SeaWayBLOG: October 2009

Cannibal Monster Shark spreads terror in Australia

Photo: QLD Primary Industries and Fisheries Dept

A 3mt long Great White Shark has been found nearly bit in half but what experts think should be at least a 6mt (20ft) monster (just for you to compare: the fictional monstre shark from the movie "Jaws" was just 1 meter longer)!

Photo:Courier Mail

The wounded creature was still alive when a crew hauled it onto a boat, close to Deadman's Beach.
Swimmers have been warned to stay out of the water off Stradbroke Island

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Sharky, the tea-infuser

This is a great design idea that recalls another one that I've spoken about one year ago in a post entitled There's shark in your mojito!
This time I should say "there's a shark in your tea" because we're speaking about a really well designed infuser.
Sharky, that's its name, won the 3th prize in the "Beyond Silver" competition by designboom.com.

This floating tea-infuser looks just like a shark fin swimming in circles in the waters of your tea mug! and the streamers of steeped tea could become blood for the most imaginative kids...

Pablo Matteoda is the designer and you can see his website here

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An underwater cabinet meeting

The government of the Maldives has held its first underwater cabinet meeting to attract international attention to the dangers of global warming.

It's quite easy to understand why Maldivians are so concerned about this issue: Maldives, the heavenly archipelago of atolls and islets in the Indian Ocean, are so close to sea level that a water rise poses a serious threat for them.

Most of the Maldives lie less than three feet above sea and scientists have warned that the islands could become uninhabitable within 100 years (provided a rise of 7-24 inches).

Eleven of the 14 cabinet members attended the meeting, conducted with whiteboards and microphones 20 feet underwater, and all signed their wetsuits, to be auctioned off for the cause.

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Doom of the Albatross chicks

©Chris Jordan

When i saw these pictures for the first time, I thought it was very difficult to post something about this topic. I simply prefer nature when it's alive. But on the other hand it's really something that people should be aware of. And we have to be aware of it because we are the source of the problem. There's no better way, however, to explain it using the author's own words:

"These photographs of albatross chicks were made just a few weeks ago on Midway Atoll, a tiny stretch of sand and coral near the middle of the North Pacific. The nesting babies are fed bellies-full of plastic by their parents, who soar out over the vast polluted ocean collecting what looks to them like food to bring back to their young. On this diet of human trash, every year tens of thousands of albatross chicks die on Midway from starvation, toxicity, and choking.

To document this phenomenon as faithfully as possible, not a single piece of plastic in any of these photographs was moved, placed, manipulated, arranged, or altered in any way. These images depict the actual stomach contents of baby birds in one of the world's most remote marine sanctuaries, more than 2000 miles from the nearest continent."
Chris Jordan, October 2009

©Chris Jordan

©Chris Jordan

Chris Jordan is not only a great photographer but also a truly original and creative artist who has recently become famous thanks to his amazing work called "Running the Numbers". Something I would like to speak you about later on.

This is just a selection, click here to see the whole gallery on Chris Jordan's website.

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Alinghi started its training in Ras Al Khaimah

©Guido Trombetta/Alinghi

As I've told in the previous post I've just come back from Ras Al Khaimah (UAE) where Alinghi Team has started its training for the 33rd America's Cup. I post here just a few pictures, more will come later when the time is ripe.... ;) (I've had the wonderful opportunity to go on board Alinghi 5, and this is an experience that won't be easy to forget...)

©Guido Trombetta/Alinghi

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Rolex Middle Sea Race 2009

©Carlo Borlenghi/DSK

While I'm in Ras Al Khaima (UAE) taking pictures to Alinghi 5 first training days in what will be the venue of the 33rd America's Cup (as soon as possible I'll post some pictures) Carlo Borlenghi and Bruno Cocozza were shooting at the 2009 edition of the Rolex Middle Sea Race. The conditions were once more pretty spectacular (in Italy it's very cold right now and Etna volcano was covered in snow as you can see in a couple of pics) and they've sent me these amazing shots: