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Captain Lou's Nautical News Headlines

Capt Lou's Nautical News November 10, 2019 GREAT WHITE ATTACKS SEAL IN PLYMOUTH Scott Kelly was pulling in his 10 recreational lobster pots for the season about 100 yards off Manomet Point in Plymouth on Thursday afternoon when he saw a great white shark chasing a seal about 40 feet away from his 14 foot boat. He took a video of the shark attacking the seal and the water instantly turning a bright red. As the feeding frenzy moved to within 25 feet of his boat, Kelly decided it was best to leave in his small boat. He said the shark looked about the same size as his boat. John Chisholm, a shark biologist working with the Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries said the video is a good reminder that sharks are still around, despite the unseasonably cold weather. Chisholm said there are dead seals washing ashore with shark bite marks throughout the year. DIRECTOR OF MASSACHUSETTS MARINE FISHERIES RETIRES After 48 years with the Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries, Director David Pierce PhD has retired effective November 1st. A statement released in the Division Marine Fisheries newsletter said his many decades of service to the Commonwealth and commercial fishing industry were often met with scores of tough challenges and decisions that ensured the resources were harvested within the sustainable levels while supporting the many desires of the commercial fleet. �gMAYFLOWER WIND�h WINS BID FOR 2ND OFFSHORE WIND FARM An 804 megawatt plan by Mayflower Wind won the second Massachusetts state bid for offshore wind energy, as developers forge ahead despite a federal study of how the burgeoning new U.S. market may affect the commercial fishing industry and other maritime interests. Mayflower Wind is a 50/50 joint venture between Shell New Energies US LLC and Portugal's EDPR Offshore North America LLC. Mayflower says it will deliver long-term power below the state�fs original price cap of $84.23 per megawatt hour while creating more than 10,000 jobs in the state over the life of the project. It�fs the latest sign that wind developers remain bullish on the Northeast U.S. energy market – despite a second review of wind plans by the federal Bureau of Offshore Energy Management. NOAA Fisheries officials have refused to sign off on an environmental impact statement saying more study is needed. STELLWAGEN BANK SANCTUARY SEEKS ADVISORY COUNCIL MEMBERS The Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary is seeking applicants for three primary and four alternate seats on its Sanctuary Advisory Council. The Advisory Council ensures public participation in sanctuary management and provides advice to the sanctuary's superintendent. The sanctuary is accepting applications for the following primary seats: Conservation, Marine Transportation, Recreational Fishing, and the following alternate seats: Marine Transportation, Education, Business Industry, and Whale Watch. Completed applications must be received by November 30, 2019. Applicants accepted as advisory council members should expect to serve a 3-year term. The advisory council consists of 36 primary and alternate members representing a variety of public interest groups. It also includes seven seats representing other federal and state government agencies. Contact Elizabeth Stokes at 781-546-6004) for an application or more information. HINGHAM, HULL, BOSTON COMMUTER BOAT COMPANY SOLD Bay State Cruises the owners of the Boston to Hingham and Hull commuter boats has sold its boats to Hornblower Holdings, a Chicago ferry and cruise company for an undisclosed amount. The transfer came at a crucial time as local leaders want to expand commuter boat options. The Chicago company said it expects nearly everyone in the nearly 600-person workforce to remain and the Boston Harbor Cruises name and logo will stay, too. Hornblower officials said they already had a presence in Boston, with two dinner ships Odyssey and Spirit and three charter vessels. Meanwhile, Boston Harbor Cruises will continue to run its water taxis and ferries to Salem and Provincetown and its whale watch boats. LIFEJACKETS FOR LOBSTERMEN SOLD AT 50% OFF Vans containing life jackets for lobstermen were staked out all day at the Beverly Public Pier Monday. The group Lifejackets for Lobstermen said very few lobstermen wear lifejackets while they are working. The group is trying to change that by developing a new kind of lifejacket that they say is comfortable enough to wear all the time. The group will be going �gport to port�h along the coasts of Maine and Massachusetts showing off and selling their newly designed lifejackets. A grant to the group allows them to sell the jackets at a 50 percent discount. LOBSTERMAN RESCUES DEER 5 MILES OFFSHORE A Maine lobsterman spotted a deer in the water about 5 miles offshore. The frightened brown and white creature, which had about 2-inch antlers, was spotted drifting even farther out to sea when the boat�fs crew decided to rescue it. The captain said he just couldn�ft let the poor guy suffer and drown so his crew brought him aboard and dropped him off on the beach! The trip took about a half an hour. Photos showed the deer lying in a corner of the stern of the boat after being rescued. It was obviously completely exhausted. MAINE�fS LOBSTER INDUSTRY FIGHTING FEDERAL REGULATIONS Maine�fs lobster industry and some of its state officials are pushing back against proposals requiring fewer vertical lines in the industry in order to protect the endangered North Atlantic right whales. At a meeting on November 6th, Maine�fs Department of Marine Resources Commissioner called the state�fs counter-proposal – using weaker ropes attached to more traps per line in deep waters the �gline in the sand.�h The state has been fighting back against the federal government�fs proposal to reduce lines by 50 percent, a proposal that the state�fs governor, Janet Mills, called foolish. Lobstermen in both Maine and Massachusetts claim that the entanglement issues that have caused recent whale deaths in te northeast aren�ft related to the gear they use. Most are blaming it on Canadian snow crab rope and not the lobster trap ropes which have weak points built in them. Maine will submit its plan to the National Marine Fisheries Service later this month. LOBSTER BOAT CATCHES FIRE AT FISH PIER IN MAINE This past Tuesday, a 55-foot steel boat named Resolve caught fire at the Fish Pier in Portland, Maine. The Portland and South Portland fire departments responded quickly to the call and had the fire under control within a half an hour. Two people were reported to have been on board at the time. One was treated for smoke inhalation, but no major injuries were reported. The boat, originally from Louisiana, was undergoing some welding and deck work as part of a conversion to the scallop fishery. The welders said they were about two months into the conversion work before the fire. The Maine scallop fishery opens in December. LAWSUIT FILED AGAINST TV�fs �gSHARK TANK�h STAR TV's Shark Tank star Kevin O�fLeary and his wife Linda are being sued by the family of one of the victims in the fatal boat crash they were involved in this past summer. The family is seeking punitive, exemplary, and aggravated damages for wrongful death. Linda was driving the boat at the time of the accident. It was also reported that the family has also sued the driver of the other boat involved as well. The accident occurred on August 24th. According to the police report, the O�fLearys�f boat crashed into the larger vessel, going over its bow and striking one of the passengers in the head. He died instantly. A second person was also killed in the crash. SHIP STUCK FOR 100 YEARS ON NIAGARA FALLS BREAKS FREE In 1918, a barge-like vessel broke free from its tugboat and got lodged in the shallow rapids above Niagara Falls. The two men on board were rescued, but the boat remained stuck in the same spot for more than a hundred years. Then this past Halloween, gusty winds pushed the wreck further downriver. The iron scow as the vessel is known has been eaten away by rust over the years, which may explain why it finally shifted. But the scow did not stay free for long. It has now come to a stop 164 feet downstream and appears to have flipped on its side and spun around. It could be stuck there for days or it could be stuck there for years the parks�f senior manager said. Niagara Parks�f workers are now monitoring the scow. With the river's current and more wind gusts, it could move again and go over the Falls. If that should happen, authorities will have to protect tourists, but for now it�fs looking like the vessel will stay where it is for the �gforeseeable future. Can you imagine what it was like to be stuck on that barge in the middle of the Niagara River? 28 YEARS ON RADIO STATION WATD 95.9 FM Tune in to "Nautical Talk Radio" with Capt Lou and crew Sunday mornings 11-noon (Boston time) on radio stations 95.9FM on 1510AM WMEX for the latest nautical news. Also streamed around the world on www.959watd.com. Listen anytime to replay of recent shows at at www.NauticalTalk.com. Recipient of 2018 Mass Boating & Yacht Clubs "Gannett Award" Winner of MASS/Rhode Island Associated Press "BEST TALK SHOW" Winner of Boston's Achievement in Radio "BEST INTERVIEW" award Recipient of American Lighthouse Foundation's "LEN HADLEY" award Recipient of Coast Guard's Joshua James Lifesaving Medal for public service Nominated Boston's A,I.R. "BEST PRODUCED PUBLIC AFFAIRS PROGRAM" Judge of IBEX Innovation Products Judge of NMMA's Progressive New England Boat Show's Exhibitors 25 Year Retired Status U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary Member of Boston Harbor Islands National Park Advisory Council Member of South Shore Harbormasters Association Member of Mass Marine Trades Association Member of Quincy Bay Race Week Member of Mass Boating and Yacht Club Association Member of Stellwagen Bank Charterboat Association Member of Boat Writers International Member of Boat/US Life Member of Mass Striped Bass Association Life Member and Past Commodore of Metropolitan Yacht Club

 

CELEBRATING 25 YEARS ON RADIO STATION 95.9FM WATD"

Listen to the live broadcast of "Nautical Talk Radio" with Capt Lou and crew, Sunday mornings from 11 - 12 noon (Boston time) on radio station  95.9FM WATD, streaming around the world on www.959watd.com. You can also listen to a replay of recent shows anytime during the week a www.NauticalTalk.com.

* Winner of Mass/Rhode Island Associated Press "BEST TALK SHOW"
* Winner of Boston's Achievement In Radio "BEST INTERVIEW" AWARD
* Recipient of American Lighthouse Foundation's "LEN HADLEY AWARD"
* Recipient of Coast Guard's Joshua James Lifesaving Medal for public service
* Nominated Boston's A.I.R. "BEST PRODUCED PUBLIC AFFAIRS PROGRAM"
* Judge of IBEX Innovation Products
* Judge of New England Boat Show's Best Exhibitors
* Member of Boston Harbor Islands National Park Advisory Council
* Member of South Shore Harbormaster Association
* Member of Quincy Bay Race Week Association
* Member of Stellwagen Bank Charterboat Association
* Member of Boat Writers International
* Life Member of Mass Striped Bass Association
* Life Member and Past Commodore of Metropolitan Yacht Club