WILD WATER

23 March 2025:  Spring looms and boats will be getting splashed for longing and deprived sailors and boaters - Some of us in the southern climes have been fortunate to have our boats all winter in warm sunny waters, but you folks in the frozen wasteland of snow country are finally getting the break you have waited for all these past few cold months. And speaking of getting out on the water, here's one for the more daring of you! From Live Science:

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Drake Passage: The 'most dreaded bit of ocean on the globe' — where waves reach up to 80 feet

The Drake Passage off the West Antarctic Peninsula is a notoriously dangerous channel that connects the Atlantic, Pacific and Southern oceans.

The waves are so strong in the Drake Passage, their effect has been dubbed the "Drake shake." (Image credit: Mlenny/Getty Images)

Why it's incredible: The passage is one of the world's most dangerous ocean crossings.

The Drake Passage is an ocean channel between the southern tip of South America and the West Antarctic Peninsula. Named after the 16th-century explorer Sir Francis Drake, it is notorious for whipping up wild storms and monster waves up to 80 feet (25 meters) tall.

The passage is "the most dreaded bit of ocean on the globe," Alfred Lansing wrote in his 1959 book "Endurance: Shackleton's Incredible Voyage to the Antarctic." At around 600 miles (965 kilometers) wide, the channel is relatively narrow compared with the ocean around it, meaning currents speed up as they are forced through the passage. The same goes for southern winds, which blow unimpeded from west to east around Antarctica before they reach the Drake Passage.

 

As winds funnel through the passage, they whisk up huge waves, some of which can be dangerous — and even deadly — for passengers on boats making the 48-hour-long crossing. In the best case, the waves make for a bumpy ride, known as the "Drake shake."

 

"It's always interesting when you go to dinner and they put sticky mats on all the tables to make sure your plates and things don't slide around," Karen Heywood, a professor of physical oceanography at the University of East Anglia in the U.K. who sailed through the Drake Passage in 2024, told National Geographic.

The Drake Passage is a "melting pot" of currents from the Atlantic, Pacific and Southern oceans, Heywood said. The waters are so turbulent that the layers which normally make up the seas mix together, meaning the passage draws a lot more carbon down into its depths than other parts of the ocean do.

 

The world's oceans lock away more than 30% of the carbon humans emit into the atmosphere every year, and the Drake Passage could be one of a handful of places where this activity is particularly pronounced, National Geographic reported.

The passage also keeps Antarctica cold, because it cuts off warm air that would otherwise blow south from South America. Research suggests that when the Drake Passage opened between 49 million and 17 million years ago, it triggered significant cooling in Antarctica and contributed to the growth of giant ice sheets on the continent.

The temperature drop as you traverse the passage is noticeable even for people on ships, Alberto Naveira Garabato, a professor of physical oceanography at the University of Southampton in the U.K., told National Geographic. "Suddenly you are in this icy world," Naveira Garabato said.

So, while extreme winds and currents inside the passage create terrifying conditions for passengers, they also help to maintain Antarctica's frigid climate — although climate change is slowing the system.

Were it not for the Drake Passage and its wild weather, the frozen continent would likely hold much less ice than it currently does.

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We have been through the Drake Passage - on a small passenger ship and we were blessed with relatively calm waters, but a single look at a chart or map will show you how, with nothing but open water all the way around the globe, the winds and seas can really get huge.... and those intrepid sailors who race the 'round the world single handed races can attest that those waters in the southern ocean can get pretty exciting!

Until next time,

                             Fair Winds,

                                    Old Salt

SUBMARINE "SINKS" TRAIN

 9 March 2025: Once again, we (most of the United States) went through the sleep depriving exercise of setting our clocks ahead one hour for ... well, not so sure these days. Used to be for the farmers, but now folks generally think it's a waste of time [pun intended!]. And with a look back in naval history, we have the story of the USS Barb, an American submarine which made her mark during WWII. From National Interest.org.

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Barb and her gonzo CO were a problem for America’s enemies—and a much-needed solution for the United States.

When one reads about the exploits of the World War II-era Gato-class United States Navy submarine, USS Barb (SS-220), one almost sits in disbelief that any Navy crew pulled off the kind of missions they did. But this is a matter of record.

The Barb, once dubbed “The Galloping Ghost of the China Coast,” was a product of her unorthodox skipper, Commander Eugene “Lucky” Fluckey. Over the course of the war, Barb conducted twelve wartime patrols and amassed a record that stands out even today among the US Navy’s submarine service. The sub is credited with having sunk a whopping 17 enemy vessels, totaling 96,628 tons, including the Imperial Japanese Navy aircraft carrier Ur’yō. Indeed, most historians assess that the USS Barb’s contributions to the Pacific Theater of WWII were by themselves critical to the overall American victory in the Pacific. 

The Gato-class Specs

Gato-class submarines were a mainstay of the U.S. Navy in the Pacific. They were diesel-electric submarines that displaced approximately 1,525 tons when surfaced and 2,424 tons when submerged. Their surface speed reached around 23 miles per hour, and their speed undersea was about ten miles per hour. They had a range of around 11,000 nautical miles (12,658 land miles). Their maximum depth ranged between 300 and 400 feet. The Gato-class submarine had a crew complement of 6 officers and 54 enlisted, although this number could vary because of the war.

 

In terms of armaments, the Gato-class had 10 21-inch (533 mm) torpedo tubes—six forward, four aft—and a total of 24 torpedoes aboard. These subs also came equipped with one three-inch (76 mm)/.50 caliber deck gun, and four .50-caliber machine guns. They could also come with two 20mm Oerlikon cannons for anti-aircraft defense.

As for what made this submarine go, she had four General Motors Model 16-278A V16 diesel engines driving electrical generators. There were two 126-cell batteries onboard, powering four high-speed General Electric motors with reduction gears to spin a pair of propellers.

Lucky Fluckey

Commander Fluckey was the real brains behind the Barb. During his time in command of the submarine, Fluckey devised innovative hit-and-run tactics to use against the Japanese that kept them reeling. Many of the tactics that Fluckey employed aboard the Barb were so great that they became part of the Navy’s submarine training repertoire (and, moreover, the stuff of legend). The Barb has numerous claims to fame, but one that stood out for the rest of Commander Fluckey’s life was what he claimed was the first ballistic missiles ever being fired from the USS Barb. Their target was a group of Japanese factories that were successfully destroyed by the attack.

For kicks, Fluckey deployed a group of American saboteurs ashore on Sakhalin Island, where they blew up a 16-car freight train. From that point on, Barb has held the high honor of being the only submarine in history to “sink” a train. The mission involved landing a team of volunteers on the Japanese-held island, where the saboteurs placed explosive charges under a railway track. These charges were triggered by the weight of an oncoming train, derailing it in a truly spectacular fashion and adding to Fluckey and Barb’s fame. 

And according to legend, Barb secreted herself into the notoriously shallow water of the Japanese-held Chinese Namkwan Harbor and, in the dead of night, let loose ten torpedoes, eight of which scored direct hits that sank three Japanese ships and gravely damaged another three. Barb then ripped out of the shallow harbor at her full surface speed, evading incensed Japanese defenders, and earning for herself the nickname “The Galloping Ghost of the China Coast.”

This action merely lived up to Captain Fluckey’s personal motto which read, “We don’t have problems, just solutions.” Indeed, Barb and her gonzo CO were a problem for America’s enemies—and a much-needed solution for the United States. Barb’s memory is so important the Navy announced that one of its new Virginia-class submarines will be named as the USS Barb.

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How about that for a "sea story" friends! As an interesting [ed: to us] sidebar, one of the US Navy Destroyers on which your scribe served during the conflict in Southeast Asia in the '60's earned the nickname "galloping ghost of the Vietnam coast" as we frequently turned up with guns blazing in widely separated locales. 

See you next time, 

                                              Fair Winds,

                                                   Old Salt

 

BONUS AN TIMELY

 22 February 2025: We have been posting over the past few years, on average, about every two weeks. Due to the timely nature of this subject, and its impact on lots of areas - historic ships, artificial diving reefs, and sad news we thought this might be worthy of an "out of cycle" post. From United States Naval Institute.

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 After months of delay, the historic ocean liner SS United States is getting towed down the Delaware River from Philadelphia on the first leg of its journey to become the “world’s largest artificial reef” about 20 miles off the Okaloosa, Fla., Gulf Coast.

The liner was a staple on the city’s waterfront for almost 30 years before tugboats began moving into position shortly before noon on Wednesday. Last week, SS United States was moved from an adjacent pier to make the towing easier. [ed: headed out the Delaware River 20 February]

Gale-force winds since Saturday further delayed the ship’s departure.

The former liner’s journey to Alabama, where it will be cleaned before getting moved to the Florida site, is expected to take about two weeks. Live tracking of the movement is available here. Tracking began when the vessel started moving operations.

 

The Walt Whitman Bridge, which carries Interstate 76, was closed to traffic at 12:40 p.m. as the liner traveled down the river. The Commodore Barry Bridge, which carries U.S. Route 322, and the Delaware Memorial Bridge that features I-295, were closed to traffic as the 900-foot long liner was towed down into Delaware Bay.

The liner’s once bright-red funnels are 65 feet high, or the equivalent of a six-story building, are the key safety reason for the bridge closures. In addition to safety precautions, the bridge closures allowed motorists to take pictures and record the movement.

When the hulk of the former aircraft carrier John F. Kennedy (CV-67) moved down the Delaware River last month, SS United States remained pier side in Philadelphia. The liner was scheduled for towing in November, originally bound for Norfolk, to get cleaned and prepped for sinking so it can serve as an artificial reef for diving and fishing.

The preparation work, expected to take a year, shifted to Mobile because the Alabama city is closer to the final destination point.

In the fall, the U.S. Coast Guard halted the liner’s movement to ensure its seaworthiness. To ensure safety in the tow to Mobile, the liner will remain relatively close to shore to avoid ocean currents.

Philadelphia’s local NBC affiliate reported a statement from Capt. Joseph Farrell, identified as an authority on reefs and ship sinkings: “The SS United States will be towed more than 1800 nautical miles, at 5 knots per hour, from Philadelphia, through Delaware Bay, into the Atlantic Ocean, past Cape Hatteras, around the Florida Peninsula, into the Gulf of America, and onto The Bay of Mobile. … The voyage is expected to take 18 days.”

Upon arrival in Mobile, contractors at Modern American Recycling Services will remove hazardous material, including non-metal parts and fuel, to ensure the ship is clean and not harmful to the environment. Items like command bridge components, engine room equipment, wires, cables, loose items, flooring, furnishings, fuel, paint, and contaminants – possibly including asbestos – will be removed.

The work in Mobile will include removing the two iconic funnels and the radar mast, which will go to the Conservancy for its proposed museum, The Maritime Executive reported. A few other artifacts, including the builder’s plaque, will be removed for the Conservancy, while the preparation includes removing all the portholes as well as onboard contaminants.

The SS United States Conservancy calls reefing the best option for the vessel. The organization will put the proceeds from the sale, in addition to $1 million from Okaloosa County, toward the cost of establishing a permanent museum and visitor center for the ship. It will display the collection of artifacts from the vessel and tell the story of her design and speed record.

Contractors will also make modifications to ensure that when the vessel is deployed, it will land upright underwater, Nick Tomecek, the public information officer for Okaloosa County, said in a news release.

Those modifications include poking holes in the ship’s hull to facilitate its sinking,

“It’s actually pretty hard to sink a ship,” Tomecek told UPI in November. “They’ll cut some holes on the outside, on the inside and all around the vessel. Once they tow it to the spot, they’ll use a pump on the tow boat to begin filling it with water. As that water fills the ship, it sinks lower and lower to where those holes are cut. As more and more water goes in, the ship eventually goes down.”

He added that it could take hours for water to fill the ship.

The exact site is still undetermined, but will be about 20 miles offshore from Destin-Fort Walton Beach.

Tomecek told USNI News: “We are currently on budget and on schedule for the vessel reef deployment process.” He added that the entire project cost allocation is $10.1 million. That includes buying the vessel for $1 million, another $1 million to the SS United States Conservancy, and additional funding for the remediation, dock fees and deployment of the vessel off Destin-Fort Walton Beach.

He added that the county has been paying the pier owner’s rental fee since Oskaloosa took title to the liner.

In October, the Florida county took title to the historic ship, effectively ending a three-year-long legal struggle between the non-profit that owned SS United States and Penn Warehouse and Distribution, the owner of the pier where it has been berthed for years.

 

The dispute centered on the berthing charges doubling while the SS United States Conservancy, established in 2011, was still trying to raise funds to preserve the liner as a museum and hotel, similar to the former Queen Mary’s operation in Long Beach, Calif.

At the ceremony transferring the title, Paul Mixon, chairman of the Okaloosa County Board of County Commissioners, told The Philadelphia Inquirer he was proud of Florida’s ability to “keep that legacy going” through the museum and reefing of the ship. The museum will receive the group’s collections of original artifacts and artwork from the ship and at least one of the vessel’s iconic funnels.

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Sad to see this record holding vessel fall into such disrepair and neglect that her only use is as a reef. "From the sea she was born and to the sea she returns." As a matter of interest to some, we understand her resting place will be about 130' below the surface; not sure how that works for sport divers who generally limit their dives to a depth of 100'-120'- bottom time severely curtailed at that depth.

Until next time, stay safe.

                                               Fair Winds                

                                                  Old Salt