The News, Culture and Practice of Sailing woodenboats
in Australia, New Zealand & The South Pacific.
Abandoned Boats a Hidden Problem
“It's like dumping a car in a national park and expecting everyone to be OK with that. I'm not OK with dumping a car in a national park, and we should be treating our beautiful harbour with the same outlook."
The Life at Sea 2024 photography awards
The seafarers’ photography competition, offers a glimpse into a largely unseen world; the hard labour, the camaraderie, the magnitude of the structures that stand as workplaces, and even the occasional beauty of working on ships.
Counter Catastro-phising
The agreement was groundbreaking in its ambition. It led to the near-total cessation of whaling activities, with a few notable exceptions , and has contributed to the resurgence of many whale species, including the largest animal on Earth, the blue whale, Balaenoptera musculus
Going Green, Gone Wrong
Preliminary information from the Blue Schooner Company suggests the vessel was hit by a “sudden and violent” storm, causing it to capsize and sink. Survivors reported donning survival suits and boarding life rafts as the vessel began to sink.
“Not my Problem” is not a solution
This short documentary features more wooden boats than you would see in a year, here in Australia, but that’s not what its about.
‘Once it’s gone, it’s gone’: the last coracle fishers
But like his fellow netsmen, Len Walters remains gloomy about what the future holds. “If you take away the right to fish, you’ll no longer have people making coracles,” he says. “And it’s such an amazing way to fish. All feel. No engines, no noises, just the skill of two boys in a coracle. And it’s sad because once it’s gone, it’s gone. It’ll never come back.”
The return of cargo-carrying sail ships
People don't see the "true ecological price" of container ships. "The price of people falling ill due to the climate change, for instance. That's never paid for."
Very Precious Plastic
All these hands coming together to realise a vision, a common purpose, aspiring for a better world- this is what success looks like. This is what hope looks like. Not passive hope, but hope from action.
Dispatches from The Outlaw Ocean
The oceans are typically and correctly viewed as a marine habitat. But they are much more than that. They are a workplace, a metaphor, an escape, a prison, a grocery store, a trash can, a cemetery, a bonanza, a tinderbox, an organ, a highway, a depot, a window, an emergency, and, above all, an opportunity
20% Less Fuel?
Their research showed that the Seawing would have a pulling power of up to 100 tons meaning it can contribute to propulsion for a ship of over 200,000 tons and over 1,000 feet in length. They project fuel savings on average of 20 percent by deploying the kite sail.
“Sentiment without action is the ruin of the soul”
In essence, we’re just a conceited, naked ape. In our minds we’re some sort of “divine legend” We can walk around the earth deciding who will live and who will die and what will be destroyed and what will be saved.
My activism is the rent I pay for living on this planet
The power of the film comes, not from any particular radicalism that Lamya shows in her work … but by showing the counterpoint of her “normal” life in Paris with the horrors of environmental vandalism around the world.
“Society is defined by what it refuses to destroy.”
There are an estimated six million boats in the EU alone, 95% of which are made of GRP. Every year, around 1-2% (60,000-120,000) of these boats reach the end of their useful life. Of these, only 2,000 are recycled, while 6,000-9,000 are abandoned.
‘It’s a little bit of utopia’
Olivier Barreau and his twin brother, Jacques, are part of a small but growing number of entrepreneurs who are grappling with the problem of how to transport goods across the globe at a scale that makes economic sense, without further damaging the planet.
“Why I love Tasmania”
A speech by Ian Johnston from the City of Hobart’s Speakers’ Corner Series acknowledges why Tasmania is so special and suggests what needs to be done to keep it so.
A Beautiful Boat. A Dirty Job. A Happy Environment.
It’s so invaluable to have these cross hemisphere connections… so when I saw this great little story which covers all the things we at SWS feel are so important, youth involvement, environmental custodianship and female participation, then we felt we had to republish. And surely this is the worlds best looking sewage barge!
APOLLONIA-Trailblazing or Tokenism?
“Yay rich people doing a totally non-scalable thing to make themselves feel better!”…. OR….. “The human race is doomed to destroy our home, but it's better to go out trying to effect positive change than to throw up our hands in embittered despair.”
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