BEYOND THE HORIZON

BEYOND THE HORIZON

January 2024

GREY FLEETS

            Finland dominated U.S. Navy news a few days before Christmas. This Nordic nation, with 800 miles of border with Russia, announced the purchase of 64 new F-35 fighters from the United States to bolster its air forces. At the same time, another Foreign Minister was opening 15 Finnish ports for U.S. Navy usage, five of which will be between Helsinki and the Russian border (about 2 hours by car).

            If that isn’t enough Finnish military news, the same week as the closer bonding between the US and Finnish Defense Departments, the Finnish Navy spotted an unwarranted submarine prowling around the sea between Helsinki and Suomenlinna (an island immediately in front of Helsinki’s harbor), and proceeded to drop depth charges on it.  The ancient fort of Suomenlinna is a mere .5 miles from the harbor entrance. To put things into perspective, Helsinki is only about 125 miles from Russia and 161 nm. To St. Petersburg. 

            Meanwhile, Russia’s sidekick, China, continues to harass ships in Asian waters. They have rammed Filipino merchant ships, hammered fishing crews with water cannons, and created a virtual blockade in narrow channels by anchoring sundry ships side-by-side. USS GABRIELLE GIFFORDS (LCS-10) was trying to transit the area between the Spratly Islands. 

            The old Fat Leonard scandal that ruined many an admiral’s career is back in the headlines because, after years of squabbling, Venezuela allowed the US to extradite Leonard Glen Francis on his multi-million-dollar Navy scam before 2015. He had sole responsibility for supplying Navy ships in Asia because he was bribing sundry admirals, Marine Generals, and ship captains giving him the ability to overcharge for supplies such as fuel, food, and equipment. He even managed to bribe Defense Department officials to ensure that the Justice Department dropped many of his associates’ charges.

            In a novel-like escapade, Fat Leonard, was under house arrest guarding him and his movements; however, the security team all ended up being on his payroll, and conveniently destroyed his GPS tracker that allowed him to escape to South America. He has been living the life in Venezuela since 2014. On the other hand, he is suffering from cancer and needs U.S. medical treatment. You can’t write a book as crazy as the Fat Leonard scandal. 

            Tommy Tuberville, a Senator and former college football coach finally dropped his hold on Navy and Marine Corps Flag Officer promotions allowing 94 officers to move up and to assume their assignments. Herr Tuberville demanded that the Defense Department’s health care insurance forbid paying for any abortion for any reason including death of the fetus or health of the mother. 

            A true man of the South, Coach Tuberville played at Southern Arkansas, and he was the head football coach at Auburn, Ole Miss, and Texas Tech. He was a two-time SEC Coach of the Year and once National Coach of the Year. He is adamantly xenophobic, he berated Donald Trump for being too soft, and admitted to quoting Adolph Hitler. He singlehandedly held up military promotions for months and caused incredible problems for the military. That’s the kind of stuff the people in Alabama want to hear, evidently. Someone please tell the ol’ Coach that the South lost the war and slavery has been eliminated.

            The christened by not commissioned USS IOWA (SSN-797) has a 4-station duty watch which the captain wonderfully named after the 3 state universities and one after the Irish (the Sullivan Brothers were from Waterloo, IA and the only child of one of the boys is very active in Naval Affairs and the sponsor of the USS SULLIVAN BROTHERS). 

ALLISSIONS AND COLLISIONS

            Virtually every day a ship collides with another, sideswipes some stationary object, sinks in bad weather, or has some major problem requiring rescue of crew or assistance. 

            17 November 2023 a tug sank at the La Sala Boatyard. The next day a sailboat heading from Cape Canaveral to Biloxi started flooding and abandoned 90 mils from Hernando Beach. The Coast Guard rescued the couple and their dog.

            KEFFKANETLER, a Turkish-flagged freighter, sank during a storm in the Black Sea. PALADA, a Cameroon ship, dragged anchor, went aground, and broke in half during the same storm.  BLUE SHARKhad to be beached during the storm that must have been a whopper

            SUSAN ROSE, a tug used in salvage operation, sank. Maybe the salvage company can raise their boat. V AMOS broke free and drifted onto the shore…duh, in the Black Sea in the mid-November storm. I think that a Potter 15 sailor would not have enjoyed the Black Sea.

            TWO BROTHERS, a ro-ro, capsized and sank off the Dominican Republic. Six crew were rescued by U.S. Coast Guard but another 6 found safety on the cruise ship CARNIVAL VISTA. I will bet that the latter crew had a more pleasant rescue than those who were saved by the Coast Guard. 

            On 21-December-23 NEW BRIGHT, a Korean tanker exploded and ran aground. Meanwhile, the Thai ferry sank in rough waters in the Gulf of Thailand. The boat is expected to be raised.

INLAND WATERWAYS

            The drought, having wreaked havoc on the Mississippi River, missed certain Southern areas, leaving the Tennessee-Tombigbee as a viable alternative for moving freight from the North to the Gulf of Mexico. Chicago Grain altered its route in the Gulf and Chinese-made equipment for the Ford battery plant was able to sail North. All Tenn-Tom locks and dams are fully functioning.

            The lack of rain filtering into the Mississippi raised some questions about the Corps of Engineers responsibility and ability to maintain channel depths at the mandated 9 feet. A long-forgotten but never-funded law allows the Corps to sustain a permanent depth of 12 feet. Suddenly the Inland Waterways folks have remembered that bill. 

            The Corps is already concerned about water levels at St. Louis that are predicted to be 5 feet below normal. The record low was in 1940 at -6.2 feet, and St. Louis records go back to 1860. Levels at St. Louis are greatly impacted by the Missouri River which is significantly controlled by Gavins Point Dam at Yankton, S.D. which reduced flow from 32,000 cubic feet per second to 15,000 cfs and later dropped it to 13,000 cfs.  As of mid-December, the lower Mississippi was also dropping rapidly.

            Two tow crewmen, Pilot Nick Verdugo and Deckhand Darius Thomas, spied four people in the water after their jon boat filled with water during rough weather.  were honored for their rescue of four people whose jon boat had filled with water in rough weather. They immediately recognized the dangerous situation, hit the general alarm, and ramped up speed. They quickly rescued two adults hanging onto the sides of the boat and two small children under the age of 5 who were still in the craft. The survivors were dried off and warmed up as the two rivermen saved the fishing boat as well. American Waterways gave Thomas and Verdugo the Honor and Excellence in Rescue Operations (HERO) award. The two work for Parker Towing, one of the world’s largest tow companies.   

            Bollinger Shipyards built and delivered the Coast Guard Cutter MELVIN BELL as the 55^th Fast Response Cutter in the program. It is 181 ^st vessel that Bollinger built for the Coast Guard in the last 35 years. This ship has been assigned to the Boston district with the responsibility for coastal security, safety, and environmental protection.

            Melvin Bell was a native Hawaiian who enlisted in the Coast Guard as a Messman but worked his way up to Radioman. He was assigned as a radioman for the Diamond Head Lighthouse on 7 December 1941 when Pearl Harbor was attacked. Bell retired from the Coast Guard in 1958 but added 45 more years as a civilian worker for the Navy giving him a total of 66 years of federal service.

Mv MELVIN BELL

            Reggie McCloud, publisher of BIG RIVER magazine, was given the National Achievement Award by the National Rivers Hall of Fame, the association’s highest honor. He lives in Winona, MN and publishes the magazine dealing with all water related issues of the Mississippi and regional rivers and streams. BEYOND THE HORIZON depends on Mr. McCloud for significant portions of information about Midwest water and environment concerns. 

Reggie McCloud 

YACHT NEWS

            The Sydney-Hobart race of 628 nm commenced with Christian Beck’s maxi LAWCONNECT hitting the line first but immediately encountered furling problems allowing the SKH SCALLYWAG and ANDOO COMANCHE to speed by in the 10 mph breeze from the ENE. The leaders had a slight altercation and the Protest Flag was flown. The guilty did a double turn-around and eliminated punishment. The 100’ SCALLYWAG lost a bowsprit and could not fly a spinnaker while two others retired with sundry issues. 

            A sudden 180-degree wind shift and sudden severe squall caused lots of damage to the fleet including one man overboard. Storms battered the boats for the majority of the race’ however, LAWCONNECT survived her problems and defeated ANDOO COMANCHE by a mere 51 seconds. Ironically, it was lack of wind that allowed the winner to out dual the favored ANDOO COMANCHE by a series of aggressive jibing within the River Derwent, the end line. Although he won the race, owner Christian Beck called his boat a “shit box” and offered to sell it! The true winner will be declared after reviewing sundry concerns, issues, and problems; nevertheless, Beck waved the trophy over his head as the crew was doused in champagne.

SAFETY

            Alabama suffered the worst boating death toll of the last 20 years and spawned a series of new laws and clarification of certain mandates. After 25 people died in boat accidents within the state, the legislature made “boat violations” punishable by a $200 fine or 30 days in jail. Such violations include requiring all children under 8 years of age to be wearing a life jacket, all boats must pass a safety inspection (visitors have 45 days to accomplish this task), and all accidents must be reported to county officials. The Coast Guard said that 636 people died this year in recreational boating accidents. A quick YouTube view shows a pretty fair reason people die on the water. 

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