©Photo:Stefano Gattini/Italia Challenge
Stefano Gattini sent me the following pictures from the first day of the Louis Vuitton Pacific Series. For the results visit the LVPS official website
©Photo:Stefano Gattini/Italia Challenge
©Photo:Stefano Gattini/Italia Challenge
©Photo:Stefano Gattini/Italia Challenge
©Photo:Stefano Gattini/Luna Rossa Challenge
©Photo:Stefano Gattini/Luna Rossa Challenge
©Photo:Stefano Gattini/Luna Rossa Challenge
©Photo:Stefano Gattini/Italia Challenge
Today in Auckland, New Zealand, It's the first day of regattas for the Louis Vuitton Pacific Series, a great chance to see almost all America's Cup sailors back in action, engaged in high-level match racing after more than one year and a half since the end of the 32nd America's Cup (and still without any clue about the future of the 33rd, entangled in legal quarrels). 10 teams is going to race in kiwi waters:
Alinghi, China Team, Luna Rossa, BMW ORACLE racing, Team Origin, Pataugas K-Challenge, Damiani Italia Challenge, Greek Challenge, Team Shosholoza and Emirates Team New Zealand.
My friend Stefano Gattini is already there covering the event and send me these pictures of the first days of training.
For more info visit event official website at louisvuitton-pacificseries.com
©Photo:Stefano Gattini/Italia Challenge
©Photo:Stefano Gattini/Italia Challenge
©Photo:Stefano Gattini/Italia Challenge
©Photo:Stefano Gattini/Italia Challenge
This bold heron clearly isn’t worried by rules!
The elegant long-legged bird was spotted in Bushy Park, near Hampton Court Palace, Surrey.
©Cabrillo Marine Aquarium
No, you're not looking at a toon charachter.. this little creature that is smiling (well at least that seems smiling) to you is a Banded Piglet Squid (Helicocranchia pfefferi), a small squid that lives at depths of more than 100m (300ft).
This "happy" specimen, photographed by the Cabrillo Marine Aquarium's director Mike Schaat, has developed what appears to be a smiley face, caused by a particular alignment of skin pigments...
Obviously Piglet Squid's name derives from its appearance but I think that in this picture, more than a piglet lookalike, it's a clone of Gonzo the great, the famous Muppets charachter!
Look at the picture on the left and compare it with our Squid... the tentacles with the hair, the funnel (syphon) with Gonzo's nose.. they are really similar! Well ok, the squid is much fatter but this is due to Helicocranchia's habit of filling up with water.Piglet squids stil are quite enigmatic creatures. Very little known of its biology. It has been observed from submersibles in their typical head down orientation, but no one is sure why. It is a sluggish swimmer with ammonium ions in its body fluid that help keep it bouyant. A large light producing organ (photophore) is located beneath each of its large eyes.
It is its habit of swimming upside down (compared to the way we are used to see other squids) , which makes its tentacles look like a crazy mop of hair. In the following pictures, taken by a submersible robot of a deep-sea barge (on the background) off the Gulf of Guinea, West Africa, it becomes much clearer its resemblance to a piglet.. the syphon really looks like a pig's snout.
©serpent project 2006
©serpent project 2006
Finally I just want to add that the Piglet Squid is not the only Toon-like crature of the abyss.. look at the Dumbo Octopus:
Dumbo Octopus and other amazing creatures from the deep ocean are the protagonist of the following post: Creatures from the abyss
After "The most embarassing moment in the history of mankind" and "The most embarassing moment in the history of mankind... second place!" the new experience to laugh your head off (if you are not the protagonist of course..) is set at the wedding... the perfect place for an Epic Fail!
The slip of the best man is ridicolous enough in and of itself, but having pushed the pastor and the bride in the pool, transform him in the worst best man ever (in his defence it must be said that probably the choice of the place has been a little unwise...)
Picture: PAUL GROVER
A 16-foot sculpture of a female polar bear and her cub floated down the Thames today in a bid to raise awareness of their endangered habitat.
The work was commissioned by Eden, a new digital television channel devoted to natural history programming.
The sculpture was made by 15 artists over two months, measures 20 foot by 20 foot, weighs 1.5 tonnes and travelled 7.5 miles down the river this morning from Greenwich to the Houses of Parliament.
Wildlife broadcaster Sir David Attenborough said: "The melting of the polar bears' sea ice habitat is one of the most pressing environmental concerns of our time. We need to do what we can to protect the world's largest land carnivores from extinction"
Getty
PAUL GROVER
GETTY
GETTY
PAUL GROVER
AFP/GETTY
GETTY
Click the picture for a larger version
Stop climate change before it changes you.Advertising Agency: Germaine, Antwerp, Belgium
Creative Director: André Plaisir
Art Director: Gilles Stienon
Copywriter: Geerard Van de Walle
Photographer: Christophe Gilbert
Published: January 2008
The umpteenth WWF capaign to raise awareness against the global warming. As usual it's very nice, so nice that I think that the idea could have devoleped further and other different fishmen (or squidman, octopusman, sharkman, crabman.. the possibilities are almost endless) could have been created. Don't you think?
Mikel Pasabant/Telefonica Black/Volvo Ocean Race
Telefonica Black in 50 knot winds near the Philippines, on leg 4 of the Volvo Ocean Race, from Singapore to Qingdao, China
Two days ago the fourth leg of the Volvo Ocean Race has suddendly turned into a hell of strong winds and hude waves when the fleet have been hit by a severe storm while crossing the Luzon Strait in their route from Singapore to Qingdao. Almost all the boats have been damaged and have undergo reparations. The worst situation has occured to Telefonica Black, Fernando Echavarri's crew has been forced to withraw from this leg and find shelter.
Mikel Pasabant/Telefonica Black/Volvo Ocean Race
Telefonica Black in 50 knot winds near the Philippines, on leg 4 of the Volvo Ocean Race, from Singapore to Qingdao, China
But let's see the chronical:
The subtlety of the chess game has been replaced by the misery and physicality of the assault course. Is it going to come down to the last man standing, as the remnants of the fleet embark on a dangerous crossing of the Luzon Strait, while others seek shelter from the storm?
Gabriele Olivo/Telefonica Blue/Volvo Ocean Race
Telefonica Blue takes a battering as huge storms hit the fleet, on leg 4 of the Volvo Ocean Race
02:00 Saturday - PUMA turned south while leading and headed downwind, they’ve stopped in a bay just south of the town of Vigan - but reported no details on the nature or extent of the presumed damage.
05:30 Saturday – The new leaders, Telefonica Black, pulled out and sheltered by the coast for almost three hours to change to their storm trysail, after reporting that the boat was unmanageable with two reefs in the mainsail. This sail change was before it even started to get properly rough.
Mikel Pasabant/Telefonica Black/Volvo Ocean Race
Telefonica Black repair their J2 sail, on leg 4 of the Volvo Ocean Race, from Singapore to Qingdao, China
07:00 Saturday Telefonica Black turned back from the Luzon Strait after taking a hammering in the enraged sea state, whipped up by fierce winds and an opposing current. The team was concerned about a crack that had developed in the hull-deck joint. The initial plan was to find shelter in the lee of the Philippines, and examine the damage.
07:15 Saturday - Delta Lloyd turned back from the Luzon Strait for the calmer waters of the coast to repair unspecified damage.
08:30 Saturday - Green Dragon, already nursing a damaged rig, followed Delta Lloyd’s lead and headed inshore.
At 10:00 Saturday, Telefonica Blue were still going out into the Strait, followed by her sistership Telefonica Black. Behind them, the two Ericsson boats, 4 and 3, were also still sailing upwind, but had not yet reached the northern tip of the Philippine Island of Luzon. That’s where they have to make a decision to leave its shelter and embark on the crossing. Conditions have been horrendous – the graph of Maximum Wave Height (MAX_WV_HGT in the Data Centre) shows peaks of 14 metres for Telefonica Blue, with True Wind Speed (TWS) maximums of almost 50 knots for Telefonica Black.
Gabriele Olivo/Telefonica Blue/Volvo Ocean Race
Telefonica Blue hammers through the Luzon Strait on leg four
Gabriele Olivo/Telefonica Blue/Volvo Ocean Race
Telefonica Blue hammers through the Luzon Strait on leg four
10:30 Saturday - Skipper Ken Read reports in an audio interview, with Amanda Blackley, that PUMA has a broken boom, and Delta Lloyd have just pulled into the same bay to repair their damage. Delta Lloyd have officially suspended racing to complete their repairs
Rick Deppe/PUMA Ocean Racing/Volvo Ocean RacePUMA Ocean Racing break their boom on leg 4 of the Volvo Ocean Race
4:00 Sunday - Telefonica Blue continues to lead, showing great skill and daring in tackling the Luzon Strait. At 04:00 GMT, Telefonica Blue was less than 50 miles south of Taiwan and the team appears to have chosen to head to the east of the island. Skipper Bouwe Bekking reported from on board that conditions had moderated somewhat, but that it was still 'nasty'.
Gabriele Olivo/Telefonica Blue/Volvo Ocean Race
Telefonica Blue takes a battering in heavy storms, on leg 4 of the Volvo Ocean Race, from Singapore to Qingdao, China
4:30 Sunday - Telefonica Black informed the Race Office it would be retiring from the leg to Qingdao.
"The most important thing for this team is the safety of the crew," said team CEO Pedro Campos at the time. "I'm really proud of the work that both of our teams have done, facing a storm after leaving the coast of the Philippines."But this morning, the team has decided there is no chance it can race the boat to Qingdao and retired from the leg.
"We survived the worst part of the storm, but still have a stiff breeze and nasty seas," he wrote. The skipper has been confined to his bunk with a bad back, but he says the rest of the team has done an incredible job. "They all worked as a great team in the last 36 hours. Since I was still stuck to my bunk, with a back muscle injury, the only thing I could do was stay awake and give my input and advice - above all 'BOYS, KEEP IT ONE PIECE!!!'"
Mikel Pasabant/Telefonica Black/Volvo Ocean Race
Telefonica black forced to withraw form the fourth leg of the VOR by severe storm
18:00 Sunday - Trouble struck for a third time on an eventful fourth leg for Green Dragon when the Chinese-Irish boat this afternoon reported a recurrence of bow section damage. Ian Walker and his men were the first to sustain damage on this 2,500-upwind slog from Singapore to Qingdao when they broke their forestay three days' ago. Yesterday, they were among the casualties as a fierce storm struck the fleet in the Luzon Strait near the coast of the Philipines on day seven. They were forced to seek shelter along with PUMA, Delta Lloyd and Telefonica Black, with damage to the bow section. Having suspended racing, taken the requisite 12-hour penalty and spent most of their time making repairs at anchor in Salomague Bay, they resumed racing at 08:45 GMT this morning. Six hours into their restart, the crew reported that the repairs they had made to the forward ring frame – a structural component – were not holding as expected and they have been forced to throttle back. They will proceed with caution in crossing the Luzon Strait while weighing up their options.
Guo Chuan/Green Dragon Racing/Volvo Ocean Race
Tom Braidwood leads the crew in repairing damage sustained in 50 knot winds, on leg 4 of the Volvo Ocean Race, from Singapore to Qingdao, China
Check VolvoOceanRace.org for updated news
Or click here to see all SeaWayBLOG articles about VOR
(all the pictures courtesy of Tasmania Parks and Wildlife Service)
A pod of almost 48 Sperm Whales have stranded two days ago on a sand bar at Perkins Island near Smithton, on Tasmania's north-west coast. During these two days Australian rescuers have tried to save 12 of them that were still alive, but the sperm whales are simply too big and heavy to be moved and when the sun's out the animals just heat up incredibly quickly, the blubber, which is a real asset to them in the deep cold waters, just really makes them heat up quickly, on top of that the site of the stranding can only be reached with boats and during the high tide making everything more difficult.
Therefore one by one the sperm whales died till this morning when the last one passed away leaving the rescuers with a horrible sense of powerlessness.
This kind of stranding it's not new at all, the following links leads to other SeaWayBLOG articles about recent strandings:
©Stefano Gattini/Joe Fly
Just a bunch of great pictures that my friend Stefano Gattini sent me from Key West, where he is covering the Acura Key West 2009 sailing event.
©Stefano Gattini/Joe Fly
©Stefano Gattini/Joe Fly
©Stefano Gattini/Joe Fly
©Stefano Gattini/Joe Fly
©Stefano Gattini/Joe Fly
