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Laura Dekker, 13 year old Dutch girl, is too young to sail solo around the world. Though her parents have given consent for her two year trip around the world from September 01, the Dutch Council for Child Protection has objected to her sailing adventure.

The Dutch court is also right in banning her voyage, and has placed her under state care for two months, till psychologists assess her suitability to sail solo around the world.

Here is the route map of Laura Dekker’s voyage in her ‘Guppy’ from her website.

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On August 01, Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin dived to the bottom of the world’s deepest lake, Baikal, in the Mir-1 mini-submarine.

Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, age 56 is well known for his adventures. When asked by journalists whether he is intending to visit the International Space Station (ISS) as his next adventure, he told that he has more things to do in Earth than in Space.

View a video clip from Al Jazeera: Putin in submarine adventure – 1 Aug 09

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Exercise Transglobe, by three yachts manned by Royal Navy, Army and Royal Air Force of U.K commenced on July 11.

Some interesting features of Exercise Transglobe are:

• A major Tri-Service adventurous training expedition, participated by members of all three Armed Forces personnel (regular and reserve) of U.K.
• Duration: from July 2009 to July 2010.
• The Yachts: All the three Services are provided with one Yacht Challenge 67 each, for the duration of the Exercise.
  • Yachts are owned by the MOD, U.K.
  • Operated by Joint Services Adventurous Sail Training Centre (JSASTC) at Gosport, Hampshire.
  • Steel-hulled yacht.
  • 67 ft in length from bow to stern.
  • Built by Devonport Management Ltd.
  • The Royal Navy yacht is: Her Majesty’s Sail Training Vessel (HMSTV) Adventure
  • Army yacht is: HMSTV Challenger
  • Royal Air Force yacht is: HMSTV Discoverer
• Crew:
  • Each yacht has a crew of 14 from the respective Service with a mix of abilities and gender.
  • Crews will be changed at each destination.
  • Over 500 sailors, soldiers and airmen will participate.
• Selected crews will represent their respective Service in both the 2009 Rolex Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race and the 2010 Antigua Race Week.
• Route: to be completed in 13 legs.

Here is the route in Google Maps

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Indian Army is preparing to participate in R6 Rafting World Cup Nisava 2009. White water rafting is one of the important adventure Sports in the Army. In the past Indian Army has represented World Rafting Championship 2005 at Equador and World Rafting Championship 2007 at South Korea.

Some interesting features of R6 Rafting World Cup Nisava 2009 are:

• to be held in Nisava river in Serbia on May 30 and 31st 
• to be hosted by Rafting Club Liman
• 37 teams from all over the world are expected to participate
• no entry fee
• prize of 4000 Euro overall
• to be represented by seven members of Indian Army led by Captain Sachin Nikam

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The Royal Navy and the Bangladesh Navy conducted Exercise ‘Shomudro Torongo’ in the Ganges Delta this month. The exercise was aimed to combat terrorism and to gain expertise in natural disaster management. It may be recalled that Bangladesh was also a victim of Cyclone Nargis on May 02 and 03, 2008.

Some interesting features of ‘Shomudro Torongo’ are: 

• ‘Shomudro Torongo’ means ‘Sea Waves’ in Bengali language.
• Five-day joint exercise was conducted from April 29 to May 03 off Kutubdia island, located in the most complicated waterways and coastlines in the world.
• The first major joint exercise in more than a decade, conducted between the Royal Navy and the Bangladesh Navy.
• The Royal Navy participation
  • Amphibious assault ship HMS Bulwark landed Royal Marines ashore into the Ganges Delta and supported them from sea
  • Fast boats and landing craft from 4 and 539 Assault Squadrons Royal Marines
  • Anti-ambush drills, patrolling and the insertion and extraction of observation posts by Charlie Company, 40 Commando
  • Support tanker RFA Wave Ruler off the coast with a Merlin maritime patrol helicopter from 820 Naval Air Squadron embarked to offer essential CASEVAC (casualty evacuation) support as well as assistance in intelligence gathering
  • The crew of HMS Bulwark also went to Ali Akbardeil village on Kutubdia island to help in the construction and handing over of a multi-purpose community house
• The Bangladesh Navy participation
  • BNS Kapatakhaya, an Island Class offshore patrol vessel and other vessels
  • A tour of the flagship HMS Bulwark
  • Also helicopters, Air Force assets and Army Commandos took part including intelligence agencies, police, coastguard
• The joint exercise included an air defence exercise, fire-fighting drills, ship maneuvering serials.

Here is a photograph of ‘Shomudro Torongo’ from the Royal Navy.

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The Royal Australian Navy’s Huon Class Mine Hunters HMAS Yarra (M 87), HMAS Norman (M 84) have located, identified and marked the position of 24 of the 31 containers (images on the right) lost by MV Pacific Adventurer at sea on March 11, during Cyclone Hamish off Cape Moreton.

Some of the interesting features of this container hunting are:

• In bad weather conditions, HMAS Yarra and HMAS Norman were searching for these lost containers by using Variable Depth Sonar since March 18 in the vicinity of the datum point provided by the Master of MV Pacific Adventurer.
• The sonar can detect objects at depths of over 100 metres with detection ranges in excess of 1,000 metres ahead of the ship.
• On March 25,
  • HMAS Yarra successfully identified 22 containers at a depth of 120 metres.
  • The containers are lying on the seabed in groups of two and three, and are in varying states of condition.
• On March 26, HMAS Norman located two more containers on the seabed in very bad shape.
• Images and video footages of the containers were taken by using Bofors Underwater Systems Double Eagle Mine Disposal Vehicles.
• Mine Disposal Vehicles are
  • Equipped with a searchlight, closed-circuit low light television camera and an on-board close range identification sonar.
  • Commands are relayed via a fibre optic link inside the vehicle’s tether, which also relays sensor images for display on the ship’s multifunction console in the operations room.
• Both the ships are continuing their search for the remaining missing containers.

HMAS Yarra (M 87)

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Indian Army has launched Bison Blue Waters Expedition on March 22, from Agatti island in Lakshadweep. Major General Rajesh Singh, General Officer Commanding, Bison Division flagged off the expedition in the presence of civil and military officials, citizens and school children. Yacht Trishna is also part of this this expedition. Yacht Trishna has the distinction of sailing around the world with an all-army crew from September 1985 to January 1987.

Some of the interesting features of this Bison Blue Waters Expedition expedition are:

• the six weeks expedition is being conducted in two phases.
  • first phase: will be full of island based activities to increase the maritime awareness of the armed forces and to educate the local people to conserve the coral reefs in the island.
  • second phase: the ‘Bisons’ will sail in yacht Trishna from Mumbai to Lakshadweep Islands and return via Kochi and Goa over a period of three weeks.
• the adventure team consists of six officers and fifty four other ranks of the elite Bison Division, an amphibious warfare formation of the Indian Army.
• the event started with a beach marathon by army personnel with active participation by local school children.
• thereafter the team demonstrated power rafting, scuba diving and para-motoring.
• the expedition team leader Col Vivek Jaswal said that the team was trained at the premier training institutes of the Indian Army.
• these events will also be held at Kavarati on March 24 and at Bangaram on March 26.
• a special drive would be organized on March 26 to make the youth aware about the recruitment procedures of the Armed Forces.
• a special medical camp would be organized for the benefit of the local population.
• the expedition team will also interact with the people of Lakshadweep Islands, spread awareness about the Army and the need to preserve the fragile ecology of their Islands.
• the expedition is bound to bring the local population closer to the men in uniform.
• representatives of the World Wildlife Fund India and National Geographic are also part of this expedition.

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MV Pacific Adventurer caught in powerful tropical cyclone Hamish, spilled toxic mix of fuel and fertiliser and the Queensland Coast of Australia has become the victim of oil spill. This oil spill is reported to be Queensland’s largest oil spill in more than 30 years. It is further reported that the ship owners could be fined up to A$1.5 million ($1.92 million) and ships crew could be hit with fines of up to A$500,000. Sampling of the vessel’s tanks on March 13, in conjunction with the authorities confirms the amount of oil spilled was a maximum of 42.5 cubic metres (equivalent to approx 42.5 tonnes). Most of the Queensland beaches are closed for clean up and marine tourism is likely to be affected.

Some of the disturbing features of oil spill by MV Pacific Adventurer are:

• On the night of March 09 local time, Tropical Cyclone Hamish with sustained winds of 125 mph was about 270 miles to the north-northeast of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.
• The vessel with 15 crew, that left Newcastle on March 10 was bound for Brisbane. The vessel was caught in tropical cyclone Hamish and on the early hours of March 11, 31 containers of ammonium nitrate from the deck of MV Pacific Adventurer fell into the sea.
• Due to rough weather, the containers with 620 tonnes of ammonium nitrate hit the vessel and punctured the hull. Subsequently fuel oil was spilled and the amount of oil spilled into the sea was a maximum of 42.5 cu metres (equivalent to approx 42.5 tonnes). Previous estimate was 30 tonnes.
• The toxic mix of fuel and fertiliser creating a slick of 10 miles long, 2 miles wide has reached the shores of Moreton Island and on beaches along the Sunshine Coast.
• Moreton Bay on Moreton Island is a marine sanctuary for wide range of sea birds including turtles, dolphins and pelicans.
• Also about one tonne of ammonium nitrate was covering the ship’s deck but the chances of an explosion were low.
• MV Pacific Adventurer is operated by Swire Shipping, a wholly-owned subsidiary of The China Navigation Company Ltd.

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Plastiki, a 60-foot catamaran made buoyant with 12,000 two-litre plastic bottles along the hull, is getting ready to cross the Pacific Ocean. According to Adventure Ecology, fifteen billion pounds (7 billion kilograms) of plastic are produced annually in the U.S., but only 1 billion pounds (.5 billion kilograms) are recycled. Lot of bottles that are not recycled end up floating out at sea.

Some of the interesting features of Plastiki are:

• the expedition is expected to start in end April or early May (earlier plan was to start in end March).
• the skipper is: explorer, environmentalist, and British celebrity David de Rothschild.
• to cover a distance of 11,000 miles (17,703 kilometres).
• to sail from San Francisco to Sydney, with several island stops to explore plastic litter in the ocean.
• the expedition also aims to highlight how plastics can be re-used.
• after the voyage is over, the boat will be broken down and turned into emergency shelters, shipping pellets, clothes and even more bottles.
• view expedition route from National Geographic Adventure Magazine.
• view photographs of Plastiki under construction from Gigapan: view 1 and view 2.
• above image of Plastiki is from Architecture for Humanity.
• view an interesting video clip of Plastiki: A Peek at the Production Happenings on Pier 31.

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Pakistan is preparing to conduct “Aman (Peace) 09″, multinational maritime military exercise in North Arabian Sea from March 05. The first exercise of Aman series was conducted in March 2007. Aman-07 was attended by 14 Ships from Bangladesh, China, France, Italy, Malaysia, UK and USA Navies. Also 21 countries attended the Exercise as observer.

Some of the interesting features of Aman (Peace) 09 are:

• to go on for 10 days.
• slogan of the exercise is: Together for Peace
• 52 countries have been invited to participate including U.S, Russia, U.K, China, France.
• China’s destroyer “Guangzhou” (Hull Number 168) has left on February 21 from Sanya City of Hainan Province to participate in the exercise.

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You can view real pirates at the Field Museum, Chicago. This is an opportunity to get the true tale of Real Pirates. This is a journey into the exciting world of real pirates to experience their fascinating, true adventures. Real Pirates tells the true story of the Whydah, a pirate ship that sunk off the coast of Cape Cod over 250 years ago.

Some of the interesting features of the exhibition are:

• an exhibition from National Geographic
• you can view more than 200 artifacts from the first fully authenticated pirate ship discovered in U.S. waters
  • everyday objects.
  • personal items.
  • treasure chests of jewelry, coins.
  • weaponry such as cannons, pistols, knives.
  • priceless treasures of gold and silver.
• also you can
  • find out what it was like to be a true pirate.
  • the code of conduct they lived by and the surprisingly democratic, outlaw society they created.
  • even learn the steps pirates took to fire a real cannon.
  • step on board a re-creation of the ship’s stern, walk into the captain’s quarters, and go below deck to discover what life was like aboard a real pirate ship.
• can be viewed from February 25 to October 25

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Moviegoers, do not miss to watch the movie “Under the Sea 3D” a new IMAX 3D undersea adventure. The movie is due to be released in theaters this Friday, the 13th.

Some of the interesting features of Under the Sea 3D are:

• from Husband and wife team Howard Hall (Director) and Michele Hall (Producer).
• filmed in the Coral Triangle (Indonesia and Papua New Guinea) and South Australia.
• explores the wonders of the oceans.
• gives an opportunity to view the ocean world and helps to understand the marine life.
• bound to create awareness on the impact of global climate change and the need to protect marine life including the reefs.
• pleasure to watch in crystal clear, larger images.

Here is an amazing video clip of Under the Sea 3D.

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Swiss adventurer Yves Rossy known as Fusion Man, has flew across the English Channel successfully on September 26 with his self made jet propelled wing.

Some of the interesting features of the weekend flight are:

• 49 year old Yves Rossy is a former military pilot.
• he crossed the 35.4 kilometre wide English Channel in less than 10 minutes, from Calais, France to Dover, UK.
• he had to commence his flight at 2,500 metres altitude by jumping from an aircraft to fire his jet propelled wing.
• as the jet propelled wing had no rudder or tail fin, he had to steer using his head and back.
• on reaching Dover, he made a soft landing by opening his parachute.
• the jet propelled wing
  • spans 2.4 metres
  • is made of lightweight carbon composite
  • weighs about 55 kilograms including fuel
  • has four kerosene burning jet turbines
• he wore a heat resistant suit to protect him from the heat of the jet propelled wing.
• Yves Rossy has now set a record to be the first person to fly solo across the English Channel using a single jet-propelled wing.

You can view 10 amazing photographs of Yves Rossy crossing the English Channel from Spiegel online photo gallery.

Here is a video clip of Yves Rossy crossing the English Channel.

Read more and also watch an interesting video clip from BBC News.

Kenichi Horie, 69 year old marine adventurer has set a record to cruise in the Pacific ocean in a wave powered boat.

• he commenced his voyage on March 16 from Honolulu, Hawaii
• he started his voyage in wave powered boat Suntory Mermaid II made out of recycled aluminium from beer cans
• he reached his finishing line Kii Channel on his 110th day of voyage, between the capes of Hinomisaki, Wakayama Prefecture and Kamodamisaki, Tokushima Prefecture in Japan on July 04
• he has covered a distance of 7000 km
• his scheduled completion of voyage in end May got delayed due to weak waves and strong ocean currents

Read more from The Japan Times and Mainichi Daily News.

Related post:

• World’s first wave powered boat to sail from Hawaii to Japan

The 74 foot (24 metre) powerboat Earthrace powered by biodiesel is set to complete her circumnavigation today and break the last world record.

Here are some interesting features of Earthrace:

• Earthrace commenced her circumnavigation on April 27 at 1400 hours CET from Sagunto, Spain.
• Earthrace is expected to complete her circumnavigation today, which means 61 days to circumnavigate.
• Earthrace is now ready to break the last record for a powerboat to circumnavigate the globe in 74 days, 23 hours and 53 minutes set by UK boat ‘Cable & Wireless Adventurer’ in 1998.
• ETA Vulkan Shipyard, Sagunto, Spain: afternoon, Friday, June 27 local time.

OldSailor congratulates Earthrace skipper, Pete Bethune and his is team for their adventure.

Here are some related posts:

• Earthrace is ready to circumnavigate the globe on biodiesel
• Earthrace sights plastic soup to the size of Texas in the Pacific Ocean
• Biodiesel boat Earthrace is in London for Christmas and New Year’s eve

Update: June 28

Earthrace, has set a new record for a powerboat to circumnavigate the globe, knocking almost 14 days off the previous record. Earthrace reached the finish line in Sagunto at 13.42 GMT on June 27. The powerboat has traveled around 24,000 nautical miles on biodiesel to demonstrate to the world the use of alternative fuel sources. Earthrace has completed circumnavigation in 60 days, 23 hours and 49 minutes. Read more from Powerboat-world.