Capt. Gary Chiljean
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The Catch of the Day
A 25 pound albacore tuna recently caught off the coast of Oregon. Life is good.
The Boston Marine Society
I’m proud to have recently been admitted to membership into the Boston Marine Society, the oldest association of sea captains in the world.
Back in the days when men “went down to the sea in ships, that do business in great waters”, seafaring was a dangerous business; storms, pirates, uncharted seas and war took a heavy toll. Facing these common dangers, a group of Boston sea captains, formed "a loving and friendly Society called The Fellowship Club." Membership was limited to those who then, or in the past had commanded vessels. In 1754, this Fellowship Club received a charter from the Royal Governor and according to the charter the purposes of the Society were to "make navigation more safe" and to relieve members and their families in poverty or other "adverse accidents in life." In 1809 the Society changed its name officially to the Boston Marine Society.
Today, into its third century of activity, the Boston Marine Society has remained true to it’s original charter. Distressed mariners and their families continue to receive support from the Society, and the safety of navigation remains an active concern. Having had several homes, the first at the original Sun Tavern in Boston, the Society’s present residence is in the former Shawmut Bank building at the Charlestown Navy Yard, now part of the Boston National Historical Park. The items on display there, so generously donated by its members, and carefully preserved by the Society, reveal not only the history of a distinguished institution but also help tell the story of one of America's oldest and most important ports. Feel free to stop by for a visit when you’re in the area. Exhibit hours are Monday thru Friday from 9:30 AM to 3:30 PM. And be sure to check their web site at: www.bostonmarinesociety.org
Jack and Jay
I am so proud of my two handsome grandsons, Jack and Jay, and they give me so much pleasure spending time with them. As I get closer to my retirement, I look forward to hanging out with these 2 guys as much as I can. Here's a recent photo of my 2 little fire-fighters during a visit to the Bridgewater Fire Station.
Technology
Everyday, I can’t help but be amazed on the strides we’ve made in the field of technology. Twenty years ago, before the days of cell phones, Ipods, emails, and the Internet, mariners that went to sea were pretty much isolated from the outside world. That wasn’t necessarily a bad thing, but what a difference
between then and now.
In the old days, and that wasn’t too long ago, our main connection to the outside world was by way of the U.S. Postal Service, back when you could send a letter with a 22 cent stamp. You could make a phone call by satellite, but for $3.00 per minute, you couldn’t afford to just chit-chat. There was always the marine operator, but the whole world could listen in, so who needed that.
Last year, my ship Atlantis installed an Internet access tool called HiSeasNet (see photo below). Wow, this changed everything. We now have Internet access out at sea. This amazing piece of equipment puts us back in touch with the real world on a daily basis. We now get the latest news, weather, sports, and email almost instantly, thousands of miles out at sea.
This has really made a significant difference in my Nautical Vows JP services. Now, as people check out my web site and email me while I’m away at sea, I can send them an answer without any delay. I can honestly say that without access to the Internet out at sea, I probably wouldn’t be able to operate my Nautical Vows business.
Thank you, technology.
The HiSeasNet dome antenna on board Atlantis
My Favorite Place
People ask me all the time: “Where’s the most interesting place that you’ve ever visited?”
I usually hesitate a bit before answering that question since I’ve been to so many interesting ports during my 40 years of going to sea. My job has taken me to intriguing, isolated islands, majestic mountains, pristine beaches, lush tropical rain forests, and areas of huge icebergs broken off from massive glaciers. So, with all that traveling, how can I realistically pick just one “favorite place”?
Well, my favorite place is not really a port at all. In fact, you can’t get there by boat, by jet plane, by train, or by car. You can’t walk or swim there. The sun never shines there. There is no air, no clouds, and no weather. Very few people have ever been to this place, and it’s unlikely that anybody will ever see it, as I saw it, again. Yet life thrives there, and since there is no sunlight, there is no photosynthesis. Life survives there by a process known as chemosynthesis.
Are you beginning to figure it out yet? Well here it is:
On April 22, 1988, I had the unique opportunity to make a dive on the mini-research submarine “Alvin” to a place 8500 feet below the surface of the ocean; a place known by marine scientists as “Rose Garden”. Located in the Eastern Pacific Ocean about 250 miles east of the Galapagos Islands, scientists first discovered “Rose Garden” on an expedition led by Dr. Bob Ballard in 1977. It was during this historical expedition when scientists first discovered the super-heated geothermal vents that were supporting amazing new life-forms, never before known or seen.
As “Alvin” descended to the seafloor on my dive, and the Pilot turned on the floodlights, I looked out my small viewing port and was astonished to see with my own eyes these gigantic red tubeworms, foot-long giant clams, mussels, crabs, and bizarre looking fish, surviving only on chemicals produced by these hot water vents. I realized how fortunate I was to experience this once in a lifetime opportunity that so few people will ever get a chance to see.
Recently, scientists returned on an expedition to “Rose Garden”, and were surprised to discover it had all gone away. They speculate that some time after 1990, there was a seafloor eruption that may have overrun it with lava—like Pompeii after Mount Vesuvius erupted. But the hot vents were still there, and new life was popping up all over again.
So, even though my visit only lasted a couple of hours, and what I saw is no longer there, I’d have to say that “Rose Garden” was my all time favorite place.
My return from the deep sea - April 22, 1988
The Green Flash
One of the most fascinating atmospheric phenomenon’s that you will ever
observe is the event known as the “Green Flash”. It is seen rarely by the naked eye, primarily because it requires specific conditions to occur, but also because it requires the observer to know what to look for. Despite the name, there really is no "flash" at all; the event only lasts for about a fraction of a second to maybe, at the longest, a few seconds.
So what actually is this elusive “Green Flash”?
When the atmospheric conditions are right, at the last moment of the setting Sun, its upper edge or limb blazes with an emerald green color for a few seconds before disappearing below the horizon. It can also occur at sunrise, but this is even more challenging, since you’ll need to be looking exactly where you predict the sun will come up.
The ocean is the ideal place for observing the “Green Flash”, best on an evening with only a few scattered clouds, out far enough to have less effect from pollution and a clear view of the horizon uncluttered by foreground objects. Very few people have actually had the opportunity to see this "flash" and thus, many are skeptical that such a phenomenon really even exists. But after seeing it on many occasions, I can testify, it’s real and it’s spectacular.
What’s even more elusive than observing the “Green Flash”, is photographing it.
The photo below was taken at sunset off the coast of Oregon in 1985.
Someday if I'm really lucky, I'll get to see a "Green Flash" of the moon.
The Seven Seas
You may have heard the expression "sailing the seven seas", but have you ever wondered where these "seven seas" actually were located?
Well, I did a little research and here's what I found:
To the ancients mariners, "seven" often meant "many" and before the fifteenth century, when the world was thought to be flat, the many seas of the world were:
- the Red Sea
- the Mediterranean Sea
- the Persian Gulf
- the Black Sea
- the Adriatic Sea
- the Caspian Sea
- the Indian Ocean
As you can tell these bodies of water are all within the part of the world that were most familiar to the mariners.
Now that the world is round, (or at least we think it is) here's a list that I consider to be the "seven seas" that I've sailed during my sea-going career:
- the Caribbean Sea
- the Mediterranean Sea
- the North Sea
- the Sargasso Sea
- the Norwegian Sea
- the Tasman Sea
- the Sea of Japan
Not to mention the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, and the Gulfs of Mexico, Alaska, California, Panama, and Tehuantepec. Oh, and then there's all the Staits, Sounds,
and Bays.
So now that we have the "seven seas" figured out, have you ever wondered where the "four corners of the world" are?