, as maintaining the scout vessels is core to the program.

Boatbuilding centers like the Spaulding Wooden Boat Center in Sausalito, California and the Center for Wooden Boats in Seattle, Washington often provide regular outings on historic and wooden crafts. This is not a realistic option for training, but does offer an affordable way to learn about sailing history and experience the joys of being on the water. Additionally, many historic maritime ports offer boat tours. These trips may provide less opportunity for hands-on experiences, but are worth looking into for those who aren’t ready to invest in a formal course.

The US Coast Guard Auxiliary offers many free or affordable courses on general boat safety and navigation. Though classroom-based, joining the USCG-AUG as a volunteer may provide opportunities to get out on the water on fellow member boats as part of their patrol and search/rescue activities.

Casual crewing is likely the most affordable gateway to sailing. Finding a good match can be difficult and casual crewing is perhaps the most risky route in terms of safety, but this route can also be the most rewarding when it comes to making friends, trying a wide variety of vessels and crew management styles. Finding a good casual crewing opportunity can be as easy as showing up early on the morning of a local regatta and introducing yourself, researching online ads for crew or posting your own on community sites such as Craigslist. For any inexperienced sailor considering casual crewing, it’s important to trust your instincts. Does the boat look well-maintained? Does the owner/skipper have experience? What sort of safety equipment is available? Answer these questions before stepping foot on a foreign vessel.

For radical souls, I highly recommend throwing caution to the wind and joining a boat long-term as paying crew. While finding a good opportunity requires a bit of research, it’s often possible to find vessels looking for 1-2 able hands to join for a season based on shared expenses and a strong work ethic. Having some level of basic experience is often a requirement, but it is possible to join a boat as a beginner provided you can offer other skills, such as a medical background, culinary talents or simply a strong back. Positioning yourself accordingly can help as well – base yourself in San Francisco at the start of the Baja Ha-Ha, or in Baja for the Pacific Puddle Jump. Go to the Eastern Seaboard in late fall, or the Caribbean in July. The best options for finding a crew position are often via local bulletin boards, yacht clubs and chandlery shops. For those willing to invest upfront for access to listings, organizations such as Offshore Passage Opportunities (OPO) offer regular crew listings via e-mail for a yearly membership fee.

This is the most gracious statement I have ever heard by a woman who must feel incredibly cheated out of a long life with her late new husband. They had not even been on their honeymoon yet. We cannot blame the shark, but Gemma Redmond is most worthy of our condolences. The accident took place on Anse Lazio beach, on the island of Praslin.

Jeff Bezos of Amazon has funded an expedition to try and find Apollo 11′s Rocketdyne F1 engines, which after powering the moon landing astronauts past phase one using 7.7 million pounds of thrust, fell into the sea. He’s found them.

I’m excited to report that, using state-of-the-art deep sea sonar, the team has found the Apollo 11 engines lying 14,000 feet below the surface, and we’re making plans to attempt to raise one or more of them from the ocean floor. We don’t know yet what condition these engines might be in – they hit the ocean at high velocity and have been in salt water for more than 40 years. On the other hand, they’re made of tough stuff, so we’ll see.

 

The exhibition opens on the 31st of March and goes until 2013.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Here’s a video that show the first footage of the bottom of the trench (around the one minute mark). No sea monsters were found below by James Cameron, in the Deepsea Challenger, during his 3 hours at a bottom depth of 35,756 feet. But given that he merely glimpsed the beginning of a region 50 times larger than the grand canyon, and that he plans on returning, I think it’s only a matter of time before he finds more than a desolate lunar landscape.

From the Guardian:

“My feeling was one of complete isolation from all of humanity.