The burnout-out containership X-Press Pearl is continuing to slowly settle to the bottom off Sri Lanka with the salvage and firefighting teams continuing to monitor the situation while the investigation into the disaster continues. The owners of their vessel also apologized for the disaster while defending the actions of the ship and its crew.

A day after the stern of the X-Press Pearl came to rest on the seabed, the bow section of the vessel remains above water but also continues to slowly settle. Divers from the Sri Lanka Navy working with the salvage team from SMIT attempted to inspect the ship but they were forced to call off their efforts due to poor visibility underwater.

More.

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We snagged this from Forbes.  What a kook.

Throughout the Covid-19 pandemic, American designer Steve Kozloff has surprised the world with his wild concept boats. Released in drips and drabs through his Goliath Series, the designs have become increasingly unusual. Onlookers thought the pinnacle had been reached with the Arctic Owl superyacht (pictured below) but the new Galleon gigayacht might be the most bonkers of them all. Title inspiration thanks to The Byrds.

Read on.

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Damn, that’s a lot of blades in the water.  We’re guessing it likes a breeze. Check it.

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Robert John McNulty, 75, of Lake Las Vegas, NV, passed away on May 26, 2021. Bob was born in Inglewood, CA in May 1946, and after high school he joined the Navy and served four years. He completed three tours in Vietnam, receiving a Purple Heart for injuries received and winning the American Spirit Honor Medal for his superior achievement and leadership.

Since a very young child, Bob loved the ocean and spent any free time surfing, sailing, or fishing. During the heyday of the California maxi sleds, his Santa Cruz 70 Blondie set a new elapsed record in the 1987 Cabo San Lucas Race of 2 days 22 hours and 2 minutes for the 790-mile course, breaking the previous mark of 3 days 13 hours and 54 minutes. In the 1991 Transpac Race, his Santa Cruz 70 Chance swept their 17 boat class while winning both elapsed and overall honors…

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For the past two weeks, Ocean Fifty boats have clocked up a number of outings as part of the brand new Pro Sailing Tour. During the first two episodes – Brest and La Rochelle -, performing their very first tacks in competition, the new Arkema 4 and its crew skippered by Quentin Vlamynck, clearly demonstrated their potential, winning several legs over the two weeks of regattas. The Ocean Fifty Arkema 4 photo:
 Copyright : Vincent Olivaud / Arkema Sailing

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Yachting World has been asking top sailors and marine industry gurus to choose the coolest and most innovative yachts of our times, and two-time World Sailor of the Year Carolijn Brouwer nominated the Tornado catamaran. The Scuttlebutt editor concurs the Tornado is one of the sweetest boats he’s ever sailed… here’s the report:

“The Tornado catamaran is a really cool boat. It was my introduction to high performance sailing and it had a big influence on me in many ways,” said the Dutch three-time Whitbread/Volvo Ocean Race crew and three-time Olympian…

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Brad Read looks out his office window across Newport Harbor’s Brenton Cove, observing how the puffs fan across the racecourse that’s spitting distance from his ­public-sailing operation’s docks. Small pink and green buoys he set earlier outline the miniature racecourse. Alongside him at his desk is his 37-inch remote-controlled Dragon Flite 95 racing sailboat, Hatey-Eight, a nod to the Beantown puck-slinger David Pastrnak. The color scheme, of course, is black and gold.

Outside Sail Newport’s headquarters, competitors arrive one by one, raceboats in hand, mylar sails flapping in the breeze. They are the co-founders of Sail Newport’s Thumb Yachting Guild: race programs director Nick Ewenson, pro sailor Anthony Kotoun and round-the-world storyteller Amory Ross. There’s Henry DiPietro, the flock’s shepherd, and his wife, Janet, the scorekeeper. They too have their colorful and decorated vessels in hand. Others eventually straggle in. Today there might be six sailors. Next week there will be 10, and then 15, 20—and so the guild’s roster grows week by week, almost day by day…

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The next time you visit the Bahamas you may find that the people there are carrying a lot less cash. And that’s a good thing. It’s not that they don’t have money, but that they’re using a new type of digital currency that they’re calling “Sand Dollars.”

In a drive-by the central bank to modernize the Bahamas’ payment system and move consumers away from a historical reliance on cash, Project Sand Dollar was designed as a pilot program and rolled out on Exuma in December 2019. It has been favorably received by the public, enough so that there are now plans to expand it to the entire country.

In a press release, the bank emphasized that the digital currency is not a cryptocurrency, like Bitcoin, or a competitor to the Bahamian dollar. Rather it represents a digital version of existing paper currency—legal tender, intended to aid consumers and businesses with limited access to a physical bank. “It will never be different,” says central bank governor, John Rolle. “It can’t differ in value in any way or the other, so Sand Dollars can never be priced differently from Bahamian dollars.”

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