Welcome to DU! The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards. Join the community: Create a free account Support DU (and get rid of ads!): Become a Star Member Latest Breaking News Editorials & Other Articles General Discussion The DU Lounge All Forums Issue Forums Culture Forums Alliance Forums Region Forums Support Forums Help & Search

Cooley Hurd

Cooley Hurd's Journal
Cooley Hurd's Journal
October 1, 2014

Lifeboat fail? I call it a win!

http://gcaptain.com/watch-lifeboat-launch-fail-leads-perfect-front-flip/

Unfortunately we don’t have any info about this video whatsoever except that we can see it was filmed onboard a Chinese-flagged ship and, yes, it actually does look like someone went along for the ride.



For contrast, another lifeboat test drop (more conventional) :



I love this shit!
September 28, 2014

20 years ago today: MS Estonia disaster

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MS_Estonia#Sinking



The Estonia disaster occurred on Wednesday, 28 September 1994, between about 00:55 to 01:50 (UTC+2) as the ship was crossing the Baltic Sea, en route from Tallinn, Estonia, to Stockholm. Estonia was on a scheduled crossing with departure at 19:00 on 27 September. She had been expected in Stockholm the next morning at about 09:30. She was carrying 989 people: 803 passengers and 186 crew. Most of the passengers were Scandinavian, while most of the crew members were Estonian (several Swedish passengers were of Estonian origin). The ship was fully loaded, and was listing slightly to port because of poor cargo distribution.

According to the final disaster report the weather was rough, with a wind of 15 to 20 metres per second (29 to 39 kn; 34 to 45 mph), force 7–8 on the Beaufort scale and a significant wave height of 4 to 6 metres (13 to 20 ft)[JAIC 3] compared with the highest measured significant wave height in the Baltic Sea of 7.7 metres (25.3 ft). Esa Mäkelä, the captain of Silja Europa who was appointed on scene commander for the subsequent rescue effort, described the weather as "normally bad", or like a typical autumn storm in the Baltic Sea. All scheduled passenger ferries were at sea. The official report says that while the exact speed at the time of the accident is not known, Estonia had very regular voyage times, averaging 16 to 17 knots (30 to 31 km/h; 18 to 20 mph), perhaps implying she did not slow down for adverse conditions. The chief mate of the Viking Line cruiseferry Mariella tracked Estonia's speed by radar at approximately 14.2 knots (26.3 km/h; 16.3 mph) before the first signs of distress, while the Silja Europa's officers estimated her speed at 14 to 15 knots (26 to 28 km/h; 16 to 17 mph) at midnight.

The first sign of trouble aboard Estonia was when a metallic bang was heard, caused by a heavy wave hitting the bow doors around 01:00, when the ship was on the outskirts of the Turku archipelago, but an inspection—limited to checking the indicator lights for the ramp and visor—showed no problems. Over the next 10 minutes, similar noises were reported by passengers and other crew.[10] At about 01:15, the visor separated in which the ship's bow door opened and the ship immediately took on a heavy starboard list (initial 30 to 40 degrees, but by 01:30, the ship had rolled 90 degrees) as water flooded into the vehicle deck. Estonia was turned to port and slowed before her four engines cut out completely.

At about 01:20 a weak female voice called "Häire, häire, laeval on häire", Estonian for "Alarm, alarm, there is alarm on the ship", over the public address system, which was followed immediately by an internal alarm for the crew, then one minute later by the general lifeboat alarm. The vessel's rapid lean and the flooding prevented many people in the cabins from ascending to the boat deck. A Mayday was communicated by the ship's crew at 01:22, but did not follow international formats. Estonia directed a call to Silja Europa and only after making contact with her the radio operator uttered the word "Mayday". In English, the radio operator on Silja Europa, chief mate Teijo Seppelin replied: "Estonia, are you calling mayday?" After that, the voice of Andres Tammes took over on Estonia and the conversation shifted to Finnish. Tammes was able to provide some details about their situation but due to loss of power, he could not give their position, which delayed rescue operations somewhat. Some minutes later power returned (or somebody on the bridge managed to lower himself to the starboard side of the bridge to check the marine GPS which will display the ship's position even in a blackout condition), and the Estonia was able to radio their position to Silja Europa and Mariella. The ship disappeared from the radar screens of other ships at around 01:50,[10] and sank at 59°23?N 21°42?E, about 22 nautical miles (41 km; 25 mi) on bearing 157° from Utö island, Finland, in 74 to 85 metres (243 to 279 ft) of water.

Rescue effort

Search and rescue followed arrangements set up under the 1979 International Convention on Maritime Search and Rescue (the SAR Convention) and the nearest Maritime Rescue Co-ordination Centre MRCC Turku coordinated the effort in accordance with Finland's plans. The Baltic is one of the world's busiest shipping areas with 2,000 vessels at sea at any time and these plans assumed the ship's own boats and nearby ferries would provide immediate help and helicopters could be airborne after an hour. This scheme had worked for the relatively small number of accidents involving sinkings (3 in 2006), particularly as most ships have few people on board.

Mariella, the first of five ferries to reach the scene of the accident, arrived at 02:12. MRCC Turku failed to acknowledge the Mayday immediately and Mariella's report was relayed by Helsinki Radio as the less urgent pan-pan message. A full scale emergency was only declared at 02:30. Mariella winched open liferafts into the sea onto which 13 people on Estonia's rafts successfully transferred, and reported the location of other rafts to Swedish and Finnish rescue helicopters, the first of which arrived at 03:05. The former took survivors to shore, while the latter—Finnish border guard helicopters Super Puma OH-HVG and Agusta Bell 412 OH-HVD—chose the riskier option of landing on the ferries. The pilot of OH-HVG stated that landing on the ferries was the most difficult part of the whole rescue operation; despite that, this single helicopter rescued 44 people, more than all the ferries. Isabella saved 16 survivors with her rescue slide.

Of the 989 on board, 138 were rescued alive, but one died later in hospital. Ships rescued 34 and helicopters 104; the ferries played a much smaller part than the planners had intended because it was too dangerous to launch their man-overboard (MOB) boats or lifeboats. The accident claimed 852 lives (501 Swedes, 285 Estonians, 17 Latvians, 10 Finns and 44 people of other nationalities: 1 from each of Belarus, Canada, France, the Netherlands, Nigeria, Ukraine and the United Kingdom, 2 from Morocco, 3 from Lithuania, 5 from Denmark, 6 from Norway, 10 from Germany, 11 from Russia), by drowning and hypothermia (the water temperature was 10–11 °C/50–52 °F). One prominent victim of the sinking was the Estonian singer Urmas Alender.

94 bodies were recovered; 93 were recovered within 33 days of the accident, and the last was found 18 months later. By the time the rescue helicopters arrived, around a third of the people who escaped from the Estonia had died of hypothermia, and less than a half of those who had managed to leave the ship were eventually rescued. The survivors of the shipwreck were mostly young, of strong physical composition, and male. Seven people over 55 years of age survived. There were no survivors under age 12. About 650 people were inside the ship when it sank. The commission estimate up to 310 passengers reached the outer decks and 160 climbed into the liferafts or lifeboats essential for survival. About 650 of the 757 missing persons are believed to be inside the ship.
September 27, 2014

60 Years Ago Today: The Tonight Show debuts on NBC

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Tonight_Show

The Tonight Show is an American late-night talk show that has aired on NBC since 1954.

Again recorded in New York City, it is the longest currently running, regularly scheduled entertainment program in the United States and the third-longest-running show on NBC after Meet the Press and Today. It is the longest-running talk show in television history, predating Ireland's The Late Late Show by eight years. The show has undergone some minor title changes, having aired as Tonight for several of its early years, before settling on The Tonight Show in 1962. Aside from minor format changes, and a brief move to a more news-style format in 1957 before reverting that same year, it has remained a talk show throughout its run.

The Tonight Show has been hosted by Steve Allen (1954–57), Jack Paar (1957–62), Johnny Carson (1962–92), Jay Leno (1992–2009, 2010–14), Conan O'Brien (2009–10), and Jimmy Fallon (2014–present). Several guest hosts have also appeared, particularly during the Paar and Carson eras. The current host is former Late Night host and Saturday Night Live cast member, Jimmy Fallon.

The longest-serving host to date is Johnny Carson, who hosted The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson for 30 seasons from October 1962 through to May 1992, though Leno has hosted the most episodes over the course of his two tenures and guest-hosting for Carson. The most recent host of the show is Jimmy Fallon, who has hosted the show since February 17, 2014.


September 26, 2014

Two FBI Employees Killed After Their Boat Collided With A Barge On The Ohio River

http://gcaptain.com/two-fbi-employees-killed-boat-collision-barge-ohio-river/

The U.S. Coast Guard is investigating a fatal Thursday night collision between a towboat and a small pleasure craft on the Ohio River near Cincinnati that left two FBI employees dead.

The two people onboard the boat were killed when it allegedly struck a 600-foot barge being pushed by the towboat between Cincinnati and Newport, Kentucky. A statement from the FBI confirmed that those killed were FBI employees.

“It is with great sadness that we advise that two FBI employees were involved in a tragic accident late last night that claimed their lives,” the FBI said in a statement Friday.

Watchstanders at Coast Guard Sector Ohio River Valley received notification of the incident from the Bellvue-Dayton Fire Department, who conducted initial response efforts along with Cincinnati Fire Department and Newport Fire Department. The Coast Guard responded by issuing an urgent marine information broadcast to boaters and establishing a safety zone in the vicinity of the incident.
September 22, 2014

Irony: Subject of PA Manhunt is a "survivalist" yet...

...lived with his parents:

http://www.wjla.com/articles/2014/09/manhunt-continues-for-eric-frein-survivalist-suspect-in-ambush-murder-of-pennsylvania-trooper-107354.html

CANADENSIS, Pa. (AP) - Nine days after a gunman opened fire in a deadly ambush at a state police barracks, authorities have had no contact with the suspect they describe as a self-taught survivalist despite an intensive search that shut down the heavily wooded community where he lived with his parents.
</snip>


September 13, 2014

Bill Hicks about the US and its Military Industrial Complex

Trust me, this is worth the 6 minutes of your time to watch it!!!!



September 11, 2014

Today's the 40th Anniversary of the crash of Eastern Air Lines Flight 212

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eastern_Air_Lines_Flight_212



Eastern Air Lines Flight 212 was an Eastern Air Lines Douglas DC-9-31, carrying 78 passengers and four crew, operating as a scheduled flight from Charleston, South Carolina to Chicago, Illinois, with an intermediate stop in Charlotte, North Carolina. On the morning of September 11, 1974, while conducting an instrument approach in dense ground fog into Douglas Municipal Airport (now called Charlotte/Douglas International Airport), Charlotte, North Carolina, the aircraft crashed just short of the runway, killing 71 on board. Thirteen people survived the initial impact, including the co-pilot and one flight attendant who walked away with no serious injuries; however, three more ultimately died from severe burn injuries. One of the initial survivors died of injuries 29 days after the accident. Among those who died were the father and two older brothers of future American comedian Stephen Colbert; Navy Rear Admiral Charles W. Cummings, acting commandant of the 6th Naval District; three executives of Charleston's The Post and Courier – production manager Lewis Weston, circulation manager Charles McDonald, and mail room supervisor Jack Sanders – television anchorman Wayne Seal of WCIV in Sullivan's Island, South Carolina; and John Merriman, news editor for the CBS Evening News.

The accident was investigated by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), which released its final report on May 23, 1975. The NTSB concluded that the accident was caused by the flightcrew's lack of altitude awareness and poor cockpit discipline.

</snip>


Thinking of Stephen today...
September 11, 2014

Yoshinori Sakai Dies at 69 - lit Olympic Torch 1964, born in Hiroshima 8/6/45

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yoshinori_Sakai



Yoshinori Sakai (坂井 義則 Sakai Yoshinori?, born in Miyoshi, Hiroshima, Japan, August 6, 1945 – September 10, 2014) was the Olympic flame torchbearer who lit the cauldron at the 1964 Summer Olympic Games in Tokyo.

Sakai was born on the day of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima.

He was chosen for the role to symbolize Japan's postwar reconstruction and peace. At the time he was a member of Waseda University's running club.

The nineteen-year-old was coached in the ceremonial duty by Teruji Kogake, a triple jump world record-holder turned coach.

After the Olympic games, he won a gold medal in 1600 m relay and a silver in 400 m at 1966 Asian Games in Bangkok. He joined Fuji Television in 1968 as a journalist and worked mainly in the fields of news and sports. He never actually competed in the Olympics.


Born in Hiroshima, 8/6/45. Died today. Just wow...

Profile Information

Member since: 2002
Number of posts: 26,877
Latest Discussions»Cooley Hurd's Journal