Nick Bonzey captured a series of photographs showing giant bat rays, which are nearly four feet in diameter, leaping out of the water at Cabo Pulmo, along Baja Peninsula in Mexico.
Click here for Sharks and Rays Leap Out of the Water for Many Reasons
This commodity is Old Growth Long Leaf Yellow Pine. On our south Georgia farm, my Grandad called it “fat lighterd” as in kindling wood for starting a fire. Thank you, Janice, for the memories.
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SPARRING WITH MOTHER NATURE ~~ latest addition! Settle back for your Sunday Morning Read. I’m so honored that you’re following along. Thank you. Please enjoy the latest passages from STEADFAST. As of August 1st, 2024 we are undergoing extensive repair and refit and will be for several months. In boating terms we are hauled out “on the hard.” I plan to mix Sailing Stories with the challenges and intricacies of restoring a 90-year-old Sailing Yacht. I’m always open to suggestions as to content….please feel free to weigh in. Thank you. J |
Click here for More Precious Commodities by Janice Anne Wheeler
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The commodity is Purpleheart wood. Interesting information.
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SPARRING WITH MOTHER NATURE ~~ latest addition! Settle back for your Sunday Morning Read. I’m so honored that you’re following along. Thank you.
Please enjoy the latest passages from STEADFAST. As of August 1st, 2024 we are undergoing extensive repair and refit and will be for several months. In boating terms we are hauled out “on the hard.” I plan to mix Sailing Stories with the challenges and intricacies of restoring a 90-year-old Sailing Yacht. I’m always open to suggestions as to content….please feel free to weigh in. Thank you. J
Our first commodity has arrived and is resting quietly, enshrouded in newly purchased canvas, protected, draped carefully and evenly on all sides, to avoid damage from exposure to the elements. Rock solid yet fragile, it will soon be essential in its new environment.
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Purpleheart Tree, scientific name Peltogyne, has many variations. This miracle of Mother Nature goes by a plethora of other monikers: Amaranth, Violetwood, Purperhart, Pau Roxo, Pau ferro and the indigenous namesakes, Guarabu, Morado, Tananeo. There are no Purpleheart trees currently on endangered lists and many countries, including Panama and Costa Rica, regulate the harvest to assist in its viability.
I’m sure this commodity was essential in its old environment, too, near the equator, on another continent, albeit bordering the same mighty ocean. We estimate that this lumber came from an impressive tree at least four feet in diameter and research deduces a height of 130-150 feet with a brilliant, green, protective canopy and thousands of shiny, paired leaves, each turning carbon dioxide back into oxygen for the earth’s unsustainable population. The color and size vary within its vast range from southern Mexico to southeastern Brazil. The main attraction of this beautiful wood is the length of its armless trunk, which can be as much as seventy feet; the single board we purchased was 6” x 12” x 27’. Purpleheart is revered for natural rot and insect resistance as well as strength and hardness, perfect for projects such as ours. The blooms are coveted by bees and beekeepers. Secondarily, its stunning color is used for watch faces, furniture, trinkets and household items.
Although it may seem rare and exotic due to its striking appearance, wood-database.com tells us that it is a durable, long-lasting, stable and sustainable wood species. We are all aware of the centuries-old conflict; man trying his best to survive and earn a living, while preserving resources and forests for both future generations and the innumerable organisms that dwell in them.
To me? This is a truly PRECIOUS COMMODITY. That stack of lumber will save my home. I’ve called myself a ‘Conservative Tree-Hugger’ for decades and claim complete independence from political parties (I simply vote for the best candidate…). Mother Nature’s environment is one of my most pertinent concerns, as my immersion and reliance is deeper than most. I’ve never before chosen to utilize something as potentially controversial as Rainforest hardwood, and I hope there are positive economic effects within one of the poorest nations in South America.
This tree was harvested, we hope responsibly, in Suriname and imported directly by Gannon & Benjamin Marine Railway in Vineyard Haven, Massachusetts, USA, located on iconic Martha’s Vineyard. I was admittedly surprised at the location of our resource and told our resourceful Boatbuilder (previously employed there) exactly that. Self-described on their website as “a small, flourishing, boatyard whose mission and passion is designing building, repairing, maintaining and sailing wooden boats,” it seemed the perfect place to obtain our wooden boat’s new components.
The 1350-pound slabs of eggplant-purple lumber will hold STEADFAST together and get her to another ninety years. Her stem (the very front piece of any vessel) and her knee (which attaches the stem to the keel, or bottom) were originally built of American White Oak and, while we found rot, it was due to ingress of water and not the quality or choice of the product itself. The most common phrase on this project? “It lasted ninety years. It doesn’t owe anyone anything.” And frankly, most of both of the pieces being replaced are still darn solid. These are the originals.
Our second commodity is, perhaps, even more interesting if less exotic and colorful. STEADFAST was built by Brooklyn, New York’s Wheeler Shipyard in 1934; the exterior planking was Old-Growth Long Leaf Yellow Pine, which, according to The North Carolina Division of Parks & Recreation (here) www.ncparks.gov covered millions of acres of the southeastern United States. All harvestable trees experienced that demise by 1930 with the exception of a few in their state parks, one of which is claimed to be a remarkable 473 years old. I was exquisitely curious as to how they would know that about a living tree, but was not able to discern their method of determining such a tremendous and exact age. Does anyone know?
Regardless, we all realize that the natural resources of North America were ransacked upon ‘discovery’, particularly during the Industrial Revolution as it was such a period of massive construction. Prior to that, the British Crown exported many prime products to build warships, which the Colonies then fought against during the Revolution and beyond. The Long Leaf Yellow, also known as Heart or Loblolly Pine, was so strong and plentiful that it was used for everything from factories and railroad ties to boatbuilding. It, like Purpleheart, is naturally rot and insect resistant, allowing many of the beams from textile mills in the south as well as industrial buildings nationwide to be reclaimed. After many dead ends and one strikingly expensive option we were able to track down a true gentleman in Pennsylvania (and were sworn to secrecy) who is currently compiling the 600 board feet required to recreate STEADFAST’s bow with plank materials specified in the 1930’s. Our decision to not use original materials in the knee and stem was influenced by the fact that there aren’t pieces of oak as large as we wanted. You know why; that commodity, too, was overharvested.
Much of the lumber that you see today is Yellow Pine; it grows fast enough to farm and is so resilient that it has become a remarkably renewable resource when well-managed by landowners and lumber companies. The new growth is completely different than the centuries-old giants which fell before any of us were born. The difference between modern lumber and original old-growth is distinctive; note the very tight grain on the left vs a typical new growth plank.
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Is this interesting to you, my readers? I don’t want to lose any of you and hesitated to write a story about lumber until I built this particular paragraph in my mind, standing on the elevated deck of STEADFAST, watching the reflecting pink sunset silhouette a church spire. Here’s the thing. One more thing.
This information about trees is perhaps not relevant to more than a few of you. But what we as curious, present, and forward-thinking individuals, understand and should keep in mind, on a daily basis, is how much we don’t know. And to me, nearly everything is interesting. “Who knew?” The inquisitive, the explorers, the travelers of the world are humbled, I think, when we realize how much we still have to learn, see, and perhaps experience, not everyone wants or is able to wander the planet.
Many of my favorite Substack comments come from readers who are intrigued or even intimidated by my experiences. Living on the water is understandably not appealing to most. I know we’re a little crazy. Many have had admirable instances of their own and now prefer to read from the comfort of their recliner. I hope, from the bottom of my writer’s soul, that I do an appropriate job transporting people to the rough North Atlantic or a quiet Bahamian beach. That is the writer’s goal, after all, isn’t it? To place the reader precisely where you are describing. No simple task, and I take it very seriously.
Reading can take you places that you have never been or never really wanted to go. It can teach you many things. In this modern age the same thing goes for audio and video, although I’m of the generation that I still prefer to hold a book in my hands for the full, relaxing, transporting, immersion. While I say that, every day I experience all of you electronically and IT’S WORKING WONDERFULLY!
Thanks for being interesting. J
Here’s your weekly sunrise from the Eastern Shore of Maryland, or as I call it now, Merry-land. After all, we’re staying through Christmas….
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SPARRING WITH MOTHER NATURE has taken a bit of a turn from jousting on the deep blue sea with white sand and palm strewn remote islands to an unexpected and long term refit/rebuild. Like all dynamics this world tosses us, we adjust. My work on Substack is the best part of my week. I share my unique world with people who buy in, respond, empathize and contemplate. Please share these stories with others who you think may enjoy them. My telling seems to resonate with a few people and that just brings us all closer to humans in a busy, complicated world. So, simply and importantly said, thank you.
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© 2024 Janice Anne Wheeler
548 Market Street PMB 72296, San Francisco, CA 94104
Expressions from centuries past still hold merit, whether first uttered by sailor, farmer, politician or poet. This particular phrase, “The best laid schemes of mice and men oft’ go awry…and leave us nothing but grief and pain. For promised Joy.” (translated from old Scottish). I didn’t know the verbiage or its origins until a bit of laser-fast research with Google (remember Reference Rooms in the Library? Giant, heavy tomes of information which included much less than we now hold in our hand!) taught me the balance and the longevity. Deeper delving uncovered a bit more.
Poet Robert Burns penned “To A Mouse” in November 1785 after destroying its home while tilling his field. Knowing the mouse had much work to do (re-do) before winter, he was inspired to write the tribute, seen it in its entirety here compliments of The Poetry Foundation.
It would be difficult to track or even estimate how many times I uttered “…THE BEST LAID PLANS…” without finishing (or starting, really) the sentence because I didn’t need to. Through time, society has shortened and slightly revised the original work. Now, somewhat perplexedly, most of the English-speaking world knows what those four words mean. I daresay many folks wouldn’t have cared as much as Burns when destroying the dwelling of a tiny, wild rodent. Perhaps I’m wrong (?); many of my readers chimed in last week (thank you!) to say that while some folks are malicious, the majority are still making a positive difference rather than creating chaos in this big ol’ world.
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The entire point is that, more often than not, our plans and schemes do not turn out as anticipated. We even anticipate that they won’t turn out as anticipated! That’s how often things go awry. Sometimes it’s difficult to remember that it’s not always a bad thing. I truly believe that. Most plans not going forward certainly don’t cause such dire circumstances as pain and grief. That was the plan, we say, tossing it aside and moving on.
Many plans on this vessel begin like this:
Plans (long term or short term), are created, communicated and initiated only to hear, oft’ as not, “Good Lord willing and the Creek don’t rise.” While many have interpreted the SPARRING WITH MOTHER NATURE meaning of this phrase, as in, “if nothing goes wrong, I’ll be there,” there is an historic secondary origin that begs discussion. According to Wiktionary, the phrase is actually credited to Benjamin Hawkins, Continental Congress from North Carolina and Indian Affairs Superintendent in the early 1800s. The story goes that he was requested to travel to Washington and his response was “If God is willing and the Creek don’t rise.” At that time, there was tremendous controversy with the Creek Native American People as they were being forcibly detained onto smaller and smaller reservations.
Google AI tells us that phrase is simply an American slang expression((!) I like the historical version myself) that implies or indicates ‘strong intentions that could be frustrated by uncommon but forseeable events.’
Please, tell me what you think. Weigh in. Do you use these phrases? And if so, in what form? Is there a favorite? How many generations do they go back? Do you think the expression created by a Creek rising or a creek rising? We may never know.
For months, as an additional source of income, I submitted stories to magazines, trying to get my first byline. I’ve been published in two. Two. That’s it. That’s all. My little italicized bio at the end of a SAIL Magazine article (June/July 2024) says “Janice Anne Wheeler and Steve Uhthoff depart this fall on a five-year voyage to the Caribbean and South America aboard STEADFAST, a 56-foot 1934 William Hand Jr. ketch. You can explore her work at JaniceAnneWheeler.com.” The second part of the bio is still true, the other part was just a plan. When that story was published, STEADFAST looked like this:
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Now, STEADFAST looks like this:
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Quite an adjustment, for all three of us, to say the least. And, of course, such a plan is not a plan like going to the grocery store this afternoon, it’s a dream, too. It’s big.
When STEADFAST was first contrived in the early 1930’s by designer William Hand, Jr, she looked like this: What a plan. And it, of course, came completely to fruition in 1934. 90 years later, we need a wee bit of repair…
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Ah, THE BEST LAID PLANS. They change. We adjust. We smile. We cry. We laugh. Sometimes we forget what the plan even was! We delve into whatever life tosses our way, if it needs to be tackled, we tackle. If it needs to be embraced, we open our hearts and arms. I believe that somewhere, there’s a little bit of God’s will (however I perceive that entity) involved as well as lots of learning, empathy, flexibility and grit.
Man plans. God laughs. I credit this quote to the boatbuilder that saved this vessel once before, in the 1980’s, contributing years of work and resources. I imagine the origins of that expression, too, go back farther than any of us realize. It always makes me smile so I include it, hoping the same for you. Thanks for being here!
SPARRING WITH MOTHER NATURE, begun just six months ago, was originally envisioned to be stories of travel, sailing and the unending miracles and challenges that Mother Nature presents. Since she presented us with some rather insidious damage in the bow of our big piece of nautical history, we have hauled STEADFAST out in Cambridge, Maryland for the repairs necessary to keep her whole and us safe. It’s both involved and interesting; I’ll definitely be writing about the processes.
The best of human nature has been encountered here; we found a place to live, work & play that, while close to the water, is still a tremendous adjustment. (We do get long, hot showers, something that never happens living aboard). I chose to write on SUBSTACK for the very reason that I could choose all of my own topics and take my writing in any direction that I wished…although I did not foresee this particular creek rise.
*** I will always keep the articles I have written available for free to my readers. If you see value and possess the means, it’s great encouragement to have paid subscribers. If not, simply ‘liking,’ commenting, restacking and sharing these tales helps spread the word about me and what I have chosen to do. There should be someone on your email list that would be intrigued!
Most importantly, YOU ARE TREMENDOUSLY APPRECIATED!
And lastly: our weekly sunrise. These can be seen on Facebook YACHTING STEADFAST each and every morning until 2025. This one’s from the scaffold, where I spend an inordinate amount of time writing stories in my brain and pulling really old cotton out from between these long, lovely planks. Later, we’ll show you how to put all those components back!
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Richard V. Woods Memorial Bridge, Beaufort, SC Photo by Tony Kukulich
Click here for South Carolina’s movable bridges come from a different time. Some are here to stay.
By Tony Kukulich tkukulich@postandcourier.com Sep 1, 2024
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Click here for Yachting in Florida: Essential Safety Requirements and a $150 Ticket-Saving Tip
Click Here To View the Cruisers Net Western Florida Marina Directory Listing For Riviera Dunes Marina Resort
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I imagine this is what the plant has looked like since it moved here in 1921.
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Oriental is home to longtime CRUISERS NET SPONSOR, Oriental Marina and Inn, lying on the eastern banks of inner Oriental Harbor. Our thanks to Bob423 for this information.
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In one way of thinking, corals are part animal, vegetable, and mineral. How is that possible?
Click here for NOAA Ocean Today Back-to-School Guide!
According to a recent news article Tampa Bay is facing some serious environmental issues. A massive untreated wastewater spill during Hurricane Debby has added to existing concerns about the health of the area’s estuaries. The storm overwhelmed the sewage systems, leading to millions of gallons of raw and partially treated wastewater spilling into streets, canals, and natural waterways.
Rapid Ocean Warming in 2023
Tampa Bay Sea Surface Temperatures
To address this, I examined the average SSTs for July and August, which are typically the warmest months in Tampa Bay, to determine if there is an accelerated warming trend. Using data from “seatemperature.info,” it is evident that SSTs in Tampa Bay for July and August 2023 were notably higher than in previous years, with data available from 2007 onward.
A quick calculation indicates that the warming trend for Tampa Bay from 2007 to 2022 was approximately 0.07°F per year which is about twice the longer-term rate of 0.034°F per year (1970-2020). However, including the 2023 data, the trend rises to 0.10°F per year, representing an increase of about 43%. This suggests that the temperatures in July and August of 2023 were anomalously high, and incorporating this data might skew the long-term warming rate. To better understand whether 2023 represents a one-time anomaly due to a rare combination of natural factors or signals a shift in the longer-term warming trend, it would be prudent to wait a few more years. This additional time will help clarify whether the observed increase is part of an ongoing trend related to climate change or an isolated event. Fred Pickhardt Fred Pickhardt’s Substack is free today. But if you enjoyed this post, you can tell Fred Pickhardt’s Substack that their writing is valuable by pledging a future subscription. You won’t be charged unless they enable payments.
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Guests at the Bayview Hotel flock to the sandy bank of the Pamlico River during the establishment’s heyday. Photo courtesy Historic Port of Washington Project Read more at Coastal Review, coastalreview.org.
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When all else fails, try journalism. Miami Beach Cracks the Anti-Cruiser CodeCan’t Just Kick ‘Em Out? Make It So They Can’t Get Food Instead
Municipalities convinced that liveaboard boats lead to derelict boats now have a foolproof solution to the problem—as long as they share the same moral code as Cruela de Ville and the City of Miami Beach. August 2024 will mark the month Miami Beach found the formula for victory over what it calls “boat squatters.” This tony seaside community has had a long-running feud with cruisers that has gone through several phases, often turning on the latest change in Florida anchoring laws. Late last year, the city’s latest hope of legislating local anchoring out of existence fell short. Senate Bill 192 would have limited anchoring within 200 yards of any part of Miami Beach between the MacArthur Causeway to the Julia Tuttle Causeway. In its amended form, it only banned anchoring between a strip of islands along the Venetian Causeway crossing Biscayne Bay. If you aren’t familiar with the geography, no worries. One legislator said the amended bill affected about three percent of waters originally included, most notably not the part near downtown referred to as Sunset Harbour. The liveaboard community was relieved by the compromise, but not for long. Starve ‘EmTheir nemesis, Miami Beach Commissioner David Suarez, had a clever plan. His idea was to deprive them of the ability to buy food. “Since we can’t control what happens on the water, we can certainly control how you get to land,” Suarez told Miami’s Local 10 News. Once upon a time, cruisers in the vicinity of Sunset Lake and Venetian Causeway had three ways to get ashore to buy groceries and enjoy the amenities of downtown Miami Beach, which was just a 15 minute walk away. They could tie their dinghies to a canal-side dock by Publix supermarket, dock them at the Maurice Gibb boat ramp or lie alongside a canal bulkhead. With Suarez as point man, the City Commission eliminated these options one by one, first by tearing out the Publix dock, then outlawing bulkhead tie-ups and finally severely restricting access to the Gibb ramp service dock. Writing for the Miami Herald, Aaron Leibowitz said:
Checkmate, boat squatters! You can no longer buy groceries, walk the dog or grab a Cuban Sandwich at the Havana 57. Mooring FieldMany Southern sailors have expressed hostility to mooring fields, even though land access and amenities (showers, holding-tank pump-outs and laundry facilities) are baked into the formula. Miami Beach has a plan for just such a mooring field at Sunset Harbour and nearby, which will accomodate 147 boats, some portion of which will be for liveaboards. According to the Herald, there are typically about 100 liveaboard boats at anchor nowadays. The newspaper quoted some of the boat people as welcoming the idea of a mooring field, and why wouldn’t they at this point? The city has set March 2026 as the target for opening the planned mooring field for business, as shown below:  In his crusade to run-off liveaboards—Suarez called it his No. 1 priority—the freshman commissioner made an environmental case against anchoring. He alleged (as one does) that everyone was pumping raw sewage into the bay and that their anchor chains were scraping seagrass off the bottom. Loose Cannon rarely has reason to praise conventional media for coverage of boating issues, but there is an exception. On February 28, Miami’s WPLG Local10 television news—specifically journalist Louis Aguirre and producer Anastasia Pavlinskaya Brenman—aired an excellent story that used hard data to rebut both Suarez claims. Hardly anyone was pumping overboard based on police inspections, and, according to experts, there was hardly any seagrass there in the first place—not for decades. Which begs the question: Why not just wait until March 2026, and let the new mooring field take care of whatever it is that Miami Beach sees as the problem? According to Florida law, no one can anchor in a mooring field or close by. Surely the insurance requirement and monthly rent, which is likely to be pricey, will screen out boats likely to become derelict. So, what is your motivation, David Suarez? Admit it, you and your fellow commissioners are just real-life Cruelas. LOOSE CANNON covers hard news, technical issues and nautical history. Subscribe for free to support the work. If you’ve been reading for a while—and you like it—consider upgrading to paid. |
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